Changes: Bellatrix Lestrange's first wand

Revision as of 08:28, 24 May 2020

"This is the wand that tortured Neville's mum and dad, and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius! I miss my wand."

— Hermione Granger^[src]

Bellatrix Lestrange's wand was 12¾" long, made of Walnut, and had a dragon heartstring core. The wand was constructed by Garrick Ollivander, who described it as "unyielding".^[1]

History

"He looked down at the wand and was visited by a brutal urge to snap it, to slice it in half with Gryffindor's sword [...] "

— Harry Potter's thoughts on the wand upon securing it^[src]

Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange duel 01 — Bellatrix duelling Sirius with her wand before she murders him

As Hermione Granger identified this wand as the one that tortured Alice and Frank Longbottom^[2], it is likely that Bellatrix Lestrange used this wand both before and after her imprisonment in Azkaban, possibly since the age of eleven. She recovered it after escaping from prison in 1996, fighting with it during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and killing her cousin Sirius Black with it.

Bellatrix used this wand until the spring of 1998, when Ron Weasley disarmed her in Malfoy Manor after she tortured Hermione. She held a knife to an unconscious Hermione's throat and ordered Harry and Ron to drop their wands, and for Draco Malfoy to collect hers. However when Dobby dropped a chandelier he was unable to collect it. Bellatrix threw the knife at them and it hit Dobby in an attempt to stop them leaving. This was unsuccessful and the house-elf and the trio escaped with Bellatrix's wand.^[3]

Hermione bellatrix wand — Hermione Granger with Bellatrix's Wand

Bellatrix reported that her wand had been stolen to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as she feared Harry, Hermione, and Ron would try to break into her vault, which contained an item important to Lord Voldemort. Within weeks, this is precisely what they did. Hermione used the wand during her impersonation of Bellatrix, but found wielding it to be distasteful, since not only did she not win its allegiance, but of the criminal activities associated with it. Harry, who at first thought Hermione was being picky for a wand she had no affinity with, suddenly felt an urge to snap it or even slice it in two with the Sword of Gryffindor as revenge for its victims after Hermione reminded him that it was the wand that killed Sirius.^[2]

Bellatrix's wand was used by Hermione at least until the Battle of Hogwarts, during which Hermione duelled Bellatrix with her own wand, along with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. It is unknown if Hermione kept the wand after Bellatrix's death and the end of the Second Wizarding War, but it is very likely she discarded it, having expressed hatred of the wand and its original owner.

Behind the scenes

Bellatrix's wand wood, Walnut, is associated with some old European superstitions. In seventeenth-century Italy, a walnut tree in Benevento was believed to be a gathering place for witches. Another legend held that nothing should be grown near a walnut tree, because it contains evil or poison.
It's unknown how Bellatrix retrieved the wand following her escape from Azkaban. The same issue arises with the other Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban.
- It's possible that this isn't Bellatrix's original wand and simply a replacement. Hermione may have been mistaken when she stated that Bellatrix used this wand to torture the Longbottoms.
During the filming of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Helena Bonham Carter accidentally punctured Matthew Lewis's eardrum when she stuck her wand in his ear during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries scene, in which Bellatrix threatens Neville Longbottom.^[4]
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Bellatrix made a whip extend from her wand, which she used against the Snatchers who were holding Gryffindor's Sword.
The wand prop used in the films has a slight bend with etchings carved into it, such that it resembles the talon of a large bird. There are also etchings on Sirius Black's wand, which may indicate a familial comparison.
Helena Bonham Carter said she achieved a large blister after the duelling scene in the Order of the Phoenix film from her wand, the reason being the handle on her curved wand, different from all of the other wands.
An error appears in her full body poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as she has it again when Hermione was meant to have it.
In the video game adaptation (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)) of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Bellatrix still has possession of her first wand as she is seen battling in the Great Hall with it just moments from her demise.

Appearances

The Harry Potter Wiki has 88 images related to Bellatrix Lestrange's first wand.

Notes and references

↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24 (The Wandmaker)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)
↑ 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
↑ "Helena Bonham Carter Gets Wicked"

[DH24-1] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24 (The Wandmaker)

[DH26-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)

[DH23-3] 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)

[4] "Helena Bonham Carter Gets Wicked"

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@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 {{Quote|This is the wand that tortured Neville's mum and dad, and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius! I miss my wand.|[[Hermione Granger]]|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
-The '''wand''' of [[Bellatrix Lestrange]] was 12¾" long, made of [[Walnut (tree)|Walnut]], and had a [[dragon heartstring]] [[wand core|core]]. The wand was constructed by [[Garrick Ollivander]], who described it as "''unyielding''".<ref name="DH24">{{DH|B|24}}</ref>
+[[Bellatrix Lestrange|Bellatrix Lestrange's]] wand was 12¾" long, made of [[Walnut (tree)|Walnut]], and had a [[dragon heartstring]] [[wand core|core]]. The wand was constructed by [[Garrick Ollivander]], who described it as "''unyielding''".<ref name="DH24">{{DH|B|24}}</ref>
 ==History==