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A Thestral tail hair was a hair taken from the tail of a Thestral and was used as a wand core.

Wandlore[]

It was regarded as an unstable, if not the most difficult, substance to use in wand-making, though Veela hair was also described as such, but had been successfully utilised.[1] It was potent, but a tricky core to master; only a witch or wizard who was capable of accepting death could do so.[2]

Known wands[]

Elder Wand

The Elder Wand, which contained this core

The most widely known wand to have used a Thestral tail hair was the Elder Wand. Created either by Death or Antioch Peverell, the Elder Wand was the strongest known wand in the entire history of wizardkind, and by legend was made to render the user invincible in wizard duels.[1]

Whether this was a testament to the power of the Thestral tail hair remained ambiguous, as Elder Wand bearers, such as Gellert Grindelwald and Emeric the Evil, had been shown to be defeatable in a duel. Nevertheless, the Elder Wand had shown additional powers that other wands were not capable of, such as being able to successfully repair other wands, which was thought by people who have studied wandlore to be impossible.

It is assumed that one must be able to see Thestrals in order to utilise their hair, and since one must witness death first-hand to see a Thestral, anyone wishing to forge a wand with the hair must witness death, tying in with the story of being the "Master of Death". It is unknown if the tail hair would be invisible to a wandmaker who had not seen death, as a Thestral would be, or if it could be seen once it was separated from the Thestral.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "The Elder Wand" on J.K. Rowling Official Site
  2. JK on Thestral tail hair
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