Charles Weasley's wand

Ronald Weasley's first wand
Historical information
Made	Pre 1984
Master(s)	Charlie Weasley Ron Weasley (inherited) Gilderoy Lockhart (briefly)
Owner(s)	Charlie Weasley Ron Weasley (inherited) Gilderoy Lockhart (temporary)
Material information
Wood	Ash
Core	Unicorn hair
Length	12"

Ronald Weasley's first wand was 12", made of ash, and had a core of unicorn hair that stuck out at the end of the wand. It originally belonged to his older brother Charlie.

History

This wand originally belonged to Ron's older brother Charlie Weasley. It was most likely purchased from Ollivander's sometime before Charlie's education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was most likely given to Ron as a means of saving money, as the Weasley family was quite poor. This wand snapped in half on 1 September 1992 from a run-in with the Whomping Willow.

Ron with the wand after it was broken

During Ron's second year at Hogwarts, it barely held together by a strand of the wood. Ronald attempted to hold it together using Spello-tape, but its magical capabilities were damaged beyond repair. It subsequently started malfunctioning; Ron refused to request his parents to buy a new one then due to fearing that he would receive another Howler from his mother for being irresponsible.

When Ron attempted to hex Draco Malfoy for calling Hermione Granger a "filthy little Mudblood," the spell backfired, causing him to vomit slugs. When he tried to transfigure beetles into buttons in class, he instead created smoke that smelled like rotten-eggs, and accidentally crushed his beetle. During Charms, the wand shot itself out of Ron's hand and struck Professor Flitwick on the forehead, causing a green bump to appear. During the first meeting of the Duelling Club, the wand once again malfunctioned, injuring Seamus Finnigan.

The wand backfires on Lockhart, destroying his memory

Despite the wand's faults throughout the year, it did eventually come in handy. In the Chamber of Secrets in 1993, Gilderoy Lockhart stole the wand and attempted to wipe the memories of Ron and Harry Potter. The charm backfired, causing the wand to explode in his hand. Lockhart was left with permanent and drastic memory loss, thus saving Harry and Ron from Lockhart's scheme to claim that he found the Chamber of Secrets. If Ron had gotten a replacement wand sooner, then the both of them would have lost their memories, and Ron's sister Ginny would have been left to die in the chamber. Ron's father Arthur Weasley subsequently purchased a new wand for him.

Three years after the wand's backfire on Lockhart, Ron felt somewhat guilty when he saw the former professor in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, for it was his old wand that caused the damage. Harry, however, felt far less sympathetic, as it was Lockhart's attempt that led to the backfire in the first place. Two more years after, when Harry's wand was accidentally snapped by Hermione, she reminded Harry of Ron's damaged wand being irreparable and that his attempt at it would be (correctly) futile.

Behind the scenes

• The wand was likely manufactured by Garrick Ollivander.
• J. K. Rowling used a Celtic calendar to assign Ron's first wand wood, ash, based on his date of birth. She did the same for Harry's wand and Hermione's wand, as "a hidden connection" between the three friends although by coincidence, Draco Malfoy's wand, made from Hawthorn also corresponded to his date of birth 5 June.

Ron's failed attempt to transfigure his rat Scabbers into goblet

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the wand was broken moments before Harry and Ron collided with Whomping Willow. Also, when Ron was supposed to transfigure Scabbers into a goblet, the wand's damaged power caused the transformation to be incomplete, which left the cup with fur and a tail. During the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin, Ron raises his wand to try and destroy Dobby's Bludger, Hermione stops him however, pointing out that even if his wand was functional, he could still hit Harry by accident. During the Duelling Club, when Lockhart tried to pair Harry off with Ron, Professor Snape suggested otherwise, stating that Ron's malfunctioning wand would be sending Harry to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox. Later, when Ron was about to use a Hover Charm on two cupcakes spiked with Sleeping Draught, Harry stopped him, thinking that it would be better if he did it instead. In the end, when Lockhart's Memory Charm backfired, it didn't explode but sent him flying backward instead of causing sparks that caused a cave in.

"Backfire!" trading card

• Why Ron had Charlie's old wand is likely due to the Weasley family being relatively poor, and therefore unable to purchase a new wand for Ron when he entered school (though technically, Charlie could have kept this wand and bought a new one for Ron instead).
• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Ron's wand is shown to malfunction in an optional scene in Hagrid's garden.
• As it is described on Pottermore, Ash wood "cleaves to its one true owner and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, as it would lose power" as well as the Unicorn Hair core, as "they are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner." It can be speculated that, while this wand was in Ron's possession, he was not able to demonstrate his magical skills to full capacity.
• A placard describing this wand used in Harry Potter: The Exhibition appears to be copied from the text of this very article, even using the same image and retaining one of the reference marks, as can be seen in this past revision of the page.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• 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 Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: The Wand Collection