"Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic."
-- Mr. Ollivander (DH24)
"Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's."
-- Hermione Granger (DH21)
Most human magic is done using a wand. The wand serves as a tool to focus and control the magical energy of the spell. It is possible to cast spells without using a wand, but for most wizards results are unfocused (CR). House-elves and goblins are not permitted to carry wands, which is a matter of some resentment, especially for the goblins (GF9, DH24).
Wands are created from wood with some magical substance at its heart. Wands are classified by means of four characteristics: length, type of wood, quality of motion when waved, and type of magical ingredient. In Britain, the most well-known wandmaker is Mr. Ollivander (PS5, GF18). His shop, Ollivander’s (Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.) is located in Diagon Alley. Another European wandmaker is Gregorovitch (GF18). When a wand is damaged or broken, its effects can be unpredictable, even if patched together with Spellotape (CS, esp.CS16). If the damage was magically-caused, the it may be irreparable (DH18, DH24).
Although there is no specific rule about which kind of wood a person’s wand should be, some wands are particularly well suited to their owners. Wands tend to have loyalty to their legitimate owners, and may be difficult for another person using it.
some wands and their characteristics
Fleur Delacour: rosewood, 9 1/2 “, inflexible, veela hair (GF18)
The hair in Fleur’s wand was from her grandmother, who was a veela.
Cedric Diggory: pleasantly springy, 12 1/4″, single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn
Albus Dumbledore: the Elder Wand: Elder with thestral hair core
Hermione Granger: vine wood, dragon heartstring
Gellert Grindelwald: the Elder Wand: Elder with thestral hair core
Rubeus Hagrid: oak, 16″, rather bendy
Viktor Krum: hornbeam, 10 1/4″, quite rigid, dragon heartstring
Krum’s wand was made by Gregorovitch, not Mr. Ollivander.
Bellatrix Lestrange: walnut, 12 3/4″, unyielding, dragon heartstring
Taken from her by Ron Weasley at Malfoy Manor, who Disarmed her using Wormtail’s wand. Since Mr. Ollivander identified it so precisely, it seems likely that he originally made the wand (DH23, DH24). How she retained her wand after being convicted of being a Death Eater and sent to Azkaban is not known.
Neville Longbottom’s wands:
first one (obtained prior to September 1991, broken June 1996)
new one (July 1996) cherry, unicorn tail hair
Neville’s original wand was his father’s old wand and meant a great deal to his grandmother, Augusta (his father’s mother). This wand was broken by Antonin Dolohov during the battle of the Department of Mysteries in June 1996.
Draco Malfoy: hawthorn, 10″, reasonably springy, unicorn tail hair
Taken from him by Harry Potter in a physical fight (DH23, DH24).
Lucius Malfoy: elm, dragon heartstring
Taken from him by Voldemort (DH1).
Narcissa Malfoy:
Taken from her by Dobby at Malfoy Manor shortly before the latter’s death (DH23).
Garrick Ollivander: Hornbeam and dragon heartstring, twelve and three-quarter inches, slightly bendy (Pm)
Peter Pettigrew: chestnut, 9 1/4″, brittle, dragon heartstring
Made for him by Mr. Ollivander (who was forced to do so) and in the end taken from him by Ron Weasley by brute force rather than by magic (DH23, DH24).
Harry Potter: holly, 11″, supple, single phoenix tail feather (from Fawkes)
James Potter: mahogany, 11″, pliable (excellent for transfiguration)
Lily Potter: willow, 10 1/4″, swishy (nice wand for charm work, according to Mr. Ollivander) (PS5)
Tom Marvolo Riddle (Voldemort): yew, 13 1/2”, single phoenix tail feather (from Fawkes)
Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands are “brothers” because they have cores of not only the same substance but from exactly the same source. When they are forced to fight each other, the Priori Incantatem effect is produced. Yew trees are known for their long lives. They symbolize death, but also resurrection. (JKR)
Dolores Umbridge: birch and dragon heartstring, 8″ long
“unusually short”
Ron Weasley’s wands:
first one (obtained August 1991, broken 1st September 1992): ash
new one (31st August, 1993): willow, 14″, unicorn tail hair (PA3)
Ron’s original wand was a hand-me-down from his older brother Charlie. It was made of ash. This wand broke when the flying Ford Anglia crashed into the Whomping Willow on the 1st of September, 1992.
Salazar Slytherin: The core was a fragment of basilisk horn. It was passed down through his descendents to Gormlaith Gaunt, then stolen by Isolt Sayre. After being rendered useless in the attack on Ilvermorny, it was buried and produced a snakewood tree (Pm).
Wand cores
Garrick Ollivander uses only three types of material for wand cores; he refers to these as the Supreme Cores in his notes about wands. They are unicorn hair, dragon heartstring and phoenix feather. Ollivander, however, does remind those who would delve into the mystical magic of wandlore that “each wand is the composite of its wood, its core and the experience and nature of its owner; that tendencies of each may counterbalance or outweigh the other.”
Unicorn
“Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages …”
Dragon
“As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types …”
Phoenix
“This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike …”
One core used by Gregorovitch is veela hair.
Isolt Sayre used Horned Serpent horn for wand cores.
American wandmakers also use Wampus cat hair, jackalope antlers, and Snallygaster heartstring.
Wand length and flexibility
Ollivander states:
“Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches. While I have sold extremely short wands (eight inches and under) and very long wands (over fifteen inches), these are exceptionally rare. In the latter case, a physical peculiarity demanded the excessive wand length. However, abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands). Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair …”
Wand woods
Ollivander has written extensive notes about the various woods he uses for wands. Those woods are:
Acacia
Alder
Apple
Ash
Aspen
Beech
Blackthorn
Black Walnut
Cedar
Cherry
Chestnut
Cypress
Dogwood
Ebony
Elder
Elm
English Oak
Fir
Hawthorn
Hazel
Holly
Hornbeam
Larch
Laurel
Maple
Pear
Pine
Poplar
Prickly ash
Red Oak
Redwood
Rowan
Silver lime
Spruce
Sycamore
Vine
Walnut
Willow
Yew
Commentary
Notes
Random notes:
Cedric, who is friendly and unassuming, carries a wand which is described as "pleasant."
Rowling chose vine wood (JKR) for Hermione because it is the wood associated with her birthday in Celtic lore.
Hagrid's wand is oak and "rather bendy". The oak tree is considered to be the "king of the forest," according to British lore. It is known for its strength. (JKR)
Krum's stiff, gruff manner is reflected in his wand being "quite rigid."
Neville's poor magic ability in his first years at Hogwarts may be in part because of the fact that he was using someone else's wand, not one which had specifically chosen him.
Harry's wand is made of holly wood. According to European tradition, the holly tree repels evil. The name "holly" is derived from the word "holy." (JKR)
James Potter's wand was good for transfiguration. It makes sense that a wand good for transfiguration would be "pliable," which means that it can be molded and shaped.
Harry's and Voldemort's wands are "brothers" because they have cores of not only the same substance but from exactly the same source. When they are forced to fight each other, the Priori Incantatem effect is produced. Yew trees are known for their long lives. They symbolize death, but also resurrection. (JKR)
While not identified specifically, Umbridge's wand was described as "unusually short." Umbridge herself is unusually short, and perhaps her wand's characterisitcs suggest that her magical ability comes up wanting as well. We never do see her perform any particularly effective magic spells, after all.
Unicorn tail hairs
Cedric, Neville, Ron, and Draco all have wands with unicorn tail hairs in them. This is a bit disturbing because of the following exchange from PS15:
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt -- you seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
Cedric, like the unicorn, died. Fans for years worried that Ron might be destined to die as well.
Confusion about Ron's wand
The book states that Ron's wand is made of willow (PA3). On her website, however, Rowling said that Ron's wand was made of ash.
The willow wand is the second wand, the wand that was specifically purchased for him with part of Mr Weasley's winnings from the Daily Prophet contest. As for Ron's original wand, Rowling said the following on her website:
I gave Harry a wand made of holly wood back in 1990, when I first drafted chapter six of Philosopher's Stone...Some time after I had given Harry his holly-and-phoenix wand I came across a description of how the Celts had assigned trees to different parts of the year and discovered that, entirely by coincidence, I had assigned Harry the "correct" wood for his day of birth. I therefore decided to give Ron and Hermione Celtic wand woods, too. Ron, who was born in the February 18 - March 17 period, was given an ash wand (I think I had originally marked him down for beech)...
Rowling is talking about the time before the first book was finished, when she was planning the series. So she is saying that the wand Ron had at the beginning of the stories was made of ash. This was the wand that broke at the beginning of book two and which was replaced at the beginning of book three with a wand made of willow.
Rowling's comments on wand lore and allegiences:
"Essentially, I see wands as being quasi-sentient, you know? ... They're not exactly animate but they're close to it. As close to it as you can get in an object because they carry so much magic. So that's really the key point about a wand. Now, the reactions will vary from wand to wand. The Elder Wand is simply the most dispassionate and ruthless of wands in that it will only take into consideration strength. So one would expect a certain amount of loyalty from one's wand. So even if you were disarmed while carrying it, even if you lost a fight while carrying it, it has developed an affinity with you that it will not give up easily. If, however, a wand is won, properly won in an adult duel, then a wand may switch allegiance, and it will certainly work better even if it hasn't fully switched allegiance for the person who won it. So that of course is what happens when Harry takes Draco's wand from him, and that's what happens when ... Ron (takes) the blackthorn wand from the snatcher. So that would be sort of rough and ready, common, or garden, a wand favoring the person who had the skill to take it. It would favor them. However, the Elder Wand knows no loyalty except to strength. So it's completely unsentimental. It will only go where the power is. So if you win, then you've won the wand. So you don't need to kill with it. But, as is pointed out in the books, not least by Dumbledore because it is a wand of such immense power, almost inevitably, it attracts wizards who are prepared to kill and who will kill. And also it attracts wizards like Voldemort who confuse being prepared to murder with strength.
"I have been asked a lot of times, well what about Duelling Club and so on? Well I think it's clear there that in practice, where there's no real weight attached to the transference of a wand, where it's almost all for fun or purely for competition, there's no enormous significance attached in either wizard's mind to a wand flying out of someone's hand. But there are situations in which the emotional state of wizards where a lot hangs on a duel, that's something different. That's about real power and that's about transference that will have far-reaching effects in some cases. So I think the wand would behave differently then." (TLC2)
Wands are power in the wizarding world. Non-humans (and, in DH, Muggle-borns) are oppressed because they are not allowed to have them, and witches have and have had significantly more equality with wizards because they both own wands. This lends itself to a Freudian reading.
