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A spin off of Do people normally own more than one wand in Harry Potter? wherein it's asked whether there are any canon examples of a witch or wizard owning more than one wand for practical reasons. As DVK's question doesn't specify regarding The wand chooses the wizard, I'm going to ask about that particular aspect.

Can a witch or wizard be chosen by more than one wand?

We've seen numerous examples in Harry Potter of individuals using wands that belong(ed) to someone else, or had a new wand made for them with Ollivander1 being under duress (Wormtail), but are there any examples in canon where a person is chosen by more than one wand?

Is a child's first purchase from Ollivander's the one and only time they can be "chosen" by a wand? Or, should they break their wand, want a second wand, or lose their wand, and need a replacement, would they be able to be chosen a second time by a totally new wand?

For reference if interested: Wands; Wand Woods; Wand Lengths and Flexibility; Wand Cores 01; Wand Cores 02 [Pottermore/Flickr] ETA: Ollivander 01 and Ollivander 02

1: I know there are other wandmakers in HP, but I am using Ollivander as my example because he is the best known in the series.

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    Hmm.. Makes me wonder about Ron.. He got a replacement, after CoS...
    – K-H-W
    Oct 6, 2012 at 19:56
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    @KeithHWeston - Yes, and so did Neville after the battle at the Department of Mysteries. :)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 7, 2012 at 15:26
  • I have nothing canon to back it up, but I always had the impression that Wands, in their creation, developed not a rudimentary consciousness, but kind of a personality. The process of a wand choosing a wizard seemed to me to be a wand identifying a kindred spirit; someone with whom it resonated in some way. So many wands could choose the same person, but it would be the degree of that harmony that determined the suitability of the fit. Look at Harry's choosing... Limited responses.. no response.. Then a strong response and stop. So the Deathstick just has an affinity for battle/dominance.
    – K-H-W
    Oct 20, 2012 at 20:15
  • “but I am using Ollivander as my example because he is the best in the magical world.” Fixed that for you. ;)
    – alexwlchan
    Apr 26, 2014 at 17:29

4 Answers 4

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In Philosopher's Stone chapter 6, Ron says

‘[…] You never get anything new either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat.

I presume that if Ron's got Charlie's old wand, then Charlie has bought himself a new wand. This means that Charlie was chosen by two wands during his life, otherwise he would not give his old wand to Ron. There's of course a way around this if Charlie has inherited his first wand from a dead relative and used that for about a decade now, but that doesn't sound too likely.

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    I agree it doesn't at all seem likely that Charlie would give his wand to Ron, only to pick up a used or inherited wand as a replacement. I think Charlie got a brand new wand. After all, he's a dragon keeper and dragons are really powerful magical beasts. I would think Charlie would want to work with the highest quality equipment as possible. +1 :)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 20, 2012 at 20:10
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    Slytherincess: I guess I was unclear, I meant maybe Charlie's first wand was a used one because the family is poor and he didn't have an income as a child. I'll edit my answer.
    – b_jonas
    Oct 20, 2012 at 22:11
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    No, I understood what you were saying. I was talking about Charlie's second wand likely being new (my opinion -- no canon evidence of this) because he could afford a new one in his job as a dragon keeper. I would definitely agree that Charlie's first wand (which subsequently became Ron's first wand) could have certainly been secondhand or inherited at the time he first came to possess it. :)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 20, 2012 at 22:47
  • I think the way around sounds much more likely.
    – TGar
    Jan 3, 2019 at 23:51
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OK, at the risk of sounding naive, wasn't Harry an example?

His own holly and phoenix feather wand chose him in PS.

And Deathstick chose to give him allegiance in DH:

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.

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    Though the Elder Wand was a bit of an exception in other ways, I wouldn't call this absolute proof for everyone.
    – Kevin
    Oct 6, 2012 at 19:59
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    I think "who had come to take" demonstrates that Harry took possession of the Elder Wand, not that the Elder Wand gave its allegiance. From TBTB: Believers in the Elder Wand, however, hold that because of the way in which it has always passed allegiance between owners – the next master overcoming the first, usually by killing him [...] (Page 103 Bloomsbury The Tale of the Three Brothers) It seems Harry took possession of the Elder Wand. Did it choose Harry? :)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 7, 2012 at 15:21
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    Oh, and I think that the Elder Wand is a bit different than other "regular" wands that actually choose whether or not to switch allegiance, such as Draco's blackthorn wand or Bellatrix's walnut wand, after Harry wrestled them away from Draco in Deathly Hallows. Also, I note that what I wrote above is attributed to believers in the Elder Wand. :)
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 7, 2012 at 15:28
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    Malfoy's wand would be a better example - not because it did (which we don't actually know, AFAIR), but because Ollivander was the one who suggested it in the first place.
    – Izkata
    Oct 20, 2012 at 0:26
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There's no canon answer, but I would say yes. If you think about it, everyone seems to be chosen by a wand in the Potter universe.

It follows logic (and canon) to say that there are several wandmakers and several wand shops around the world, and characters seem to find their wand precisely in the shop they go to. It doesn't strike me as very realistic to think about some wizard having to journey halfway around the world as a kid to get the only wand that will choose him, so probably several wands could feel an affinity towards a certain wizard.

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    I think you're definitely right that there would have to be multiple wands that might feel an affinity for a child. Apparently, though, it's not uncommon for foreigners to travel to the UK specifically to get a wand from Ollivander SOURCE - Pottermore. I just thought that was interesting. Thanks! +1
    – Slytherincess
    Oct 20, 2012 at 20:02
  • "Doesn't strike you as very realistic" — that's because you haven't studied Arithmancy. :) Just like Muggles who haven't studied probability are incredulous about the Monty Hall problem.
    – Wildcard
    Aug 8, 2017 at 18:38
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Harry Potter was chosen by his Phoenix feather wand and the Elder wand. But even if the Elder wand is an exception, its choosing Harry was dependent upon Draco's wand ALSO choosing Harry.

When Harry wrestles Draco’s “everyday” wand out of his hand at the Malfoy’s mansion, he conquers Draco, and therefore the Elder Wand — hidden in Dumbledore’s tomb at the time — transfers its allegiance to Harry.

Rowling said her American editor suggested the moment when Harry conquers Draco should be more dramatic.

“But, no, I really wanted, very consciously, for the history of the wizarding world to hinge on this moment where two teenage boys have a physical [fight]. They don’t even do it by magic,” Rowling said.

Full article here.

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