Wand Cores

[Jim Ferer <jferer@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51572

Teri's query:"I must not be looking in the right places, but I am
having trouble finding out about wand cores. I've read that Ollivander
only uses three cores: Phoenix feather, Hair from Unicorn Tail, and
Dragon Heartstring. I have been trying to find out what properties
these cores add to the wands."

We don't hear that, exactly.  Apparently the wood, core, and length
make a wand what it is.  Mr. Ollivander, for instance, tells Harry
that his father's wand was "...a mahogany wand. Eleven inches.
Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration." (Good
for an Animagus, that is) Mr. Ollivander doesn't even mention the
core. Later on, he describes Voldemort's wand as "Thirteen-and-a-half
inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... "
In GoF, Fleur's wand uses a veela hair in its core, so there's at
least one other material available; Ollivander says he doesn't use it
because it's tempermental. I'd bet there were more materials. Sphynx
hair? Chimaera hair? Powerful magical creatures all.

Maybe we can guess, based on the characteristics of the creatures the
cores came from: Phoenix: loyal, brave, healing, and able to carry
great burdens. Unicorn: gentle, subtle, true. Dragon: fierce, strong.
Veela: beautiful, enchanting, seductive. 

What does a wand do?  My hypothesis is that it focuses the wizard's
innate magic through it, like a lens does light or a megaphone sound.
 Wandless magic would then be unfocused, dilute, and weaker.  If you
want to carry the lens analogy further, then choosing a wand is a
matter of finding you "prescription."

Of course, before the end of GoF we learn that Harry's and Voldemort's
wands share feathers from the very same phoenix, but the wands and
their wielders are different.

Jim Ferer