Horse Feathers

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93984

 Kneasy:
> What you are suggesting is that Ollivander performs the same
function as the Sorting Hat - "Oh, Slytherinish - must give him one of
this sort; > Potter- must have a powerful wand." OK, that's an
exaggeration, but the passage above reads more like Fan Fiction than
canon based suppositions. Nowhere does Ollivander say that the wands
that Harry and Voldy have are particularly powerful.

Carol:
Okay, I admit my scenario was a bit fan fictionish. Let me just quote
some canon instead:

"Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a
long, white finger. 'I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it,' he
said softly. Yew. *Powerful wand, very powerful,* and in the wrong
hands. . . well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the
world to do. . . .'" (SS Am. ed. 83).

So Ollivander does say that Voldemort's wand is "very powerful."  If
Harry's and LV's wands share a core, wouldn't Harry's wand also be
"very powerful"?

Kneasy wrote:
What he does imply is that if this wand suits Harry, then he expects
great things of him because its counterpart belonged to Voldy and
*Voldy* is powerful.

Carol:
But when Ollivander says, "the wand chooses the wizard" and "I think
we must expect great things of you" (SS 85), the wand has already
shown that it suits Harry, or in Ollivander's terms, has already
"chosen" him--as no other wand Ollivander offered to him did. So
rather than expecting great things of Harry because his wand's brother
belongs to Voldemort, he could mean that this wand, like its brother,
is very powerful, and consequently suited to a wizard who is
(potentially) capable of great things. I think the wand senses latent
power in Harry, just as the "very powerful" brother wand sensed it in
the future Voldemort, and that's why it chose him.

Quick question: What do you think Ollivander is measuring if he isn't
"taking the measure" of the students to see what kind of wand would
suit them? Why have the magic tape measure at all if it serves no purpose?

Kneasy: 
> It may well have power, but power comes in different guises and the 
> fact that Ollivander equates Harry with Voldy is an uncomfortable 
> thought. "We must expect great things from you, Mr Potter....After
all, HWMNBN did great things - terrible, yes, but great." It goes
along with the Prophecy "...mark him as his equal". 
> Equal does not mean opposite. It means the same. 
> But in what respect?

Carol:
I'm not sure, but it sounds as if we're actually in agreement here.
Equal power but different choices? Tom had great potential but used it
for evil. Harry, whom he has marked as his equal (giving him the
powers that the brother wand sensed?) must also make choeces, using
his powers, channeled through that powerful wand, for good.

Carol