Putting the Elder Wand at risk? (Was: I would have kept the Elder Wand)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 176065

Niru wrote:
> <snip>
> > He is using his own holly and phoenix feather wand. Harry's plan
to break the power of the Elder Wand has a much higher probability of
success, his career as an auror notwithstanding. He cannot be defeated
whilst using the Elder Wand because he does not use and never intends
to. Furthermore he doesn't use Draco's hawthorn wand either. Harry's
own holly and phoenix feather wand was never involved in duels with
the Elder Wand. Even if he is defeated whilst weilding it, I don't
think it will affect the Elder Wand's allegiance. The power of the
Elder Wand is as good as broken.
> 
> Dana:
> I don't think this is a correct observation. Draco was not using the
Elder Wand either when Harry defeated him. Still Harry became its 
rightful owner so I think Harry using his own wand does not eradicates
the risk of being defeated and the Elder wand changing ownership. The
only thing is that the one defeating Harry will not directly get 
access to the Elder Wand or know about it but he would nevertheless be
its rightful owner and its power would then not be lost with Harry's 
death (neither natural or otherwise). Well I think we can probably 
conclude that you discovered another major plothole or at least the 
author getting confused by her own imagination LOL.

Carol:

Ah, but Harry has the advantage of knowing more wandlore than most
wizards, Dark or otherwise, thanks to DD and Ollivander and his own
experience with the Elder Wand. In the unlikely event that Harry
encounters a wizard as skilled as Severus Snape who can defeat him in
a duel (and let's hope that he masters nonverbal spells if he's going
to be an Auror!), as long as the Elder Wand doesn't *know* that its
master has been defeated, perhaps it won't change its allegiance.
(Harry tells Voldemort what happened to Draco; otherwise, the wand
wouldn't have known.) If he's not facing a master duellist, all he
needs to do is cast Expelliarmus, his signature spell, and he'll be
master of his opponent's wand, as well as master of his own
holly-and-phoenix-feather wand and the (unused) Elder Wand. (Where's
Snape to teach Legilimency and Occlumency and nonverbal spells when
Harry will actually pay attention to him? <g>) 

OTOH, having lived to the ripe old age of 37, maybe Harry has had
enough action and will accept a supervisory position so he can die a
natural death for the wand's sake. He certainly doesn't appear to be
as scarred as Mad-Eye or even Scrimgeour (aside from the residual
lightning-bolt scar), so either his reputation as the hero who
destroyed the Dark Lord intimidates his opponents, or he's developed
greater skill in duelling than he demonstrates in canon, or the
Expelliarmus tactic is working, or there's a dearth of Dark wizards of
any caliber post-DH. 

Carol, admitting that JKR probably didn't see the plot hole and
wondering whether the Elder Wand will lose all its powers when Harry
dies or just become an ordinary wand like "that poor stick of Lucius's"