Skip to main content

wandlore - Could Harry Potter Have Given Draco Malfoy's Wand Back?


So, regarding wandlore. . . could Harry Potter have given Draco Malfoy Draco's hawthorn wand back to Draco without the allegiance of the Elder Wand switching from Harry to Draco?


We know that Draco Malfoy became master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower in Half-Blood Prince. Subsequently, Harry became master of the Elder Wand when he defeated Draco by physically taking Draco's wand from Draco while the trio was being held captive at Malfoy Manor in Deathly Hallows. Because Harry wrestled Draco's hawthorn wand from Draco, the hawthorn wand switched its allegiance from Draco to Harry, and the Elder Wand followed suit, for if one disarms another witch or wizard, one masters ALL wands that witch or wizard controls. From Deathly Hallows, pages 493 - 499, US Hardcover, the following information is given regarding wandlore and wand allegiance:



  • In general, where a wand has been won its allegiance will change.


  • Wands may be at least partially sentient: "The wand chooses the wizard." (Please see my thoughts on whether a wand is at least partially sentient here)

  • A person can still use a wand that hasn't chosen them to channel magic, although it may not yield the best possible results.

  • Subtle laws govern wand ownership, but a conquered wand will usually bend its will to its new master.

  • A conquered wand will better do a witch or wizard's bidding than another wand.

  • It is not necessary to kill the previous wand owner to take true possession of a typical wand.

  • Ollivander is unsure whether the allegiance of the Elder Wand must pass to its new master through murder.


Given this, would Harry have been able to gift the hawthorn wand back to Draco without the allegiance of the Elder Wand switching back to Draco as well? Or would the allegiance of the Elder Wand switch to Draco regardless of how Draco regained ownership of his original hawthorn wand?



Answer



The laws of wand allegiance are not universal and depend on the type of wand:




  • The Elder Wand (Threstal hair core) is extremely fickle and responds readily to power, with zero loyalty to its previous owner. The allegiance of this wand is won very easily using brute force, but never peacefully (For instance, Snape killing Dumbledore with Dumbledore's consent wouldn't make Snape the master of the Wand.)

  • Unicorn hair wands are very loyal; in fact they are the most faithful and don't care much about skill or power. They generally will always be attached to its original owner, regardless of current allegiance.

  • Phoenix feather wands are also very loyal because they are very picky when choosing their first owner. It can be quite difficult to win their allegiance because of this.

  • Dragon heartstrings wands are more similar to the Elder Wand; they appreciate power, so it is easier to win their allegiance from their previous owner.


We are lucky though, because Draco's wand has a unicorn hair core! So it's pretty much established that, despite it currently responding to Harry, it is still faithful to Malfoy and would "remember" him. I think we can safely speculate that Harry need only give Draco his wand back and that would be more than enough for the wand to accept Draco. And since this is a peaceful exchange, it wouldn't affect the Elder Wand's allegiance at all.


So the answer is: we don't know if Harry returned Draco's wand, but established canon very easily allows Draco to get his wand back peacefully.


(the wand core info comes from Pottermore)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more