Wands
Introduction| What Are They, Really?|
The Elder Wand| Priori Incantatem| Wandless Magic|
Questions?


Wands are truly mysterious instruments; what with their curious nature of finding the perfect counterpart and the wondrous ways in which they sometimes interact.

Constructed from the many wand-worthy woods, wands are created with the greatest possible care by wizards who fancy wandlore. Within every one of them, there exists the essence - in the form of a hair, feather, or heartstring - of a magical creature. Usually a Phoenix, Dragon, Unicorn or Veela. And yet, in the case of the Elder Wand, the core contained the tail hair of a Threstral. (We may assume that, being Death himself, he must have seen his reflection at some point or another).

With wands in hand, witches and wizards can more easily accomplish the more mundane tasks of daily life: washing cauldrons, mixing a healing potion, etc. Alternately, these tasks have the capacity to aid in causing pain and even death.

Could wands be a conspirator in such an act like committing murder? Most in the wizarding world have it as fact that it is not the wands themselves that do these things. They believe it is the wizard who releases the magic. It is common knowledge, in fact, that all the wand really does is provide the focus point and, perhaps, a magnification of the spell employed (or is it a de-magnification?)

(A look into the realities of "wandless magic" will reveal my desires to analyze the aforementioned, but you will find no more speculation on the subject in the next few paragraphs.)


"Wands do indeed absorb the expertise of those who use them."
-Albus Dumbledore, The Tales of Beadle the Bard

Dumbledore was, at the time, writing about the Elder Wand. In truth though, he was speaking about wands as a whole. Wands have some degree of retention as they pass from one hand to another. Perhaps it has something to do with the inherent resonance of a wand with its carrier. Along those lines, there exists a longing to be a partner in whatever deeds the carrier is committing him or her self to.

Take, for example, the Elder Wand. Its past owners have had cold, ruthless spirits and have been generally violent duelers. So, is it not conceivable that the Elder Wand itself has developed a strong affinity for murder?

Committing murder and causing pain can be done simply by muttering a spell. These unforgivable curses, as they are called, require complete certainty on the part of the spell caster. In OoTP however, Harry could not cast the Cruciatus Curse. Not only because he didn't feel the cold spirit within him, but also because it did not exist in his wand. Perhaps, such an act requires perfect agreement between the wand and its master.

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