[HPforGrownups] Fawkes and his feathers

[bufo_viridis at interia.pl]

No: HPFGUIDX 93499

> Eustace_Scrubb:
> According to Ollivander in SS/PS, the phoenix whose feather forms
> Harry's wand core gave just one other feather...which resides in
> Voldemort's wand.[...] 
> Is there any canon or speculation on how/why a phoenix "gives"
> feathers for use in wands?  Whether the fact that only two wands have
> Fawkes' feathers is unusual? [...] 

Interesting point. In CoS, when Harry's at Dumbledore ofice and Faweks is about to transform, it dropes several feathers out of its tail. Also - I can't find reference in this moment - in OotP Fawkes feather appears as a warnin for Order's members.
So we have small contradiction: only two feathers and Fawkes "shedding" all over the books :)
I guess the feathers must be of particular sort, taken from very healthy, powerful and possibley alive creature (don't ask me how it's done with dragons; "The Last Dragon" anyone?). Judging from Ollivander's tale of the unicorn, I can't picture him risking a battle with phoenix, which is very powerful (what's good enough to fight with basilisk, should be good enough to fight with a wandmaker).
So possibly Fawkes willingly agreed to have two of his feathers plucked (by willingly I mean - not protesting violently), but only just two. The feathers picked otherwise have no power transferred (?) so are useless for wandmaking. I also think Fawkes is not only phoenix of the world, but they are very rare, maikng such wands also a rarity, albeit not a great one.  

> Eustace_Scrubb:
> Also, how did Tom Riddle come to be chosen by a wand containing one of
> those feathers?  (I'm assuming he bought it when he was still Tom, as
> I can't quite imagine Voldemort strolling into Ollivanders's and
> purchasing a wand in the usual way.  "Yew wood, phoenix feather core,
> 12 inches...excellent for evil overlord work!")

Yew - tree of great power (Ged anyone?), connected with death and unerworld. Fitting. I guess the answer is given by Ollivander himself: "The wand of great power. For a great wizard, because Voldie did great things, horrible, but great."
Anyway, wandmakers seem to be "excluded" from good/evil coflict. They may be 
fully impartial, which is a part of their magic. That's why there is so few of them - very few people can attain such level of impartiality.

Cheers, Viridis
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Curiouser and curiouser!