Elder Wand

"My wicked and most subtle friend. Who knows ways of magick moste evil"

- Godelot

The Elder Wand, variably known as the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, the Eldruhn Wand and the Elhorn Wand, is one of the Deathly Hallows. According to legend, whoever unites it with the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility will be the Master of Death. It is said to be the most powerful wand that has ever existed, and is able to perform feats of magic that would normally be considered impossible. For example, it was able to fully repair another damaged wand and allow it to function normally after it had been broken.

Early History
"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!"

- The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Elder Wand was most likely created by the eldest of the three Peverell brothers, Antioch, though, according to legend, he acquired it from Death. It is fifteen inches long, and with a core of Thestral tail hair, "a tricky substance that only wizards that mastered death can control."

According to the Tale of the Three Brothers in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the three brothers (suspected to to be the Peverell brothers: Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell) were out travelling the world one day when they came to a treacherous river that had been known to claim many lives when attempting to cross it. The three brothers, being expert wizards, casually whipped out their wands and created a bridge out of thin air. No sooner had they proceeded to cross it however when they found a hooded figure blocking their path midway across the bridge. This hooded figure was none other than Death himself, who was outraged that he'd been cheated out of new victims. Death was cunning however and pretended to congratulate the three brothers on being clever enough to "evade" him and offered each of them a prize for their skill. Antioch, being the eldest and most boastful of the three brothers, asked Death for a wand that must always win in a duel for its master, a wand worthy of a man who had conquered Death. So Death crossed to an Elder tree near the river bank, snapped off a twig, and fashioned a wand from the twig that was fifteen inches long with the core of a Thestral hair. Death gave this wand to Antioch and promised him that the newly-created Elder Wand would be the most powerful wand in creation and would always win in a duel as he had requested. After giving the two other brothers their gifts (the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility), Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way. Eventually, each brother went his own way toward his home.

After killing a rival wizard in a duel shortly after obtaining the wand, Antioch drunkenly boasted of the wand's powers. He was murdered in his sleep that night, and another wizard took possession of the wand.

Over time, the powerful wand passed through various owners, usually under violent circumstances, and acquired names such as "The Deathstick" and the "Wand of Destiny." Several of the wand's owners are known as its "bloody trail" is "splattered across the pages of Wizarding history." Some of its owners are as follows: Emeric the Evil, Egbert the Egregious, Godelot, Hereward Godelot, Barnabas Deverill, Loxias, and finally either Arcus or Livius.

Recent History
"I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Elder Wand, and not to boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it."

- Albus Dumbledore on the Deathly Hallows and the Elder Wand

It eventually ended up in the ownership of the wandmaker Gregorovitch, who was trying to duplicate its powers. It was stolen from him by the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald, when he was only a young man.

Grindelwald used it to cause havoc in Europe until he was defeated by Albus Dumbledore. The ownership of the wand then passed to him.

Many years later, Severus Snape killed Dumbledore. He requested that Snape kill him to save him from a more agonizing death, and because this act was agreed on, Dumbledore would not be 'defeated', so the powers of the Elder Wand would be nullified.

This led Voldemort, who had desired the Elder Wand to conquer Harry Potter and to render himself invulnerable, to believe ownership of the wand was Snape's, and ordered Nagini to murder Snape so the ownership of the Elder Wand would pass to him.

However, Harry Potter later deduced that the true master was in fact Draco Malfoy. Before Dumbledore died, Malfoy had disarmed him and unknowingly won mastery of the wand. Nearly a year later, Harry had disarmed Draco and unknowingly became the wand's master.



In the Forest, Voldemort had cast a Killing Curse on Harry using the Elder Wand. The wand seemingly worked because Harry intended to die at Voldemort's hand, much as Dumbledore had planned his death with Snape. Harry had entered a limbo state, portrayed as King's Cross Station, from which he could choose to return.

When the Cruciatus Curse Voldemort had later cast on Harry's "dead" body caused no pain, Harry had realised at that point that he was in fact the Master of the Elder Wand.

In the final confrontation in the Great Hall, Voldemort had used the Elder Wand to perform the Killing Curse on Harry again. However, Harry had no intention of dying this time, and as such the wand had refused to harm its true master. The curse rebounded on Voldemort, having finally killed him. Harry, now the true master and possessor of the wand, used it to repair his first wand. He then returned it to Dumbledore's tomb, declaring it to be more trouble than it was worth.

Power
The Elder Wand is the most powerful wand in existence. Its owner can use it to cast spells more powerful than believed to be magically possible. For example, Harry was able to repair his regular, Phoenix feather wand using the Elder Wand in 1998, even though broken wands are supposed to be damaged beyond magical repair.

In Dumbledore's commentary on The Tale of The Three Brothers, in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, he comments that the Elder Wand, while being immensely powerful, has never been "unbeatable", as it has been beaten hundreds of times in the constant changing hands of its owners. For example, Grindelwald, though he had mastered the Wand, was still defeated by Dumbledore.

By the same token, the Elder Wand did not ensure the victory of its master in a duel, nor render him or her invincible; Dumbledore having mastered the wand by defeating Grindelwald in 1945, but was still unable to decisively defeat Lord Voldemort in their duel in the Ministry of Magic.

Other elder wands
While "The Elder Wand" (capitalized) refers to one third of the Deathly Hallows, other wands have been made from elder wood. In general wizards seem to eschew elder wands (due at least in part to the sordid history of the Elder Wand itself), favoring wands made from various other woods, such as holly, willow, vine, and oak. Ron repeats an old wizarding saying, "Wand of elder, never prosper" after Hermione reads The Tale of the Three Brothers, to illustrate how wizarding lore may be passed from generation to generation. There was only one true elder wand, though various names for it, such as "The Deathstick" or "The Wand of Destiny".

Author's Comments
J. K. Rowling has discussed how the Elder Wand behaves slightly different from other wands in its loyalty:


 * "The Elder Wand is simply the most dispassionate and ruthless of wands in that it will only take into consideration strength. So one would expect a certain amount of loyalty from one's wand. So even if you were disarmed while carrying it, even if you lost a fight while carrying it, it has developed an affinity with you that it will not give up easily. If, however, a wand is won, properly won in an adult duel, then a wand may switch allegiance... However, the Elder Wand knows no loyalty except to strength. So it's completely unsentimental. It will only go where the power is. So if you win, then you've won the wand. So you don't need to kill with it. But...almost inevitably, it attracts wizards who are prepared to kill and who will kill. And also it attracts wizards like Voldemort who confuse being prepared to murder with strength."

Behind the scenes

 * The film-makers for the Potter series designed Albus Dumbledore's wand for the films years before it was revealed to be the Elder Wand, or that the Elder Wand even existed. Fortunately, the wand they created happened to be extremely unique-looking among all the film series' wands, even bearing carvings which resemble clusters of elderberries running down its length.


 * Those to whom the Elder Wand is not loyal can perform feats of magic equivalent to owning a regular wand. In the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort remarked about this to Severus Snape, and reasoned that, since he believed Snape to be the master of the Elder Wand, Voldemort would have to kill him to claim true mastery of it. The only thing that it has been shown that the Elder Wand cannot do (or, rather, will not do) is harm its own master if it finds itself in the physical possession of another.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * 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 Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * 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 Deathly Hallows
 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Notes and references
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