prillalar | Foolish wand waving.

Foolish wand waving.

This week's hp100 challenge is about wands. Whilst trying to think up an idea (still don't have a good one), I got thinking about wands and some discussions I've had about them in the past.

What exactly does a wand do? It seems to both amplify and direct magical force. We've seen people do magic without wands -- Harry freeing the snake, blowing up Aunt Marge, etc. Dumbledore seems to do a fair amount of wandless magic. When Ron's wand is broken and taped back together, it seems to direct the magical energy in unpredictable ways. (Interestingly, Hagrid's broken wand, concealed inside his umbrella, seems to work just fine.)

They say that the wand chooses the wizard, but I sometimes wonder if that's just Ollivander's sales gimmick. We've seen a few instances of people doing magic with a wand that's not their own: Ron's first wand is a hand-me-down from Charlie (and why would Charlie get a new wand?), Barty Jr uses Harry's wand to conjure the Dark Mark in GoF, in CoS Lockhart uses Ron's wand to cast Obliviate and expects it to work without mishap. Neville improves drastically in his DADA spellcasting even though he's using his father's wand. When Ron gets his new wand (fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair) I don't see that his magical ability improves at all as a result.

Here's my theory: wizards could do as or nearly as powerful magic without wands, but it would take more training to channel and direct the magic. Because they are taught to work with wands, they are nearly helpless without them. It's a method of control of wizards, devised long long ago.

But then again -- from GoF: So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand. House elves seem to be able to do quite powerful magic without wands -- would the amplification powers of wands make the elves far too powerful? As well, in the same scene, they note that the Dark Mark can only be conjured with a wand.

I suppose, though, if wizards have been using wands for thousands of years, all new spell development uses wands.

Some other random points:

* I only just noticed that when Harry waves his wand in Ollivander's, it shoot out sparks in red and gold -- Gryffindor colours. That's kind of disturbing, actually. Co-incidence? Prophecy?

* How did Voldemort get his wand back?

* Harry's wand is eleven inches long (Ron's is fourteen -- fourteen!) yet he seems to carry it in the back pocket of his jeans. Wouldn't it jab him in the back all the time? In PoA, he tucks it inside his t-shirt for a Quidditch game. Again, it seems rather tricky to pull off.

* Everybody's wand is unique and people seem to be able to easily recognize their own and other's wands. In PoA, [Lupin] separated Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner. Yet, Fred and George can make fake wands that fool people. That could be some sort of all-purpose illusion, though.

* Does Sirius have a wand in GoF or OotP? (I'm out of time before work to check.) ETA: of course Sirius has a wand in OotP. D'oh. But I wonder if it's his original wand or if they got him a new one.

Hmm, all that and still no drabble idea.

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Harry's wand is eleven inches long (Ron's is fourteen -- fourteen!) yet he seems to carry it in the back pocket of his jeans. Wouldn't it jab him in the back all the time? In PoA, he tucks it inside his t-shirt for a Quidditch game. Again, it seems rather tricky to pull off.

Clearly they've been having some conversations with Immortals. I mean, at least it's not a katana, right?

::sticks ruler down shirt::

Harry could pull it off. He's skinny, and he doesn't have breasts.

(Ron's is fourteen -- fourteen!)

Well, she did say Ron got taller faster. He's probably...er...in proportion. Wink wink.

Crap. Now I have to read some Ron smutfic. Damn you, Hal.

No good can come of wand posts, I tell you. No good!

Sirius does not have one in GoF. He does in OotP. This is a fascinating post, will come back when I have more time and expand on it...

and why would Charlie get a new wand?

IMO, no good reason other than so Ron can have yet another hand-me-down. I suppose a more generous answer would be that as young wizards go through their teens, sometimes they change enough to need a different type of wand.

Harry's wand is eleven inches long (Ron's is fourteen -- fourteen!) yet he seems to carry it in the back pocket of his jeans. Wouldn't it jab him in the back all the time? In PoA, he tucks it inside his t-shirt for a Quidditch game. Again, it seems rather tricky to pull off.

Yeah, those robes need wand pockets, as I have probably said before. I have no idea what wizards should do with their wands while wearing Muggle clothing, but I agree that the main problem with Harry using his back pocket isn't that he'll burn his butt off (or whatever Moody said.)

And wouldn't Harry's t-shirt have to be *really* tight to keep his wand from moving around or slipping out the bottom of his shirt?

And wouldn't Harry's t-shirt have to be *really* tight to keep his wand from moving around or slipping out the bottom of his shirt?

Maybe he uses a sticking charm? Or the end rests in the waist of his jeans? Which strikes me as far more worrisome than having it stuck in the *back* pocket... *g*

no good reason other than so Ron can have yet another hand-me-down. I suppose a more generous answer would be that as young wizards go through their teens, sometimes they change enough to need a different type of wand.

I may be conflating fic with canon, but doesn't it say somewhere about Harry getting his "first" wand?

I think it makes total sense that one's personality/needs at 11 are not the same as at 21, or 37 or 63. So it's possible that many wizards outgrow their wands and need to buy new ones. Otherwise, how is Ollivander staying in business?

Let's say each new Hogwarts class is between 70 and 120 kids. Even if you factor in foreign business wanting English-made wands, and people who don't go to Hogwarts (are there many wizards/witches in the UK who don't?), that doesn't strike me as enough business to keep a shop open all year round, for 2300 years.

Hagrid's wand doesn't actually work perfectly . . . Or he would have turned Dudley all the way into a pig.

Part of it is that Ron only gets leftovers and handmedowns, I'm sure.

But that wand was in *bad* shape when Ron got it. Maybe Charlie's line of work is hard on wands for some reason. The wand itself was still usable, but not ideal anymore for dragon work - and now Charlie can afford to buy his own wand.

And I think Ollivander said something about, "I remember when your parents got their first wands." So, maybe it's not unknown to change wands later in life.

No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand.

How are werewolves classified again? I'll have to check FB when I get home.

I think Remus would have had to investigate wandless magic, just because the atmostphere in OotP is such that it seems like at any point, he's going to be hauled off and locked up and not just for one night am month.

* How did Voldemort get his wand back?

I'm guessing Peter took it and hid it for him before going underground. Which means Peter was at some point at Godric's Hollow that night. Huh. There's fic in that.

Because it seems to me that if they're going to break Harry's wand for underage use of magic, then they'd be snapping Voldie's posthaste, so it couldn't have been stolen from Evidence Control, the way Muggle evidence could be from Muggle police. (this is also why I think Sirius's wand in OotP is new - his old one was most likely snapped when he was arrested. Alternately, it's an old Black family wand.)

I think it makes total sense that one's personality/needs at 11 are not the same as at 21, or 37 or 63. So it's possible that many wizards outgrow their wands and need to buy new ones. Otherwise, how is Ollivander staying in business?

Good point! Though it still seems mean to send Ron off to school with a hand-me-down wand, when selecting - or being selected by - his wand is such a big deal for Harry.

Wouldn't that mean that Ollivander knows Tom Riddle is Voldemort then?

I've wondered about this. Because if it was fairly common knowledge that Riddle was Voldy, then why would Hagrid still have the original chamber of secrets blot on his record and why would he have had to go back to Azkaban when the chamber was opened again?

Plot hole?

Wouldn't that mean that Ollivander knows Tom Riddle is Voldemort then?

I think Ollivander knows way more than he's telling, personally.

Because if it was fairly common knowledge that Riddle was Voldy, then why would Hagrid still have the original chamber of secrets blot on his record and why would he have had to go back to Azkaban when the chamber was opened again?

I doubt the Ministry hacks know, though you'd think Dumbledore would have informed them at some point.

Or there's not been a correlation between The Heir of Slytherin and Voldemort? Because Tom Riddle is a "half-breed" and Salazar Slytherin was all about purebloodedness?

Though it still seems mean to send Ron off to school with a hand-me-down wand, when selecting - or being selected by - his wand is such a big deal for Harry.

Depends how bad off they were financially at the time, or maybe Charlie is Ron's favorite older brother, so he was happy to have his wand?

you'd think Dumbledore would have informed them at some point.

You'd think, particularly considering his fondness for - and faith in - Hagrid. Pending further evidence, I vote plot hole.

Slytherin's attitude was all about the purity, but that doesn't mean his progeny didn't at some point give birth to squibs (oh the horror). Probably punted them out of the family tree to live like Muggles, hence the eventual return of magic to the bloodline in Riddle.

Still, I'm really really interested in how Ollivander knows about Voldemort's wand. Maybe he sold The Dark Lord a new one once he took the new name? Maybe he's the (then-)Switzerland of the magic community and sells to everyone.

You'd think, particularly considering his fondness for - and faith in - Hagrid.

Call me cynical, but after OotP, I've begun to wonder about Dumbledore's fondness, and started thinking maybe it's just that Hagrid is a useful contact to have - gives AD an emissary to the giants, after all. Much like I think he keeps Snape around not because of the kindness of his heart, but because Snape is useful. Same with Remus.

That's not to say Dumbledore isn't fond of Hagrid. Just that I suspect his motives are not all that pure.

I'm really really interested in how Ollivander knows about Voldemort's wand. Maybe he sold The Dark Lord a new one once he took the new name? Maybe he's the (then-)Switzerland of the magic community and sells to everyone.

That's my guess.

Wouldn't that mean that Ollivander knows Tom Riddle is Voldemort then?

Yes. I suspect Ollivander maintains some sort of magical connection to all of his wands.

As for common knowledge:

I'm not sure it is, because Bellatrix seemed shocked that Voldemort was a half-blood.

Dumbledore surely had his reasons for keeping it a secret.

This is amazing commentary. And it touches on many points that I have personally wondered about as I've read JK's books. I, too, have come to the conclusion that the wand must be a channeling device, a means to an end, but not the only means. It's probably just easier for these young, aspiring wizards who are only learning how their own bodies work to learn basic spell casting with concrete tools vs. having to channel their magic through meditation, focus. Like you said, I would like to think that, with time, they will learn more efficient, self-defensive ways of casting the same spells.

Or there's not been a correlation between The Heir of Slytherin and Voldemort? Because Tom Riddle is a "half-breed" and Salazar Slytherin was all about purebloodedness?

I absolutely agree with you and have had colorful conversation with my husband about this point. It's amazingly interesting that Riddle/Voldemort could be overlooked since he was a half-breed and, at the sametime, never be considered one b/c he is so bent on destroying them. It's quite clever, dark and psychologically deep.

Because it seems to me that if they're going to break Harry's wand for underage use of magic, then they'd be snapping Voldie's posthaste, so it couldn't have been stolen from Evidence Control, the way Muggle evidence could be from Muggle police. (this is also why I think Sirius's wand in OotP is new - his old one was most likely snapped when he was arrested. Alternately, it's an old Black family wand.)

Meanwhile, I'm thinking now that Sirius's wand in OotP had to have been his old one, since if they'd caught Sirius with the wand on him, surely the Aurors would have performed priori incantatem to see what spells he'd been casting directly before being captured.

Good point, and one I'm totally willing to concede.

Unless in their excitement, they snapped it immediately at the scene.

Given that he's tossed into Azkaban with no trial and no attempt at discerning the truth (that we know of), it wouldn't surprise me if Crouch and/or Fudge was overzealous and didn't bother with priori incantatem before snapping that sucker in half. After all, they had so many witnesses who know what they saw.

I'd really like to know what "without a trial" meant - if he was stunned and questioned in a drugged/stunned state, or if he was sent almost directly to Azkaban, or what.

Because honestly, nobody said, hey, give the guy some Veritaserum* and let's see what really happened? Or use a Pensieve? I find that exceptionally dubious and if that *did* happen, I don't understand how *no one* disputed it. And by "no one" I mean Dumbledore or Remus**. God only knows, but Mrs. Black was probably finally *proud* of her baby boy that day.

*If Veritaserum is not, in fact, a newer invention and therefore unavailable in 1981. However, given that truth sera have been available to Muggles for decades, I can't imagine it wasn't in use twenty years ago.

**Though I tend to be more lenient with Remus for two reasons - 1. while it wasn't, apparently public knowledge that he was a werewolf, I'm guessing the Aurors etc. have access to the Werewolf Registry, so anything he said or did would be discounted and 2. he was the defendant's closest living friend (or, lover), and therefore either in on it himself (they can't prove anything, but he's myseriously still alive and kicking when the Potters and Pettigrew are dead) or so upset that he can't be thinking straight and therefore not to be listened to. Or a combination of the two.

*nod*

It's a nice bit of characterization on Riddle/Voldemort, which is great since JKR paints him mostly as a cartoon villain bent on world domination, genocide and immortality, rather than a wily wizard who could so slickly recruit so many apparently otherwise intelligent, powerful people to his side. Is it simply that prejudice against Muggles and the Muggle-born is so deep? Or is it that coupled with the idea of immortality? And was he going to offer the immortality to his followers if he discovered it?

Yet he just seems like a standard cackling madman most of the time, and his followers (with the exception of Lucius and Bellatrix and possibly Crouch Jr.) little better.

I'm guessing Peter took it and hid it for him before going underground.

That was my first thought too, since the Animagus transformation doesn't require a wand. But if you have a wand on you when you transform, maybe the wand transforms with you, as your clothes apparently do. Otherwise you'd have to put your wand aside before transforming, which seems risky. So Peter may have had that wand the entire time.

Oh good gods, I love your icon so.

Heh, thanks!

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Foolish wand waving.

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Ron's Wand

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