Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Wand
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Wand | |
|---|---|
| Type | Device |
| Features | Casts spells, enhances wizarding powers |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The primary method of performing magic in the Harry Potter series requires the use of a magic wand. The wand serves to focus and amplify the magical energy present in the witch or wizard.
[edit] Extended Description
Wands are typically made of wood with a core of some magical material; we hear of wands made with Phoenix tail feathers, Unicorn tail hair, Dragon heartstrings, and Veela hair, but it is likely that there are many other possible materials that can be used. When a witch or wizard goes to buy a wand, they must try out different combinations of woods, cores, and lengths until a wand works. One thing which is told to us repeatedly is that "the wand chooses the wizard"; that a particular combination of wood and magical core, with other details of their manufacture, make a particular wand ideal for a particular wizard, and that it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what sort of wand an individual wizard will be best able to use. It has been suggested by others that the length of the wand depends to some extent on the person's height (as Hagrid's wand is the longest one we hear of), the wood depends on the person's astrological signs and personality, while the core of the wand also reflects the user's personality. Of course, for any such suggestion, we can likely find counter-examples. We are told at the outset that it is very difficult to use someone else's wand; and Harry finds out in person, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, that this is true.
It is possible to do some magic without the aid of a wand, but that magic is usually spontaneous and found only in untrained children. This is how Harry regrew his hair after the Dursleys cut it off, how he ended up on the roof of the school when Dudley and his gang were chasing him, and how he released the python in the zoo. It is suspected that accidental magic appears in moments of great stress or emotion.
Very few spells are shown that can be performed in a controlled manner without a wand. These include the Animagus transformation and Floo transport. (Note that while this last does not require a wand, it does require other equipment, notably Floo Powder.) It is uncertain whether Apparation and Disapparation require the use of a wand, as no wand gestures are indicated; we never see any wizards or witches apparating themselves without a wand. (Side-along apparation, as when Hermione carries Harry, with his broken wand, does not count, as Harry is not then Apparating, but rather riding on someone else's spell.) House-elves, among others, do not have wands and yet can apparate, however their magic has been shown to be of a different class than human magic.
[edit] Analysis
There seems to be a very limited number of wizards who can actually produce wands, and they all have their own preferred ingredients and techniques. The only working wandmaker we are directly introduced to is Mr. Ollivander, who is the proprietor of a wand shop in Diagon Alley. Mr. Ollivander uses only three types of magical core for his wands: phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hair, and dragon heartstrings. Other wandmakers use other materials; for instance, Fleur Delacour's wand is made with the hair of a Veela as the core, a material Ollivander does not use as he finds it makes for a temperamental wand. Ollivander immediately identifies the wand used by Viktor Krum as a "Gregorovitch creation"; while he does not much care for the style, he does seem to think that it is a good enough wand. His ready identification and his discussion of the wand style indicates that he is very familiar with the style of this other wandmaker, if not with him personally; this also would indicate that we are looking at a restricted community.
The author has indicated that quite by accident she had selected an appropriate wood for Harry's wand from an ancient Celtic assignment of trees to months; Harry, being born on July 31, receives a wand made of holly wood. Similarly, she selected hawthorn wood for Draco Malfoy's wand without realizing that it was correct for his birthday. She does say that not all wands are selected according to the Celtic chart; Hagrid's wand, for instance, by his birthdate ought to be elder, but how could Hagrid have a wand that was anything other than oak? And while the Celtic assignment would suggest birch for Voldemort's wand, there are reasons for making it out of yew. To quote the author: "It was not an arbitrary decision: holly has certain connotations that were perfect for Harry, particularly when contrasted with the traditional associations of yew, from which Voldemort’s wand is made. European tradition has it that the holly tree (the name comes from ‘holy’) repels evil, while yew, which can achieve astonishing longevity (there are British yew trees over two thousand years old), can symbolize both death and resurrection; the sap is also poisonous." However, Hermione's wand, which is made of vine wood, and Ron's new wand, which is made of ash, do follow the Celtic tradition.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Greater Picture
The fact that "the wand chooses the wizard," introduced in the first book, becomes an important plot point in the seventh book of the series. Voldemort, convinced that Harry's ability to avoid him is due only to his wand with its core that is twin to Voldemort's own, seeks a wand more powerful than Harry's. He sets out to find the fabled Deathstick or Elder Wand, a wand that cannot be defeated in a duel. This wand has left a long and bloody trail through history, and Voldemort in the end trails it through its last rumoured owners: the wand-maker Gregorovitch claimed to have it, but it was stolen from him by Gellert Grindelwald, who in turn lost it to Dumbledore. Voldemort claims it from Dumbledore's tomb, but finding that it does not work well for him, and believing that the wand will transfer its allegiance only on the death of its previous owner, kills Severus Snape, who had killed Dumbledore.
Harry, in discussion with the wand-maker Ollivander, discovers that for a wand to change allegiance does not require a death, even in the case of the Elder Wand. Instead, merely forcefully removing it from its previous owner, either by physically wresting it from his hand or by means of the disarmament charm, quite often will cause a wand to change "loyalty". (Presumably this only holds if the original owner does not reclaim his wand; else nearly every magical duel would end up with the loser left effectively wandless.) As a result, it being Draco Malfoy who had disarmed Dumbledore, the Elder Wand would owe allegiance to Draco. As Harry had captured Draco's regular wand, the one with which he had disarmed Dumbledore, the Elder Wand might transfer its allegiance to Harry; if not, according to what Ollivander tells Harry, it would still be Draco's wand, rather than Voldemort's. Thus Voldemort would not be able to get the full benefit from it. As it turns out, the Elder Wand, apparently aware that Harry was holding the wand that had wrested it from its former owner, apparently had given its allegiance to Harry, and would not hurt him.
While there is much talk in the seventh book about allegiances and awareness on the part of wands, it is never meant to be an indication that wands are alive. Like Muggle computers, the fact that a wand behaves in a particular manner may make it seem to be alive, but it remains inanimate and unthinking. A good indication of this is actually in the fact that the Elder Wand does show allegiance to Harry; after all, it was not Harry who disarmed Dumbledore, but rather the wand that Harry is carrying, which did the deed. So the Elder Wand, rather than a specific person, apparently recognizes the holder of the wand that performed the successful charm as the one to whom it owes allegiance.
The author has stated that the core of the Elder Wand is a tail hair from a Thestral.
