Wand core

"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand."

— Garrick Ollivander telling Harry Potter about the wand cores used in wands sold at Ollivanders

Different wands with different cores

Different wands with different cores

The core of a wand was a magical substance placed within the length of wood, usually extracted from a magical creature.

Although wand cores varied widely, certain wandmakers preferred to use certain materials; for example, Garrick Ollivander discovered and pioneered the use of phoenix feathers, dragon heartstrings, and unicorn tail hairs, whereas his father used lesser substances such as Kelpie hair and Kneazle whiskers.

Properties

The core type was known to influence the temperament of the wand produced with it. For example, the wand-maker Garrick Ollivander would not use Veela hair for cores because he believed they made for "temperamental" wands. Thestral tail hair was also an interesting core - the wand couldn't simply be mastered by winning them. It could only be mastered by a witch or wizard who was able to face death, which was why Voldemort struggled to master the Elder Wand.

When more than one wand had twin cores - meaning they shared the same material from the same creature - they were known as brothers and held greater power when used together. When Chadwick and Webster Boot used them as a team, their wands with cores from the same Horned Serpent increased in power tenfold. However, when they were used in conflict with another, the connecting spells created Priori Incantatem, as seen when the wands of Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, which both had cores comprised of a feather from Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's phoenix, connected.

Ollivander's shop in Diagon Alley had changed the way that wands were created. Before Garrick Ollivander's practice of using only the three "Supreme Cores", it was common for witches and wizards to present a wandmaker with a magical substance to which they had a particular attachment for use as a wand core.

However, when Garrick watched his father, Gervaise Ollivander, struggle with substandard wand cores such as Kneazle whiskers, Dittany stalks, or Kelpie manes, he decided to devote his time to studying the finest wand cores.

Known core materials

Core	Wands these cores are used in
Dragon heartstring	Hermione Granger's wand Viktor Krum's wand Bellatrix Lestrange's wand Gilderoy Lockhart's wand Lucius Malfoy's wand Minerva McGonagall's wand Garrick Ollivander 's wand Peter Pettigrew's wand Dolores Umbridge's wand Horace Slughorn's wand Gormlaith Gaunt's second wand Mr Boot's wand Jacob's wand Penelope Fawley's wand An applewood wand made by Garrick Ollivander A beechwood wand made by Garrick Ollivander
Phoenix feather	Harry Potter's wand Lord Voldemort's wand Silvanus Kettleburn's wand Celestina Warbeck's wand
Unicorn tail hair	Mary Cattermole's wand Cedric Diggory's wand Neville Longbottom's second wand Remus Lupin's wand Draco Malfoy's wand Quirinus Quirrell's wand Sybill Trelawney's wand Charlie Weasley's wand Ron Weasley's second wand Penny Haywood's wand
Veela hair	Fleur Delacour's wand
Thestral tail hair	The Elder Wand
Troll whisker	Cadogan's wand
Coral	Snakewood and coral wand
Dittany Stalk
Thunderbird tail feather
Wampus cat hair
White River Monster spine
Rougarou hair	Seraphina Picquery's wand
Horned Serpent horn	Chadwick Boot's wand Webster Boot's wand
Snallygaster heartstring
Jackalope antler
Kneazle whisker
Kelpie hair
Basilisk horn	Salazar Slytherin's wand (passed down to his descendants)
Curupira hair

Characteristics of wand core materials

Core material	Known wand-maker to use it	Known characteristics
Dragon heartstring	Garrick Ollivander Gregorovitch	Powerful and easy to learn spells, though could easily be committed to another owner
Phoenix feather	Garrick Ollivander	Learned most varied magic, hard to be chosen
Unicorn tail hair	Garrick Ollivander	Consistent magic, bonded strongly to first user
Veela hair		Temperamental
Kneazle whisker		Not very powerful
Dittany stalk		Unknown
Kelpie hair	Gervaise Ollivander	Easily obtainable, frequently used in the past
Thestral tail hair	Antioch Peverell	Not easily seen
Coral	Gregorovitch	Unknown
Thunderbird tail feather	Shikoba Wolfe	Powerful, but difficult to master, particularly prized by Transfigurers. Could sense danger and cast curses on their own.
Wampus cat hair	Johannes Jonker Isolt Sayre James Steward	Unknown
White River Monster spine	Thiago Quintana	Produced spells of force and elegance
Rougarou hair	Violetta Beauvais	Rumoured to have had an affinity for dark magic, although suitable for use by non-dark wizards and witches as well
Horned Serpent horn	Isolt Sayre James Steward	Exceptionally powerful and sensitive to Parseltongue. Could warn its owner of danger by emitting a low musical tone.
Snallygaster heartstring	Isolt Sayre James	Unknown
Jackalope antler	Isolt Sayre James Steward	Unknown
Basilisk horn	Salazar Slytherin	Unknown, presumably had an affinity for the Dark Arts.
Curupira hair		Unstable, had an affinity for powerful yet unpredictable wizards

Price

All wands sold by Garrick Ollivander cost seven galleons, regardless of core or wood. Unicorn tail hair, however, was worth ten galleons a hair, as confirmed by Horace Slughorn in 1996. In 1926, wands sold by Shikoba Wolfe cost five dragots.

See also

• Wand
• Wandlore
• Reverse Spell
• Wand wood

Behind the scenes

• It is thought by some that Thestral hair makes for a unique personality; completely dispassionate about its allegiance and showing no emotion towards the wizard, tying in with the many changes of hands that the Elder Wand (the only known Thestral hair wand in existence) has been through. It is also a wand that has been the instrument of death many times over, which some also believe is connected to its Thestral hair core (possibly inspiring murder in the heart of its beholder(s), since Thestrals have a strong connection to death, as does the origin of the wand itself). However, the many changes of allegiance that the Elder Wand has had as well as its history of winning through murder may be simply a reflection on the nature of power itself, and the means people are willing to sink to in order to attain it.
• It should be noted that, concerning the wands of the Trio (Harry, Ron, and Hermione), each wand has one of the three different cores used by Ollivander: Harry's wand has a phoenix feather, Ron's wands (both his first and second) have a unicorn hair and Hermione's wands (both hers and Bellatrix's) have a dragon heartstring.
• Out of all the wand cores, the Dragon Heartstring is the core of more character wands, with the Unicorn Tail Hair Core in second place, with the Dragon Heartstrings residing inside ten character wands and Unicorn Hair residing inside nine character wands.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• J. K. Rowling's official site (Mentioned only)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter for Kinect (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: The Wand Collection