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Voldemort: "...I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter. No volunteers? Let's see...Lucius, I see no reason for you to have a wand any more."
Lucius: "My Lord?"
Voldemort: "Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."
Lord Voldemort to Lucius Malfoy in 1997[src]

This wand belonged to Lucius Malfoy, head of the pure-blood Malfoy family.[3] Noticeably, the wand was concealed within Lucius Malfoy's Snake Cane. The wand fit into the walking stick like a sword into a scabbard.[4][5][6] It was made of elm with a core of dragon heartstring.[1] The wand itself was an heirloom of the Malfoy family, and may have been inherited by Lucius from an ancestor.[7]

Lucius likely owned this wand for most of his life, but when he was sent to Azkaban in 1996, his son Draco gained possession of the walking stick (although he continued to use his own wand). After being released, Lucius regained the wand, but it was taken by Lord Voldemort in order to solve Voldemort's problem with his and Harry Potter's wand sharing the same core.[1] The wand was destroyed during the Battle of the Seven Potters while in Voldemort's possession.[8]

Elm wands were said to be highly desirable to pure-blood supremacists, which Lucius Malfoy was known to be.[9]

History[]

Lucius Malfoy[]

Lucius' wand WU

Lucius Malfoy's wand

Lucius Malfoy may have inherited this wand from an ancestor,[7] and carried it through much of his life. Concealed within the Snake Cane, it acted as much as a symbol of his status as the tool of a wizard.[4]

During the 1985–1986 school year, Lucius came to Hogwarts to inspect, during which his son Draco stole the wand. Jacob's sibling and Merula Snyde helped recover the wand.[10]

In 1993, after Lucius was magically blasted away by his former House-elf for trying to assault Harry Potter on the Grand Staircase, Lucius pulled out his wand to retaliate, but Dobby ordered him to leave, which he did.[3]

Even when on missions after the return of Lord Voldemort, Lucius kept his wand within its walking stick. He carried it with him during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, and used it to duel members of the Order of the Phoenix.[5][11]

Draco Malfoy[]

After being discovered to be a Death Eater and arrested, Lucius lost possession of his wand and Snake Cane. His son, Draco Malfoy, was shown to have taken ownership of the Snake Cane in his father's absence. Nevertheless, Draco continued to use his own wand. Argus Filch was distrusting of Draco taking the Cane into Hogwarts Castle, suspecting it to be an artefact filled with Dark Magic. Severus Snape, Draco's sworn protector, allowed him safe passage into the castle, where he took the Cane.[2]

BrokenSnake

Voldemort snapping off the silver snake head

After his escape from Azkaban, Lucius regained ownership of his cane and wand.[1]

Lord Voldemort[]

Voldemort Battle of the Seven Potters GIF

Lucius Malfoy's wand cracking due to the power of Harry's wand during the Battle of the Seven Potters

The wand was taken from him by Lord Voldemort in 1997 since the Dark Lord wanted to prevent Priori Incantatem from occurring between his own wand and Harry Potter's wand. After no volunteers presented themselves, Voldemort selected Lucius as an unwilling donor. Lucius reluctantly surrendered his wand after some prompting from his wife, identifying its wand wood and core for Voldemort's benefit. The Dark Lord examined it briefly before snapping off the silver snake head and tossing it contemptuously onto the table, both acts being intended to spite Lucius and demonstrate the favour he had lost with Voldemort. Voldemort's first use of the wand was to awaken Charity Burbage, the former Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts, who was present as a prisoner. After taunting her for a brief time, Voldemort then used the wand to cast the Killing Curse, ending her life.[1]

Voldemort went on to use it in the Battle of the Seven Potters,[8] killing legendary Auror Alastor Moody before the real Harry was identified.[12] In a rare act of magic, Harry's wand identified Voldemort as a foe it had previously faced and regurgitated some of the magical power it had received from him in a previous encounter, which manifested in the form of a Golden flame. This power was too much for Lucius' wand, which shattered with a loud crack and bought Harry the time he needed to escape.[8]

Lucius eventually gained possession of another wand to replace this one.

Behind the scenes[]

Luciuswand2

A replica of Lucius' replacement wand

  • In the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lucius does replace this wand, though that does not happen in the books.
  • The snake head and the cane Lucius uses to contain his wand are only shown in the films. There is no mention of either of these in the books.
  • Lord Voldemort broke the silver snake head from the handle of the wand, returning it to Lucius, before using it to try and kill Harry Potter. This would seem unusual on Voldemort's part, given that a snake head decoration would seem to most something he would find appealing. However, the likely explanation is that he wanted to spite Lucius.
  • In Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Lucius' wand does not break during the Battle of the Seven Potters. Voldemort can be seen holding it while interrogating Garrick Ollivander about it after the battle. While it is never seen after that, it's plausible that Voldemort either snapped it in two out of anger, or just got rid of it. The fate of the wand in the film remains unknown.
  • In the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in the Skirmish in the Malfoy Manor, Lucius can be seen pulling the snake head out of the cane, obviously out of habit for there is no wand connected, and he snarls when he realises this.
  • Jason Isaacs once tried to smuggle this wand off the set, but was caught.[13]
  • Though the length of this wand is never given within the novels, the wand prop replica used in the films measured at 18 inches in length.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

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