Harry Killing in HBP - Tactics and Wands

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 132027

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Ferer" <jferer at y...> wrote:
> Jim Ferer (me):
> "3) "There's an old saying in the Muggle military: 
> Never, ever, leave living [effective] enemies in your rear." In this 
> context it means Stunning them, tying them up with Incarcerous, 
> hitting them with Petrificus, and taking their wands."
 
> Amiable Dorsai: 
> "Nah, do something that can't be reversed with a simple "Enervate" 
> or "Finite Incantatem"--reproducing the spell that accidentally 
> removed Harry's armbones in CoS would be about right. Do it to both 
> arms.
> 
> Maybe their legs, too."

> Jim replies:
> 
> Ouch, you're ruthless. Good. We want these enemies neutralized and
> out of the fight.  The only reason Harry didn't do it is 
> inexperience.
> 

bboyminn:

Isn't this classic movie fair though? The good guys sneak into the
enemy camp and knock out all the guards they meet along the way, never
slitting their throats (because they are the good guys afterall),
never taking or disabling the enemy's weapons (hand full of sand in
the breach works good), never taking the time to tie the guards up,
and of course, as it says in the script, the guards never wake up even
if the basic infiltration of the camp takes hours. 

Actually, as a side note, they tell you in the Army never to pick up
and use an enemies weapon because you might be mistaken for an enemy.
Personally, I say 'screw that', if I need a gun, I'm taking one where
ever I find it.

We can attribute some of the mistakes to 'heat of the battle' and
inexperience, but if they had a couple of unconscious DE's, would it
have been that hard to snap their wands? Even if they are such very
very good guys that they can't bring themselves to destroy another
wizards wand, they could have gathered them up and stuck them in a
desk drawer or behind a cabinet; anything to make the DE's job harder
to do.

> Jim continues:
>
> As far as the spare wand thing goes, we know that wizards can use a
> wand not their own, even if the results aren't as good.  What is to
> stop Harry from having Mr. Olivander make him a ten inch holly wand
> with a tail feather from Fawkes?  Would that wand behave the same as
> his original one?  Is there a reason a wizard can't do this for a
> spare?  If this is possible, Harry and all the fighters on the good
> side would be well advised to do this.
> 
> Jim Ferer

bboyminn:

Ooooouuuu.... wand theory, I've got pages and pages and pages of
essays on wand theory. Let's see if I can come up with a short version.

My theory of 'The Wand Chooses the Wizard' is based in Magical
Harmonics. When you are matched with a wand, you and that wand are
'vibrating' in a sympathetic magical harmony; at the same magical
'frequency'.

The wandmakers job is to, as closely as possible, mate wand components
and characteristics in a way that matches and re-enforces a common
magical resonance, then match the completed wand to a wizard that
shares the common magical resonance.

Because of this, you can't make a wand 'to order'; you can't select a
wand based on a collection of physical characteristics. No two pieces
of wood are going to resonate at the same frequency even if they are
from the same enchanted tree, not even if they are from the same
branch of the same tree. Each piece of wood will have slightly
different grain, slighlty different flexibility, slightly different
density, etc..., and the same is true of the core. So, it's not a
simply as 11 inches Holly with a Fawkes feather core. 

Because of the completely unique combination of components, to get the
same magical resonances, Harry's new wand, as an illustration, might
have to be longer or shorter, it may need to be made of a different
wood. Although, I think in Harry's cases, a Fawkes feather core would
be very likely. However, in general, to match the components to the
wizard's unique magical harmonic, the new wand may even have a
different core.

So, in my not so humble opinion, that is the heart of the wandmakers
art, to accurately match the components to their own unique magical
resonance, then tune the physical characteristics to further refine
and more precisely tune the wand to a sympathetic magical harmony. The
more perfectly matched and tune the components are, the more powerful
the wand, then when match to a wizard with the same precision, you
have an extremely powerful magical combination.

Now, I don't think there is one and only one wand for each wizard. You
could travel anywhere in the world where there was a Master wandmaker
and would be likely to find a wand that fit you. It's simply a matter
of trying wands until you find one with a shared magical resonance. Of
course, this doesn't deny a wizard's special fondness for his first wand.

There now, aren't you glad you asked ;) .

Steve/bboyminn