Wand

"The wand chooses the wizard... it's not always clear why."

- Ollivander

A wand is an essential tool used by wizards and witches to channel magical powers. Most spells are done with the aid of wands. It is possible to do magic without a wand, but is very difficult and requires much concentration and incredible skill. Only advanced wizards can perform spells without the use of wands. Wands are "quasi-sentient," and as close to animate as an object can get because they are imbued with a great deal of magic.

Although the wand cores may come from the same creature, or the wood may come from the same tree, no two existing wands are exactly alike.

Wands and wandlore
Wandlore is a specific class of magic that refers to the history and magical properties of wands. Mr. Ollivander claims that it is a "complex and mysterious branch of magic." The idea that a wand chooses the wizard is a part of wandlore, as is the idea that wands can switch allegiance.

Materials


Generally, wands are long, thin rods of wood with a magical substance embedded into their core. Some of the woods used include holly, hawthorn, oak, cherry, vine, rosewood, blackthorn, willow, elm, ash, mahogany, yew, birch, and elder. The cores that have been documented are phoenix feather, dragon heartstring, Veela hair, unicorn hair, and Thestral tail hair. The wandmaker Ollivander mentioned that he did not use Veela hair, as it made for "temperamental" wands. It is possible that other magical substances may be used for cores, but none have yet been specified.

Other important characteristics of a wand are its length and its rigidity, ranging from "unyielding" to "springy." All of these different factors have some effect on the overall use of the wand itself, but it is currently unknown what they actually indeed do. The characteristics of a wand also seem to have some influence over which kinds of magic the wand is particularly suited for. For example, James Potter's wand was excellent at Transfiguration, and Lily Evans' wand was described as being nice for Charms work.

The exact process of making a wand is not known. Likely, it is as difficult and complex as wandlore itself.

General wand properties
In almost all documented cases, the wand chooses the wizard. This is due to the unique character of each wand, which must match that of the wizard, as the wizard may not be able to perform magic if his and his wand's characters conflict, or the magic may be sub-par to magic performed with the wizard's own wand. When trying out different wands, an aspiring wizard may cause some damage when he encounters wands that don't get along with him. Unfortunately, such trial and error is the only way to find a wand that matches the witch or wizard, and so Mr. Ollivander has become used to his store becoming damaged on a constant basis.

Since numbers have known magical properties, it's also possible that the wand's length have some symbolic meaning related to their owners, much like their core. For example, the wand of Tom Riddle, a reputed dark wizard, measures 13½ inches and thirteen is commonly an omen of misfortune or evil in the folklore and religion of various cultures around the world.

Examples of damage caused by "mismatched" wands were seen in 1991, where wand boxes flew off of shelves and banged into walls and when a glass jar on a shelf was shattered as a result of Harry Potter waving the wrong sort of wands. He tried out many wands before he found the one that chose him. Apparently, a warm feeling is felt when the wizard or witch chooses the right wand, and the wand sometimes emits a few sparks or does some similar small sign of magic.

Wands are capable of changing masters. When a wand's master is disarmed, stunned, or killed, the wand may accept the old master's attacker as its new master. This is mostly observed in the Elder Wand, which, according to Albus Dumbledore, only respects power. The Elder Wand will transfer its allegience even if its defeated master is not in possession of it at the time. It is unknown if other wands share this trait. Most wands share an affinity with their masters and will not easily discontinue their allegiance with the previous master if at all. Indeed it seems unlikely the original bond is severed; if it were a defeated witch or wizard would be better served to aquire a new wand rather than continue using it, as it would no longer perform at its peak for them, yet this is not noted to happen. Furthermore, wands forcibly taken in circumstances of purely competitive or friendly nature, or are stolen without attacking the previous master will not change allegiance.

Wands can be broken by spells or by physical damage. Wands in this condition will have greatly reduced magical abilities. Even when repaired, the wand's magic will not improve and the wand may break again while performing magic. The Elder Wand is able to completely repair broken wands, although this ability may be lost if the current master (Harry Potter) dies undefeated, as most of the wand's power would disappear with him. Also, the wands can be activated and deactivated. For example, Hogwarts students should deactivate their wands in the corridors so that they do not use magic.

Wands are quasi-sentient, meaning that while they cannot think or communicate like a human, they can perform certain actions through their own will. This could be how they choose their wizard/witch, and also explains how Harry's wand was able to act on its own against Voldemort.

Rights of usage
Non-human beings, such as goblins and house-elves, are prohibited from owning or using wands. For goblins in particular, this has been a point of contention with the wizarding community, and has been the cause of some outbreaks of violence. It is unknown if any formal prohibition exists against Muggles possessing a wand, as they would be unable to use them anyway, although it could be considered a breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

During the last year of the Second Wizarding War, the British Ministry of Magic was overthrown by the Death Eaters, and new laws were put into effect. Muggle-born witches and wizards were regarded as having "stolen" their magic from "real" witches and wizards, and their wands were confiscated. Those who were not imprisoned were usually left destitute.

Makers
There are many makers of wands, but the best known, and most experienced in Britain is Ollivander's. The wandmaking establishment has been making wands since 382 BC and is located in Diagon Alley, London. Mr. Ollivander went missing in the summer of 1996, until he was discovered by Harry, Ron and Hermione and rescued by the house-elf Dobby in 1998. He had been kidnapped by Death Eaters on Voldemort's orders. After their rescue, Ollivander provided Harry with information about the Elder Wand and about how a wand passes ownership.

There were more British wandmakers, such as Jimmy Kiddell, but their wands were stated to be not as good as Ollivander's.

Another notable wand maker was Gregorovitch, who had made the wand of Viktor Krum, and once wielded the Elder Wand. In 1997 he was tracked down and questioned by Voldemort in Voldemort's quest to find the Elder Wand. Once Voldemort finished questioning Gregorovitch, he murdered him.

According to legend, Death created the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in existence, from the branch of an elder tree. Albus Dumbledore, however, believed it was more likely that the wand had been created by Antioch Peverell himself.

Behind the scenes

 * Wands used in the Harry Potter films are shown to have clear handles for wizards to hold onto them such as the bone handle of Voldemort's yew wand. The books however do not describe such handles. In fact all the pictures by Mary GrandPré in the American editions depict all wands as thin rods. However this is only supported by Harry's feeling that his wand is a "strip of wood" compared to a dragon. (This is contradicted in the US hardcover edition of Deathly Hallows on page 343, during Voldemort's flashback of the night he murdered Lily and James. ..."he fingered the handle of his wand.")
 * Also, in the films, the wands are shown a couple of inches longer than they are shown in the books. The films seem to include more gestures when using a wand, not just waving it and pointing it. The different styles were shown properly in the film version of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
 * It is theorised that the wand's length is proportional to the wizard's height: the longer the wand, the taller the wizard, and the shorter the wand, the shorter the wizard. Although this pattern is generally supported (eg, Dolores Umbridge's short wand, Rubeus Hagrid's long wand) this may not always be the case. For example, Draco Malfoy, despite being tall, had a relatively short wand.
 * J. K. Rowling used a Celtic calendar to assign certain types of woods to Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter based on their birthdates.
 * In the first and second films, wands look quite plain. The appearance of wands drastically change in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, on which the wands are given distinctive shapes and carvings, reflecting the owner's personality.
 * Devon Murray, who plays Seamus Finnigan in the Harry Potter films, has the record for breaking the most prop wands. His record as of the film version of Order of the Phoenix is breaking ten of them.
 * J.K. Rowling has said that Muggles cannot use a magic wand, yet residual power stored in a wand may discharge at odd moments, having potentially disastrous effects for a non-wizard.
 * Wands are often buried or burned when the owner dies.
 * The right to carry a wand at all times was established by the International Confederation of Wizards in 1692, when Muggle persecution was at its height and the wizards were planning their retreat into hiding.
 * Although Harry's wand is known to be made of holly, (an extremely light wood) his prop-wand is significantly darker, suggesting a different wood. However, other wands appear to be varnished or coloured, so this isn't necessarily a break in continuity. Wood is a matte material so most if not all wands in the movies have some kind of colour treatment.

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 Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard
 * Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4
 * Harry Potter: Spells
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape

Notes and references
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