Wands - how important?

[sbursztynski]

No: HPFGUIDX 82148

Okay, if this has been discussed ad nauseam, forgive me, but I did 
check the archives...

Just what part do wands play, *really*? They seem to be a tool that 
everyone has and even, to some extent, reflect the owner's
personality (see the weighing of the wands chapter in GoF), but
though Mr Ollivander tells Harry in PS that the wand chooses the 
wizard, it doesn't seem to be impossible to use someone else's wand if 
necessary - Lockhart uses Ron's wand, though with a backlash (because 
it's broken, not because it's Ron's). Don't quote me on this, but I'd
swear someone was using Dad's old school wand in one of the
books.(Neville?) And Harry made magic happen, if crudely, before he 
knew he was a wizard. Hagrid has been performing magic without a 
functional wand (maybe he does have the bits of broken wand in his 
umbrella, but why isn't it playing up as Ron's did in CoS?) A wand 
might be a focus for trained magic, but is it strictly necessary?

Sue B