Garrick Ollivander

Mr. Ollivander is the proprietor of Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley. Ollivander is widely considered the best wand maker in the British Wizarding world, and many Witches and Wizards buy their wands from him. In 1996,. he was captured and tortured by Lord Voldemort. Ollivander was rescued in 1997 by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Dobby.

Biography
It is unknown how old he is, but in conversation with Harry Potter, he discusses making a wand for Lord Voldemort, who would have received his wand around 1937, making him older than Dumbledore. His shop sign said his family has been making wands from even 382 B.C..

It is known that other recognized wand makers exist in other countries. Ollivander is asked to inspect the wands of the contestants in the Triwizard Tournament before the competition starts, to make sure they are all working properly.

Ollivander supplies Harry Potter with a wand, and as he does, so tells us something about wands. He explains that a wand has a core, in Harry's case a phoenix feather, and the body of the wand itself, made from a choice of different woods with different magical properties. We discover that Ollivander made a similar wand using another feather from Dumbledore's phoenix, but different wood. Harry's wand is Holly, symbolizing protection, rather than Voldemort's Yew, suggesting poison. He also explains that the wand chooses the wizard, rather than the other way around. Thus, he considers it remarkable that the wand suited to Harry is the 'brother' to the one Voldemort uses.

In 1996 he was kidnapped by Voldemort, leaving behind an empty, locked up, shop and no sign of a struggle. It is believed that the last wand he sold was to Neville Longbottom.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it is revealed that Ollivander was captured by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters and is being held prisoner at Malfoy Manor. He is tortured by Lord Voldemort for information regarding the twin cores of Harry Potter's wand and his own. Ollivander tells him that he merely needs to use another wand other than his own to face Harry Potter.

After using Lucius Malfoy's wand and seeing its destruction when facing Harry Potter and his Phoenix wand, he rounds on Ollivander for an explanation of why Harry's wand acted as it had. Although he had no answer to give since no wandmaker had ever witnessed such an event, Ollivander was tortured again by Lord Voldemort and questioned about the most powerful wand in existence, the Elder Wand. Harry Potter and his friends are later captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, where they are reunited with Ollivander, Dean Thomas and Luna Lovegood.

Ollivander is subsequently rescued by Harry and his friends and is taken with them when they make their escape from Malfoy Manor with the aid of Dobby, the house-elf. He seems to have bonded with Luna during their captivity together as he says that she was "an inexpressible comfort (to him) in that terrible place" and admits that he'll miss her with her admitting the same thing. He later creates and sends a new wand to Luna.

Physical Description
Ollivander has a soft voice and wide, pale, silvery eyes. His fingers are long and thin. In the films he also has white hair.

Personality
Ollivander is an intelligent man, with an excellent memory when it comes to his work; he remembers the details of every wand he ever sold. He seems to become happier, the more difficult the challenge to find exactly the right wand for a difficult customer. He uses a magical tape measure to help assess customers for their wand.

Behind the scenes

 * Ollivander comments that he remembers every wand he's sold. This might indicate a form of photographic memory.
 * Ollivander is one of the only people before Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone who knew Voldemort's real name. He said in the first book he knows that Voldemort's wand caused Harry's scar.
 * It's unknown if John Hurt will reprise his role as Ollivander as the character has an important part in the seventh book. John Hurt has stated that he is interested to return.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)(cut in the final edit)
 * ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows