Thoughts on Wands (slightly long)/Ron's old wand

[Juliet <lilpurplealdy@netscape.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 53017

Tom:
>>I'd like to assume that as well, but since Tom Riddle was born in 
1927, that would mean that Harry's wand sat idly for, oh, what, sixty-
five years? Does that make sense?>>

I don't see why it shouldn't.  Sorry to go Movie on you(but since JKR 
did have influence, it's hard not to sometimes), but look at the size 
of Ollivander's shop in the movie.  Look at the number of wands.  I 
don't find it at all odd that no one else had gotten that wand, that 
*exact* wand.  There were probably other 11 inch Holly wands with 
phoenix feather(though not Fawkes's) cores in his shop, but that is 
the one that fit Harry(and, until Harry came along, fit no one else.  
That doesn't mean he didn't pull it out and see).  Don't ask me why, 
ask Ollivander (=P).  In the books, he knew almost as soon as he put 
the wand in Harry's hand(without thing's having to explode) that the 
wands he was giving Harry were wrong.   If you read, you notice how 
with each wrong wand, he changes it up.  Dragon heartstring doesn't 
work? Here, try phoenix.  Not beechwood?  Here, maple.  Then he tried 
ebony and unicorn hair, switching things up, trying to get a feel for 
his customer.  And when Harry got the right wand, he knew immediately 
as well(though I'm sure the sparks helped =P). Don't ask me *why*, 
I'm not a wand maker.  You can try and break it up into an exact 
science, but as Science doesn't usually come into play all that 
forcefully in the Wizarding World, I have a hard time seeing how 
it'll keep afloat now.

Another, completely off the wall thought--  Ollivander -wanted- Harry 
to get that wand, or Dumbledore wanted Harry to.  I find a mix of the 
both believable--  Dumbledore could have had a brother wand specially 
made, and gave Ollivander instructions only to bring it out of its 
box when Harry shows up on the scene.   Dumbledore could very well 
have planned for Priori Incantatem to happen, perhaps his way of 
arming Harry against Voldemort.  

I find the first one more to my taste than the second, but that's 
just me.

Tom:
>>In other words, that kind of creates this "wand of destiny" feel 
for 
the whole endeavor? Like, the wand was created and waited patiently 
for its true owner for all that time? >>

I'm not sure the wand had much say in that.  If Ollivander pulled it 
out to try on a customer, it's not like it could jump back in the box 
screaming "Go away! Harry's not here yet!" =P

I don't get a "Wand of Destiny" feel.  I get a "This Is Another 
Similarity Between Harry and Voldemort" feel.  I've always felt that 
Voldemort is kind of representative of what Harry could have turned 
into if he'd gone into Slytherin, or just if he'd gone plain Bad.

Tom:
>>And it's always possible that the second feather was taken at a 
later 
date, right? I mean, Fawkes is, um, recyclable, so theoretically he 
could continue giving out wands, and theoretically would they all be 
the "brothers" of Harry's wand?>>

Umm...no. Are you implying Fawkes giving out more than just Harry's 
and Voldemort's?  That one isn't possible.  Let's look at the canon...

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter.  Every single 
wand.  It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your 
wand, gave another feather-- just one other."

Well, of course, there's always the possibility of Fawkes giving out 
feathers -after- Harry got his wand... *shrugs*   Maybe that's what 
you meant, my apologies.

Tom:
>>Since Voldemort's wand is thirteen and a half inches, and Harry's 
is 
only eleven, then IMO it would be reasonable to suggest that they 
could have been taken at different times. >>

What does size have to do with the time it was made?  Ollivander 
could have been going around collecting Phoenix feathers, gotten a 
couple from Fawkes, and then gone to his shop to make wands.  
*shrugs*  And out came a Yew 13 and a Holly 11.  

Tom:
>>I understand that they 
could have been taken from different parts of the bird as well, but 
that just seems, well, I dunno. Unlikely. Can't explain it past that, 
although I thought that they were both tail-feathers.>>

I think the tail-feathers thing is somewhere in canon...Oh, lol, it's 
already in the canon I posted! *points upward*

Tom:
>>But insofar as it's some kind of exact science, well, I dunno 'bout 
that. After all, wizards, IMHO don't really seem to have difficulties 
using each others' wands, despite the fact that the wand chooses the 
wizard. >>

Well, we haven't seen them use them for really long term amounts of 
time, besides with Ron.  And with Ron, who's to say he didn't improve 
when he got his very *own* wand? We don't get told a whole lot about 
their grades, just usually that Harry and Ron pass, Hermione is top 
in every class, and that's it.  Ron could very well have improved 
with his new wand.  

Tom:
>>I'd guess that even if Ollivander hadn't selected the twin wand for 
Harry, eventually they still would have found another fit, and maybe 
possibly, there's an even better fit still out there waiting to be 
found.>>

My way of answering that is just by trusting Ollivander, mostly.  
When Harry got the Right Want, Ollivander just Knew.  He didn't 
second-guess himself, going "Hmm..well...that one -could- work, but 
let's try this one!".  And, IMO, the man has probably sold and made a 
*lot* of wands, so I'm trusting him.

Rib:
>>Instead, I think this adds support to the another-
Weasley-sibling theory: Charlie had his/her old wand, and when the 
family could afford it Charlie got a new wand (one that more 
perfectly fit *him*), passing the old wand down to Ron.>>

Lol, well, that just passes the question on to another Weasley.  
Instead of Why Did Charlie Get Rid of His Old Wand, you get Why Did 
*insert Weasley sibling name* Get Rid of His/Her Old Wand.  

Here's an answer:  Charlie got his wand second-hand, but not from an 
older sibling-- from a second-hand shop.  When the family could 
afford him a new one, they got it, and Ron got the hand-me-down, 
second-hand wand(poor Ron![no pun intended]).

~Aldrea, who's head is starting to spin a bit from all this Science 
stuff.