The relationship between a wizard and his wand is one of the most prominent foundations of the wizarding world found in Harry Potter series. However, the mechanics of wands can be quite confusing. While the Harry Potter The books do an incredible job of immersing the reader in their complex worldbuilding, some struggle to understand the many ways a wizard can win a wand’s loyalty. The series initially begins with a strict set of rules, but as the story progresses over the course of a decade, the laws surrounding wand lore appear to change.
According to the law of wands established by JK Rowling throughout the series, There are three ways a wizard can gain a wand’s loyalty: Buying a new wand, getting a wand from someone else, or inheriting one from a family member. Although this element of the wizarding world emerges 10 years after the start of the series, it is something that Rowling finds space to explain at the end of The Deathly Hallows – although it could have benefited from greater attention given to Harry Potter elder wand conspiracy to not feel so rushed.
The story of Harry Potter’s oldest wand depends on claiming other wizards’ wands
Deathly Hallows presents more than one way to recover a wand
The introduction of the Tale of the Three Brothers in the series’ fictional children’s book, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” also adds to the confusion readers have surrounding selecting and obtaining wands. As this is the first time readers are introduced to the idea of being given a wand in unpleasant circumstancesthere is no doubt why this happens. During a visit to Xenophilius Lovegood, Harry discovers in the Tale of the Three Brothers that a wand of extraordinary power, known as the Elder wand, can be passed from wizard to wizard through murder.
JK Rowling didn’t introduce this element of wand lore until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsand it’s clear from the start that few characters in the wizarding world actually believe these stories to be true. The fact that many witches and wizards consider this tale to be a work of fiction helps disguise Rowling’s late addition to this aspect of Harry Potter wand lore. That being said, This creates a certain contradiction with the wand laws previously established in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Deathly Hallows wand lore contradicts “The wand chooses the wizard”
Ollivander later states that a wizard can use virtually any wand
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s StoneHarry visits Diagon Alley for the first time and buys his own wand from Ollivander’s house. But during this scene, it becomes clear to the reader, and to Harry, that not all wands in the Harry Potter Franchising works the same way. Eventually, Harry finds the wand that works perfectly for him, and during Ollivander’s explanations, he mentions that it is “really the wand that chooses the wizard“. This information is the first mention of the tradition of wands throughout the series, and it was only ten years later that Rowling decided to contest this statement.
The story of the Elder Wand breaks this cardinal rule, stating that a wizard can win a wand’s loyalty through murder or other means of capture. Only when Harry speaks again to Mr. Ollivander at Shell Cottage in chapter 24 of Deathly Hallows readers get more explanations. First, Ollivander describes that wands can transfer hands, but the way they act is important.– and a lot also depends on the wand itself. However, he claims that if a wand is won fairly, its loyalty will change – and luckily, he explains, this doesn’t have to happen through murder.
Although he clarifies that any wizard can use any wand or magical object, The best results are typically found when there is a strong affinity between the wizard and the wand. This scene is critical in clarifying the inconsistencies in wand lore found in the previous books and helps explain many of the different scenarios in which wands change hands throughout the book. Harry Potter series.
The Elder Wand highlights one of the biggest complaints about the Deathly Hallows
Relics are featured much less than Horcruxes
One of readers’ biggest complaints about Deathly Hallows is that the plot surrounding the sacred ones themselves seems rushed, while Rowling spends time introducing the idea of horcruxes in many of the series’ books.. While there is some truth to this, the hints that Rowling hides throughout the story in reference to the relics are much more subtle. For example, Harry’s Invisibility Cloak is always described as being much stronger than other Invisibility Cloaks in the wizarding world – Rowling’s delicate nod to its unique nature.
…Readers may have understood the relics vs horcruxes plot better if Rowling alluded to their existence a little earlier in the series.
Although there are some clues to the relics in the previous books, readers may have understood the relics vs horcruxes plot better if Rowling alluded to their existence a little earlier in the series. However, in Deathly HallowsHarry learns of Dumbledore’s plans, and later comes to the conclusion that Dumbledore didn’t want Harry to go after the hallows because of horcruxes. This would help explain why Rowling also kept the existence of the relics hidden from readers, as Harry needed to discover Dumbledore’s secrets for himself.
There is a possible explanation for this inconsistency in Harry Potter wand lore
Ollivander doesn’t know as much as we thought
Harry’s second interaction with Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows reveals many more details about wand lore than ever before in the series. But through their conversation, it becomes evident that Ollivander and many others who have studied wandlore can only guess at the more complex workings of some of the laws– claiming that there are very subtle laws governing wand ownership. The lack of information surrounding much of wand lore in the wizarding world could help explain the peculiar scenarios concerning many Harry Potter characters’ wands.
“You ask profound questions, Mr. Potter. Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic.”
When Voldemort tries to overcome the connection between the twin cores of his wands, Ollivander can only guess that he should try a different wand to get around it. However, Harry’s wand acts on its own and breaks the other wand in two. This fact remains a mystery even to Ollivander, someone who has studied wandlore for most of his life. The obscurity of the wand’s magical dynamics is a smart choice by Rowlingas it helps to camouflage the most mysterious circumstances found throughout the Harry Potter series.