Skip to main content

harry potter - What objects can be used as wand substitutes?


We know that wizards need a wand to focus their magic (wizards can cast spells without a wand, but they are unfocused and weaker). But some wizards aren't known to carry wands. Instead they carry something that works like a wand, but isn't.


Mad-Eye Moody uses a staff as his wand. Hagrid uses his pink umbrella, which was made from pieces of his broken wand.


Are there any other examples of wizards using something other than a normal wand to cast their spells? What are these objects? Do they work like normal wands, and what gives them their power? Would it be possible to use a magical weapon as a substitute for a wand? (Like, say, used the Sword of Gryffindor to channel your spells.)



Answer




A wand is merely a way to focus/concentrate your magic better. A wizard can do magic without a wand (see Harry Potter as a kid doing all sorts of magic from freeing python from glass cage to blowing up Aunt Marge).


Ergo, ANY object can be used to concentrate magic at least as well as your own fingers/mind - it's just that certain objects (wood with cores from magical animals) are better at this focusing; and special wood with special cores are a lot better at this focusing (see the last paragraph of this answer). This is analogous to the fact that you can cut someone with a dull knife - it's just a lot EASIER and requires less strength to do so with a sharp one.



As far as using the Sword: it's possible (again, it won't be any worse than your own fingers, but may possibly be better though there is no canon support for that).


But being metal it's likely to be much worse at focusing than wood (there is no direct canon support; but nobody made metal wands - and if it was feasible I'm sure at least some "metal-charmer" would have tried; to get a unique non-breakable wand. Remember that Harry's main wand broke not from some weird magic but merely from physical impact at Godric's Hollow - ditto for Ron's wand semi-destroyed by Womping Willow. So an unbreakable metal wand would have been worth the effort for wizarding world).



Actually, pre-Ollivander wands used weird not-well-focusing cores and woods (source: Pottermore). Ollivander started using these special cores and woods exclusively over any random "heirloom" materials which were popular before; this is why his wands are so highly valued.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Do the Kwikspell courses work?

In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again). We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail. The descriptions of Kwikspell make me think it is for people who are weak in magic (kind of like how Neville was supposed to be when he was younger), but had magic in them nonetheless. However, Ron's comments later in the chapter make it sound like it is mainly for Squibs to learn magic. However, it is strongly implied through out all the books that Squibs are essentially Muggles, and will never be able to do magic. How then is a Kwikspell course supposed to work? Do we have any information to know if it works at all? Is it a scam? An answer from any level of canon is welcome. Answer Kwikspell courses are (probably) useful to some wizards, but not to squibs. The Kwikspell course literature comes with two testimonials. Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: ‘I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

languages - Do we ever see written English in the Star Wars films?

In Empire Strikes Back , we see a transcription of what R2's beeps and bloops mean, but it's not English (sorry for the low quality, it's from the 2004 DVDs): I'd assume it's what Basic looks like when written, but is there some point in the the Star Wars films we see written English instead? (This sort of spun off from a discussion in How do people understand astromech droids? .) Answer At one point there was English but it has been phased out in subsequent versions of the films. Chris Gould at DVD Active did a comparison of all versions of each of the Star Wars films, and in his comparison of Episode 4 , there are a couple of screenshots showing how the power gauge for the Death Star tractor beam was changed. I imagine there are probably more to be found in his other comparisons but I haven't got around to reading those yet.
Post a Comment
Read more

star wars - What "exactly" happens when someone turns to the Dark Side?

When I saw the original Star Wars saga as a kid, the concept of the Dark Side imprinted in me was quite simple. You did a bad thing, so you're a bad person so you go to the Dark Side and keep doing bad things. Now, obviously this doesn't hold true in reality. In my mind it is perfectly reasonable for Luke to kill the Emperor and Vader and then just flee the Death Star and rejoin the Alliance. After all they are at war, those are enemy officers that have captured him and are taunting him by threatening with death of all loved ones and the whole operation was intended to kill the Emperor anyway. The same would hold true for Anakin. He could have killed Mace Windu to save the Chancellor and Padme but that doesn't mean he's going to then go mad and kill all Jedis including children. It doesn't add up from a merely psychological point of view. He had a set of objectives and that made him want to keep the Chancellor alive (quite valid by the way, Mace Windu is quite clums...
Post a Comment
Read more