Wands and Sorting

greg_a126 grega126 at aol.com
Tue Sep 24 06:17:44 UTC 2002


No: HPFGUIDX 44392

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Richelle Votaw" <rvotaw at i...> wrote:
> I've been doing some speculating on possible wand cores.  First, 
the wand cores we know of (please add if I've forgotten anything):
> 
> Unicorn hair (Ron and Cedric)
> Veela hair (Fleur Delacour)
> Dragon heartstring (Viktor Krum)
> Phoenix feather (Harry and Tom Riddle/Voldemort)
> 

Unicorns are the purest beasts on the planet.  I remember a 
discussion about wands from a few months ago, where it was decided 
that Dragon Heartstrings require the death of the Dragon.  With 
this, I'd like to propose the idea that wands are often a pre-
Hogwarts sorting.  Can anyone imagine Lucius Malfoy or any of the 
rest of Voldemort's henchemen using a wand with part of a unicorn in 
it to murder, torture and do dark magic?  Conversely, can anyone 
imagine kind hearted Dumbledore, or Molly Weasley using a wand that 
required the killing of a magical creature?

I do see this as working in most cases, but not an absolute.  I 
wouldn't rule out a unicorn tail hair inside Wormtail's wand, nor 
would I rule out Dragon Heartstring for Snape, and I think Victor's 
definately going to do something positive to help win the war, but I 
do think it can reflect tendencies.  Just as all Slytherins aren't 
evil and all Gryffindors aren't good (Pettigrew again), it shows 
tendencies.

Where does Harry, Voldemort & their Phoenix feathers fit into this?  
I see the phoenix feather as a "could go either way."  Just as Harry 
isn't completely good, part of him was calling out to be in 
Slytherin, he chose his side.  And I think 50 years earlier, Tom 
Riddle was the same way.  He still had some good in him, but he made 
his decision.  Thoughts?

Greg





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