[HPforGrownups] Voldemort's wand (was Re: Wormtail's Wand)

[Patricia Bullington-McGuire]

No: HPFGUIDX 54797

On Fri, 4 Apr 2003, Katy Cartee wrote:

> Megalynn wrote: 
> 
> > What I want to know is why did CHarlie give up his wand in the first place? 
> > It was in fine working condition when Ron first got it in the first year. If 
> > the wand was "suited" to Charlie, why would he give up a working wand?  It 
> > couldn't be to save money because Charlie would just have to go out and buy 
> > another wand for himself. If money muct be spent on a new wand, why not buy 
> > one "suited" to Ron in the first place?

Perhaps Charlie's first wand was second-hand when he got it, either as a
hand-me-down from another family member or from a second-hand wand shop.  
It was clearly serviceable enough since he apparently did very well at
Hogwarts, but now that he's on his own and can afford a new wand with his
own money I'm sure he would want one that was idealy suited to him, not
just a close fit.  As And since he is now working with extremely dangerous
animals, it would be more important for him to have an ideal wand than
Ron.

> Wow, now that's a very good question indeed. A wand is not exactly a
> hand-me-down as a robe would be. 

I don't see any reason to assume wands can't be handed down like robes 
since Ron does receive a hand-me-down wand.  Not every pre-used wand would 
be suitable, but then not every pre-used robe would fit adequately either.

> Do you think they make "better" wands
> that might be more expensive or hard to come by? Such as with the
> brooms...i wonder if there would be an equivalent "Firebolt" wand?
> Perhaps Charlie wanted one of those, so he gave his old wand to his
> brother. But that is purely speculative of course. I can't think of any
> reason in canon that would prompt him to do this.

I'm working from memory here, so I may be wrong, but doesn't Hagrid say
something about there being no place better than Ollivander's to get a
wand?  That implies that there are other wand shops, but they aren't as
good.  So yes, it does seem like there could be Firebolt-like wands as
well as run-of-the-mill wands.  The skill of the wand maker could affect
the quality of the wand.  Or some shops could use less than perfect raw
materials -- heartstring from sickly dragons, for instance, rather than
from robust and hearty beasts.

On the other hand, Ollivander's could be the prefered wand shop because 
they have a larger selection or because Ollivander is better at matching 
witches and wizards with wands, but not because his wands are inherently 
better.

----
Patricia Bullington-McGuire	<patricia at obscure.org>

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered
three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the
purely hypothetical.  They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each
nonexisted in an entirely different way ... 
                -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"