Mid-Air Collision Required for Priori Incantatem? (WAS: Meaning of OotP

[erisedstraeh2002 <erisedstraeh2002@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48874

Steve <bboy_mn> wrote:

> So while they can't curse each other in this one simultaneous curse 
> circumstances, they can curse each other. Voldie cursed Harry 
> several times in the graveyard. When Voldie cursed Harry, it was 
> wand against wizard, only when they cursed simultaneously was it 
> wand against wand. Admittedly, it is the power of the wizards 
> backing up the wands. 

Now me:

Since the wand has to "meet its brother" in order for the wands 
to "not work properly against each other," both wizards must be using 
their wands at or about the same time.  I don't think this means that 
the curses have to be simultaneous, or collide in mid-air, but both 
wizards do need to be actively using their wands.  As you said, when 
Voldemort cursed Harry in the graveyard, Harry wasn't using his wand.

Steve (bboy_mn) again:

> I think the duel between Malfoy and Harry where the curses collided 
> and ricocheted off each other was the setup for this. It made us 
> aware the this simultaneous curses was an unusual circumstance.

Now me:

When Harry and Malfoy's curses collided, Harry's furnunculus curse 
ricocheted to hit Goyle, and Malfoy's densaugeo curse ricocheted to 
hit Hermione.  Both curses were successful – Goyle wound up with 
boils on his nose, and Hermione wound up with elongated teeth.  In 
priori incantatem, the curses are ineffective – Harry's expelliarmus 
didn't wind up disarming a nearby Death Eater, and Voldemort's avada 
kedavra didn't wind up killing a nearby DE (if it could only have 
been Lucius!).  So I see the two simultaneous curse situations as 
being very different from one another.

Potter Hermione forever asked:

> So, Can an owner just change his wand without some negative side 
> effects? Didn't Mr. Ollivander say that each wand is unique to his 
> owner?  So, he must have given the best possible wand to Voldemort. 
> Thus, Voldemort can't possibly get a better wand now? (or can he?)

Me again:

Actually, I think this is the beauty of it all – Voldemort will think 
he needs to obtain a different wand since he now knows his wand will 
be ineffective against Harry, but he'll never be able to find another 
wand that will work as well for him as his original wand.  In PS/SS, 
Mr. Ollivander tells Harry "you will never get such good results with 
another wizard's wand" and speaks of finding "the perfect match" and 
of Harry being "destined" for his wand.  This suggests to me that if 
Voldemort does get himself a different wand, it may wind up weakening 
his abilities.

~Phyllis