CoS is Important/Ron's Wand

[lake4fam at earthlink.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 27494

On Tuesday, Barb wrote:  "How did Ron make it through his second year 
with a malfunctioning wand?  It seems unlikely that he wouldn't flunk 
with subpar equipmentlike that; clearly the whole purpose of the wand 
being broken to begin with is to have Lockheart's spell backfire at 
the end, but in the meantime, it paints a rather implausible picture 
of Ron's second year."

   Ron's wand was JUST capable of carrying the power load of an 
immature wizard in his second year of training, and even so, there 
were several "short circuits" throughout the year. The Spell-o-tape 
seems to have helped, but only marginally.  However, when forced to 
carry the power load from a mature and fully trained wizard, however 
much of an incompetent git he was, the wand shorted out spectacu-
larly, blowing Lockheart's memory to Kingdom Come.
   So, it is probable that Ron would have gotten through those finals 
that entailed the use of a wand with passing grades, and even in the 
event of a blow-up, I would count on the innate fairness of the 
teacher involved to give him a second chance.  (It's a good thing 
Snape's potions final does not require the waving of a functioning 
wand.)


dittany/custodienne