CHAPDISC: DH26, Gringotts

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 184094

> 4. Why does Ollivander make Luna and Luna alone a new wand? Why not
make new wands for all of the people who were incarcerated with him?
Why not make new wands for as many people as possible who have been
victimized as he was by Death Eaters? Why doesn't Ollivander think
about arming the enemies of his enemy? What does this say about his
character?
> 
> Alla:

> The best I can do to characterize him is the person who cares only 
about his craft and if somebody can push the products of his making to
the limit, no matter how horrible that limit can be, he will respect
that person.
> 
> Why he makes Luna alone a new wand? Frankly I am surprised that he
did that for her. I would imagine that maybe in his head he thinks
that magic is neutral and in his head he decided that he is not 
supposed to help none of the parties? But he was just tortured for 
crying out loud, wasn't that enough to tip the scales in his mind? I 
have no idea. I know that I for sure would not have been behaving as
he did, and would do my very best to try and make as many wands as
strength will allow me to make sure that the monster paid if not for
what he did to people around me (which I would have worked for 
definitely), but at least for what he did to me. But hey, I am not
Ollivander.

Carol responds:

Luna has been his friend and sole companion in what amounts to a
prison cell in the Malfoys' cellar. Why not give her what amounts to a
present out of gratitude and affection?

As for making wands for all the good guys, HRH don't really need them
(though Hermione would probably appreciate a new one) and he doesn't
really know Dean, the only other wandless member of the group at shell
Cottage.

And, in any case, he's ill and weak. He takes longer to recuperate
than Griphook does. He's probably as old as Dumbledore. And even when
he leaves Shell Cottage for Auntie Muriel's, where is he supposed to
get wandwood and material for cores? I know that Fred and George are
still supposedly operating a mail order business, but they probably
took supplies from their shop (and the Burrow) with them into hiding.
Ollivander has bee imprisoned for nearly two years and can't get to
his shop (assuming that it hasn't already been vandalized by DEs).

It seems to me that people who expect him to arm all the good guys in
the short interval between his leaving Shell Cottage and the Battle of
Hogwarts, which he has no way of anticipating (a month, possibly?) are
expecting more of him than even a brilliant (in his field) and highly
talented Wizard can accomplish. How long does it take to make a wand?
And if he didn't know who he was making it for and what that person's
former wand had been, how would he know which wand was suitable for whom?

By the way, I hope you'll forgive me for inserting a usage note here
to clarify what I think is Heather's intended meaning in asking this
question. "Ollivander's character" means his character traits (what
kind of person he is), not Ollivander himself. We can talk (on the
Movie List) about John Hurt's character, meaning Mr. Ollivander in the
SS/PS film, but characters in a book aren't playing roles. Ollivander
is Ollivander, not "Ollivander's character." the same is true for
Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape, or any other character.

Carol, snipping a lot of stuff that she agrees with in this post