OOP chapters 3 and 7, something I'm wondering about

[The J]

No: HPFGUIDX 61648

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Melissa Worcester" 
<beelissa at n...> wrote:
> A minor spoiler follows for those of you who haven't read to the 
end of chapter 7 yet.
> 
> I'm the mother of 2 active boys and I didn't get my book till 
after noon on Sat., so I haven't had lots of time to read all 
weekend like so many of the rest of you.
> 
> ...
> 
> ..
> 
> .
> 
> Moody uses Dumbledore's Put-Outer. I wondered this briefly when 
reading SS, and am wondering it again now: why a separate object to 
perform a specific magical task? Why not just use a wand? They don't 
have a separate object that replaces a flashlight, they just say 
Lumos and the wand's tip gives off light.
> 
> I thought, maybe it's because the Put-Outer works on a Muggle 
invention, the streetlight. However, then in chapter 7, there is 
another magical instrument used to analyze a wand. And a wand's not 
a muggle invention. Dumbledore's office has lots of magical objects, 
I'm just wondering why they would be needed instead of a wand. Any 
ideas, or are you all too much into major plot details to think of 
insignificant details like this one? (I haven't read most of the 
mail yet since I'm only on chapter 11.)
> 
> Melissa
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Perhaps the point of the Put-Outer is simply because the wizards 
don't wish to perform yet more magic when they are, in fact, trying 
to eliminate their visibility to muggles by shutting off the street 
lamps.  In other words, there might be (and probably is) at least 
one way to magically turn off the lamps with a wand, but it (they?) 
would draw more attention than the shutting-off of the lights.

As for why the ministry (or anyone) would use a machine to register 
wand specifications, I would suggest that maybe there simply isn't a 
good way of finding out all the key information (particularly the 
core) with a spell.  In GoF, Ollivander has to be told by Fleur and 
Viktor what's in their wands.  If there were a really good spell to 
identify such things, I'd imagine it would be rather complex, and 
not something you want to risk messing up when dealing with 
important visitors' most crucial magical aids.  A trusted magical 
apparatus seems more safer and simpler than a security guard who 
could fail at least once in a while.

~J