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Self-awareness
Well, first, we must admit the possibility that the wand did choose Umbridge because of her height. Though uncommon, this does happen, presumably for the same reasons as truly long wands (ease of use).
That said, Umbridge's character is certainly very deficient. She lacks basic kindness, and she indeed has poor taste, as evidenced by her ...
70
But the wand was perfectly intact when Ron had it (before the Whomping Willow incident anyway). And as far as I can tell, there was nothing else deficient about the wand.
I wouldn’t quite agree with that.
The very first time we actually see the wand (not when Ron describes it, but a bit later on the same train ride when he tries to turn Scabbers yellow), ...
67
Being more powerful does not make you more skilful. If the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald was strictly about wand versus wand then you would be correct in that Grindelwald should have won. But the duel was also man versus man, and Dumbledore was more skilled, as he says in Deathly Hallows (Chapter 35):
I knew that we were evenly matched, perhaps ...
58
Defeat isn't limited to death. Harry won it from Draco just by overpowering him and taking his other wand. Death is only part of the wand's history. It's not necessary.
So Voldemort, on killing Gregorovitch, never won the wand as Gregorovitch was no longer the owner. We can twist some words to say that 'stealing' a wand is nearly the same as 'defeat', as, ...
56
The wand disarming rule only applies so ruthlessly in the case of the Elder Wand, which only shows up in the final book.
Wands choose their owner, and most wands seem to stay loyal to their original owners. The Elder Wand is an exception to the rule and chooses the stronger witch/wizard, hence switching owners when its previous owner was defeated.
Edit, ...
47
J.K. Rowling has answered your first question:
Stephanie: If the wand chooses the wizard, then why do wands work when passed down from father to son, e.g. Neville had his father's wand
J.K. Rowling: As established by Ollivander, a wizard can use almost any wand, it is simply that a wand that chooses him/her will work best. Where there is a family ...
46
The Elder Wand is unique in how fickle it is. There are countless times that we see witches and wizards in the books "defeated" by others, and they don't have any trouble using their wands later on (or in some cases, any more trouble than they already had [Neville, after Hermione's Full Body-Bind in SS]). Lockhart and Snape duel each other, and the kids in ...
46
Broken wands can be used to perform magic
Hagrid's wand was snapped by the Ministry of Magic. Yet, that didn't stop him from giving Dudley a pig's tail.
Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, “NEVER —” he
thundered, “— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!” He
brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point ...
45
This is a complicated topic.
What is not made clear in canon, but is explained later by J.K. Rowling, is the fact that
if a wizard or witch defeats another and earns the allegiance of their opponent's wand, all wands under the control of the opponent switch allegiance to the victor and it is possible for a witch or wizard to be the master of more than ...
43
If anyone'd have gotten a wand early, it would surely have been Draco "The rules don't apply here" Malfoy.
Yet, he got his wand before going to Hogwarts, or at least that's what Philosopher's Stone implies:
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street
looking at wands," ...
42
Well, you are making the same mistake Voldemort made. The ownership of the Elder Wand doesn't change by murdering only.
Grindelwald stole it from Gregorovitch, which is enough to consider the wand won.
Gregorovitch must have stolen it as well, since there's no reason to think he was a murder or exceptional at dueling (he was only a wandmaker, an artisan).
...
42
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.
There are several ways she could have ...
42
That effect only happens with twin core wands forced to duel.
Fawkes himself, as a living phoenix, would be inherently different than either the Dark Lord’s or Harry’s wand with one of Fawkes’s feathers. The twin-core effect seems to only come into play when two wizards with wands with a core from the exact same source use those wands against each other. It ...
39
A thestral tail hair.
From J.K. Rowling’s website:
I decided that the core of the Elder Wand is the tail hair of a Thestral; a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death.
This is backed up by a comment in an interview:
MA: Speaking of the Elder Wand...
JKR: Yeah?
MA: Can we talk ...
38
In Weighing of the Wands, Ollivander quite clearly takes Fleur's wand into his hand, and then inspects it.
Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr Ollivander, and handed
him her wand.
‘Hmmm ...’ he said.
He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton
and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held
it close to his eyes and ...
38
We know the cost of Harry's wand.
He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand and Mr Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
Pottermore
37
According to Dumbledore's own notes in The Tales of Beedle The Bard, most wands are buried "or burned" with their owners (page 102 UK version).
The general practice of burying (or burning) the wand
with its owner, once he or she has died, also tends
to prevent any individual wand learning from too
many masters.
They must be resistant to the fire ...
36
No, you've misunderstood the quote.
JKR isn't saying that the result would be violent because violence is what lies inside a Muggle (though it does sound like something the Malfoys might come up with) but that the result of a Muggle using a wand would be uncontrolled because the Muggle lacks the ability to control magic - that's the power that lies inside a ...
35
Both
Wands work by channeling magic. When the wand is broken, it ceases to be an effective channel.
When Harry's wand breaks in Deathly Hallows, it becomes more or less unusable until the Elder Wand repairs it.
The holly and phoenix wand was nearly severed in two. One fragile strand of phoenix feather kept both pieces hanging together. The wood had ...
34
Fortunately for the sake of a reasonable answer, Ollivanders limits himself greatly as to which wands he will actually make. From Pottermore, articles on Wandlore:
Every single wand is unique and will depend for its character on the
particular tree and magical creature from which it derives its
materials. Moreover, each wand, from the moment it finds ...
34
Pottermore has a bit more information about wandlore specifically relating to the creation of wands in elder wood.
According to Ollivander himself, wandmakers tend to avoid it because;
It's difficult to work with.
It's perceived to be unlucky (which means they're difficult to sell).
The wands are notoriously disloyal.
Only the most exceptional wizards ...
33
There are two factors that led to Voldemort's defeat. One is, as you've noted, his failure to master the Elder Wand. But the other is the failure of all of his spells after he cast Avada Kedavra on Harry.
Because Harry died to save his friends, he and they received the same kind of magical protection that Harry bore after his mother died to save him. The ...
33
In the book the 'wand choosing' is simply accompanied by a lack of action until he finds the correct wand.
Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.
‘Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try –’
Harry tried – but he had hardly raised the wand when it,...
32
No.
The magic comes from the wizard, not the wand.
As Ollivander says:
Oh yes, if you are any wizard at all you will be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Chapter 24, The Wandmaker - Page 402 - Bloomsbury
So unless the wizard runs out of power, which I very highly doubt, no.
A wand can ...
31
I don't think there are any definite answers. I've drawn together what canon information I can find, and added my own speculation.
When?
Probably in the BC era, but it's not clear exactly when. The original wand probably bears little resemblance to the modern device, but the key aspects would be the same.
Ollivander’s
In Philosopher's Stone, when Harry ...
31
When a witch or wizard first buys their first wand, they have no real experience with their magic. They do not know how to use their magical ability, nor do they know how to use the wand as a focus for it.
When they find a well-matched wand, it accepts their magic easier than a wand that is a poor match. It feels like a part of them because it almost is - ...
30
Yes, a muggle can do something with a wand.
According to the brand new "History of American Magic" writings on Pottermore, a muggle (from a family described as being descended from wizards, but possessing no magic) was able to use a wand in a semi-controlled fashion
Bartholomew had disseminated his leaflets widely, and a few newspapers
had taken him ...
29
The laws of wand allegiance are not universal and depend on the type of wand:
The Elder Wand (Threstal hair core) is extremely fickle and responds readily to power, with zero loyalty to its previous owner. The allegiance of this wand is won very easily using brute force, but never peacefully (For instance, Snape killing Dumbledore with Dumbledore's consent ...
29
Well, I will go back to the quote I mentioned in response to your comment in my post on Harry giving Draco his wand back:
[...] Of course the manner of taking [the wand] matters. Much also depends on the wand itself. In general, however, where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change."
"[...] You talk about wands like they've got feelings," ...
29
Since we are dealing with magic, the tape measure may have been gathering something more than physical measurements.
Many wandmakers simply match the wand length to the size of the witch or wizard who will use it, but this is a crude measure, and fails to take into account many other, important considerations. In my experience, longer wands might suit ...
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