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In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bellatrix was relieved of her wand by Dobby at Malfoy Manor. The wand was in Hermione's possession when Harry and Co. infiltrated Gringotts. Later, Bellatrix obviously participates in the Battle of Hogwarts. So whose wand is she using? I am assuming she was unable to buy a new wand, as Ollivander's shop was closed and Ollivander escaped Malfoy Manor with the rest of them.

She could have asked to borrow one, like Voldemort borrowed Lucius'

(which was destroyed by Harry's wand on the night Mad-Eye Moody was killed).

Draco also needed a wand, so he borrowed his mother's (in the movie at least; I don't recall what the book states). So Bellatrix wouldn't have been able to borrow her sister's wand. So whose wand did she use?

At the risk of asking two questions in one post, would the borrowed wand in any way reduce her effectiveness in dueling?

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2 Answers 2

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She has a wand, but it's unclear how she got it.

Bellatrix did get a wand after hers was stolen. It's unclear how exactly she got it, but it isn't mentioned as being anyone else's wand, like Narcissa's or Draco's. In the movie, we see her new wand, and it doesn't look anything like any of the Death Eaters' wands.

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There are several ways she could have sourced herself a new wand.

  • She could have taken one from a victim of the Death Eaters (like Charity Burbage).

  • She could have taken one from a lower-ranking Death Eater, it would be more important that she had one than them.

  • Ollivander made Pettigrew a new wand, it's possible he was also forced to make spare wands as well, even if not specifically for her.

Another thing to remember is that once Ollivander was kidnapped, his shop was left empty. Even after he was freed from the Death Eaters, he was in hiding, and would have still left his shop empty. The Death Eaters could easily have looted it somehow for wands.

In addition, Harry mentioned that they left two wands at Malfoy Manor.

“We left your wand and the blackthorn wand at the Malfoys’, Hermione.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24 (The Wandmaker)

It's likely that using a different wand affected her dueling skills to some extent.

Dueling with an unsuitable wand certainly can have negative effects.

Harry wasn't able to use a Snatcher's blackthorn wand nearly as well as his own. He described it as making even his simple, minor spells less powerful and effective.

“Sorry – reducio.’

The spider did not shrink. Harry looked down at the blackthorn wand. Every minor spell he had cast with it so far that day had seemed less powerful than those he had produced with his phoenix wand. The new one felt intrusively unfamiliar, like having somebody else’s hand sewn to the end of his arm.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 20 (Xenophilius Lovegood)

In addition, Hermione was barely able to stand having Bellatrix's wand, since it felt like a part of her.

“Hermione looked frightened that the wand might sting or bite her as she picked it up.

‘I hate this thing,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn’t work properly for me … it’s like a bit of her.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)

Bellatrix could have also felt like the wand was a part of her, and for her that would be a benefit since it was so attuned to her. Ollivander says the relationship between a wizard and their wand is very important.

“The best results, however, must always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24 (The Wandmaker)

Simply by having and using her wand for so long, Bellatrix's wand would have been more attuned and connected to her than a new one, even one perfectly suited to her, because she's had hers for longer and it's had time to "learn" from her.

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    Come on Bella, are you really trying to make us believe you don't remember how you got another wand? :P
    – BMWurm
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 18:45
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    @BMWurm Of course I do, but I'm not telling anyone anything they can't find out themselves! ;)
    – Obsidia
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 19:17
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    @atayenel Not true. Somebody must have saved her original wand. Hermione actually mentions that it is the wand that tortured Neville's parents, which is after all what Bellatrix was sentenced to Azkaban for. Of course, Hermione could just be wrong...
    – BMWurm
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 20:57
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    @BMWurm Of course she could be. But she probably isn't wrong; and I'd say in this case it's the author's (as in authors tend to do this) way of answering a question. Perhaps also she could sense it?
    – Pryftan
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 21:50
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    @atayenel Not necessarily though. And think of Voldemort: his wand was rescued by Pettigrew only to (and thankfully for Harry) return it to Voldemort when he was reborn. One might also then wonder how Sirius got a wand again; after all he was considered an outlaw too and certainly had no access to a wand maker (same goes for the other DE's before Ollivander was kidnapped e.g. the breakout in OotP). To say it was spare then is speculation and speculation which isn't always true (or certainly it is suggested it's not always true). As Miss Bella points out they could have stolen a wand!
    – Pryftan
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 21:54
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We don't know.

The only time we see her use the wand is during the Battle when she fights Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, then Molly Weasley.

Bellatrix was still fighting too, fifty yards away from Voldemort, and like her master she duelled three at once: Hermione, Ginny and Luna, all battling their hardest, but Bellatrix was equal to them
Deathly Hallows - Chapter 36: The Flaw in the Plan

The only time the wand itself is mentioned is off-handedly during the duel with Molly.

‘OUT OF MY WAY!’ shouted Mrs Weasley to the three girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel. Harry watched with terror and elation as Molly Weasley’s wand slashed and twirled, and Bellatrix Lestrange’s smile faltered, and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around the witches’ feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting to kill.
Deathly Hallows - Chapter 36: The Flaw in the Plan

(emphasis mine)

So while we know she has a new wand, we have no idea how she got it. It could have been made, stolen from another witch or wizard, or taken from the body of a victim. There is simply not enough information available to us to know.

In regards to whether or not it affected her ability to duel. Maybe? Its documented that using a wand not your own causes a difference (Harry and the Blackthorn wand), but it is not always the case due to the temperaments of wands (Dragon-heartstring wands, for example, tend to respond to whomever. Like Draco's wand becoming Harry's after Malfoy Manor). Additionally, this new wand could have been hers now, just made by someone besides Ollivander. So again, we don't really know.

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  • It may be worth pointing out that it looks like this: img.fortheloveofharry.com/2015/08/…
    – ThruGog
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 17:19
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    Eh... That's what it looked like in the films. There is no indication how it looked in the books.
    – amflare
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 17:20
  • Yes. Yes, that's true. I don't believe anyone specified and I thought you might like to say here's how it looked on screen. But s'up to you!
    – ThruGog
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 21:40
  • 'Dragon-heartstring wands, for example, tend to respond to whomever. Like Draco's wand becoming Harry's after Malfoy Manor)' I thought it was the flexibility? E.g. on Pottermore my wand is unyielding - iirc Bellatrix's is too. Draco's I don't know but I suspect not unyielding. Maybe the core also matters? If it does I'm sure it's on Pm too.
    – Pryftan
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 21:57
  • I'm... not sure what you are trying to say?
    – amflare
    Commented Oct 16, 2017 at 21:58

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