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In the final battle, after all the Horcruxes are destroyed and there is just Harry and Voldemort, the reason why both curses (Avanda Kadavra and Expeliarmus) are inflicted on Voldemort (he is disarmed and hit with the killing curse as well) is the Elder Wand?

Because the wand recognizes Harry as his master and cannot attack him? If that's the case then why didn't Dumbledore make sure to provide the wand to Harry to help him beat Voldemort?

If Dumbledore's plan had worked and he (Dumbledore) was the last master of the wand then how did Dumbledore think Harry would win a duel against Voldemort? Did he have a plan? Because based on magical ability Voldemort is superior.

Harry came back from death when his mother's protection which was in Voldemort's blood too, prevented him from dying by Voldemort's killing's curse. But then at the final duel there is no protections anymore—presumably.

So if Harry wins because of the Elder Wand only, then Dumbledore didn't have a plan besides destroying the Horcruxes for Harry? He would be left with no help in the final duel?

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    Well, the worst case scenario is that Harry dies and Voldemort is left utterly vulnerable to the next contender.
    – Valorum
    Jun 4, 2016 at 19:08
  • @Valorum Indeed. But that can't be Dumbledore's plan. I think he believed that Voldemort would/should/could only die at the hands of Harry.
    – System
    Jun 4, 2016 at 19:10
  • I don't have any reference to base myself on, but I'm pretty sure that the loss of 7/8 part of one's soul isn't great to prepare for a duel. Jun 4, 2016 at 19:25
  • You're asking a lot of questions in this post, but I've done my best to answer the main one.
    – Adamant
    Jun 4, 2016 at 19:26

2 Answers 2

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No

It is true that the reason Voldemort's spell rebounded was because the Elder Wand would not harm Harry:

“So it all comes down to this, doesn’t it?” whispered Harry. “Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does . . . I am the true master of the Elder Wand.”

A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time, so that Voldemort’s was suddenly a flaming blur. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he too yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand:

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Expelliarmus!”

The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort’s green jet meet his own spell, saw the Elder Wand fly high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini, spinning through the air toward the master it would not kill, who had come to take full possession of it at last.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

However, Harry had an additional layer of protection: that gained from the presence of Lily Potter's enchantment in Voldemort's blood:

“Precisely!” said Dumbledore. “He took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lily’s protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he lives!”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows


"He took into his body a tiny part of the enchantment your mother laid upon you when she died for you. His body keeps her sacrifice alive, and while that enchantment survives, so do you and so does Voldemort’s one last hope for himself."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

There isn't any reason to think, based on what Dumbledore told Harry, that this protection no longer exists. Lily's protection, in Harry's blood, still flows through Voldemort's body. Notably, Dumbledore is speaking in the present tense, even after Harry has already confronted Voldemort and been "killed."

As such, Voldemort could not have killed Harry, even were he not the master of the Elder Wand. Of course, he could still easily have beaten Harry in a duel, but Harry certainly had a big advantage.

Beside, Dumbledore understood that Harry's capacity to love gave him a great advantage in the fight against Voldemort, despite Voldemort's apparent greater skill.

"It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort even without his Horcruxes."

"But I haven't got uncommon skill and power," said Harry, before he could stop himself.

"Yes, you have," said Dumbledore firmly. "You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can —"

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In fact, it did this rather concretely: through his sacrifice, Harry protected his allies from Voldemort's spells. Voldemort would have been hard-pressed to defeat the defenders of Hogwarts if he couldn't even kill them!

“—I meant to, and that’s what it did. I’ve done what my mother did. They’re protected from you. Haven’t you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can’t torture them. You can’t touch them. You don’t learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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  • Thank you for you answer! I have 1 question based on it. You said: "Of course, he could still easily have beaten Harry in a duel, but Harry certainly had a big advantage." meaning he could win using any other spell except a killing curse?
    – System
    Jun 4, 2016 at 19:51
  • @System - He could have used other spells. He still wouldn't have been able to kill Harry, but he could have subdued him.
    – Adamant
    Jun 4, 2016 at 23:55
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Numbering is based on question marks.

  1. The Elder Wand was the deciding factor in why Harry Potter survived the last battle - Voldemort had neutralized Harry's sacrificial protection when resurrecting from his blood, and could at least touch him without any problems. He had not tried to kill Harry since then though, so it is uncertain what exactly would have happened if Voldemort had had control of his wand.

  2. Yes.

  3. Dumbledore didn't want the wand to work anymore - he intended for Snape to kill him that way because it would have neutralized the power of the elder wand, since he'd have died without ever being defeated, so giving the now useless want to Harry would not have helped him at all, but risked the integrity of Snape's cover.

  4. a) the possible remnants of Lilys sacrificial protection
    b) the sacrificial protection Harry provided for Hogwarts
    c) the element of surprise - Dumbledore would not expect Voldie to expect Harry would survive d) his friends e) the prophecy f) owning all remaining deathly hallows - a popular (very plausible) theory states that harry could only resurrect himself in the forest because he was the master of all 3 deathly hallows (http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-09-15/this-harry-potter-fan-theory-will-totally-change-the-way-you-see-the-battle-of-hogwarts/)

  5. see above

  6. The sacrificial protection seems to work like a light side horcrux in this case: as long as voldi was alive, harry couldn't die. This means voldie couldn't possibly win without any horcruxes remaining.
    If the deathly hallow theory was true, then harry would have been the master of cloak and stone, and thus able to return to life at will.

  7. see above

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