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In the Chamber of Secrets, Ron breaks his wand in the incident with the Whomping Willow, and Later on Hermione breaks Harry's wand with a curse of her own that rebounded.

In the last book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his wand of holly and Phoenix feather.

The Question: Why didn't Ron just ask a teacher or someone else to repair his wand if it can be done so easily?

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    Well because only the Elder Wand could repair Harry's wand. Hermione couldn't do it, Ollivander himself couldn't do it. I mean, that was kind of the point. It so happens that Dumbledore could have done it, but nobody knew about the Elder Wand or that he had it.
    – Au101
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 20:38
  • I think it's the same reason Muggle children don't ask their teachers to repair their broken pens or shoes. The expected behaviour is to replace the damaged property with a new, fully-functioning version.
    – ThruGog
    Commented Feb 14, 2016 at 7:09
  • @ThruGog That's not necessarily true with a wand. The wand costs GALLEONS to buy, so it'd be more comparable to breaking a laptop given by the school. They'd be more likely to do everything they can to fix it before the even think of replacing it.
    – Anoplexian
    Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 15:41
  • @Anoplexian - According to Pottermore a wand cost 7 galleons which equals around £35. So equates to a pen, no. Shoes, yes. McGonagall even tells Ron it needs replacing.
    – ThruGog
    Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 15:47
  • @ThruGog Considering in the second book, when Harry sees the Weasley's vault, and there's silver sickles and only a single Galleon, we can assume this isn't something they can afford. Also, unless you've grown up a privileged life, £35 is a significant amount to be spending. This is the entire reason Ron didn't get a new wand in the first place.
    – Anoplexian
    Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 15:51

1 Answer 1

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The principle seems to be that broken wands can't be repaired. It's testament to the enormous power of the Elder Wand that it can perform feats of magic that are beyond the norm.

Ron was having far worse problems. He had patched up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape, but it seemed to be damaged beyond repair - HP: CoS

and

‘No,’ whispered Ollivander. ‘I am sorry, very sorry, but a wand that has suffered this degree of damage cannot be repaired by any means that I know of.’ Harry had been braced to hear it, but it was a blow nevertheless. He took the wand halves back and replaced them in the pouch around his neck.

Ollivander stared at the place where the shattered wand had vanished, and did not look away until Harry had taken from his pocket the two wands he had brought from the Malfoys’. - HP: DH

and

He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of holly still, just, connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this did not work, nothing would.

He laid the broken wand upon the Headmaster’s desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand and said, ‘Reparo.’

As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand, and felt a sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion. - HP: DH

As Au101 pointed out in his comment above, it's theoretically possible that Dumbledore (who possessed the Elder Wand) could have repaired Ron's wand. This opens up a second round of questions; Did Dumbledore not repair the wand because he didn't want to give away that he had the Elder wand? Was there a reason Ron didn't ask Dumbledore to repair his wand?

Unfortunately, we don't know the answer to either of these.

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    I don’t think the second corollary question is that hard to give a reasonable answer to. Dumbledore was the headmaster, after all, and generally quite aloof and distant—even, mostly, to Harry, who had a far closer relationship to him than anyone else. I can just about imagine Ron plucking up the courage to ask McGonagall to try and fix his wand (and be told, “Sorry, that’s beyond what magic can repair”), but going straight to Dumbledore with it would probably not even have crossed his mind—especially not if he’d already been told by McGonagall that it can’t be done.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 21:02
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    @JanusBahsJacquet - Out of universe, I strongly suspect the answer is "because JKR hadn't come up with the whole 'Deathly Hallows / Elder Wand' nonsense yet".
    – Valorum
    Commented Feb 12, 2016 at 21:07
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    I wonder if Dumbledore even knew he could repair a wand that damaged... I mean, the Elder wand can perform great feats, but the legend focuses on feats in battle... it might not have occurred to him to try. Harry didn't know if it would work, until he tried - so without that immediate reason, a personal connection to the wand in question, the question didn't come up.
    – Megha
    Commented Feb 13, 2016 at 0:06
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    Maybe because it was made with Phoenix feather it had built in enchantment to rise from broken bits.
    – Arluin
    Commented Feb 13, 2016 at 0:21
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    @Arluin - Clever. Not in the least bit supported by the text, but undeniably clever.
    – Valorum
    Commented Feb 13, 2016 at 0:22

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