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harry potter - Why Couldn't Hagrid Have a Functional Wand?



I'm wondering why Hagrid isn't allowed to carry a wand or do magic.


We know that Hagrid carries a pink umbrella with the suspected remnants of his broken wand secreted inside (CoS chapter 7), and that Hagrid does do magic here and there even though he's not supposed to (SS chapters 4 and 5).



We learn in Chamber of Secrets that Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts (CoS chapters 7 and 13), and that his wand was snapped in half. However, canon also states that witches and wizards are not required to attend Hogwarts; they can attend a different school, such as Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, or be homeschooled (DH chapter 11). To me, this suggests that a witch or wizard doesn't necessarily need to attend a school in order to become fully-qualified. While it doesn't expressly say so in canon, I note that the Weasley twins still use magic routinely after they quit Hogwarts (OOTP chapter 29). Why would expulsion from Hogwarts preclude Hagrid from learning and using magic?


Why can't Hagrid have a functional wand and be allowed to perform magic?



Answer



Fron JKR interview



Q: Since Hagrid's name was cleared in Book 2, will he ever be allowed to do magic openly again ? (Jan Campbell)
A: He is allowed. He has been allowed to do magic openly ever since he became a teacher but because he was never fully trained his magic is never going to be what it should be. He is always going to be a bit inept. (src)



Basically, until PoA,Hagrid was prohibited from doing magic or having a wand (by Ministry decree, from what I can tell from many sources none of which seem canon). However, since JKR used the words "been allowed... since he became a teacher", it follows that he hasn't been allowed before then.


After his name was cleared in CoS and he became a teacher in PoA, he's allowed to have a wand. Why he doesn't bother is a different question :)



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