CHAPDISC: DH35, KING'S CROSS

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 185133

 
> 
> Zara:
> When do you suppose Snape was supposed to learn of this? Snape would
need to possess the wand in order to assess which of the two options 
had transpired, and in order to hide the wand in the event Case B
transpired. As things actually happened, we cannot determine whether 
or not Snape knew to grab the wand, because the wand was not 
 available for him to grab - Draco had sent it over the battlements.

Pippin:

Since knowing about the Elder Wand is dangerous, Dumbledore would feel
justified in keeping as much information as possible to himself, as usual.

It's apparently  customary for the winner of a serious duel to claim
the loser's wand. Dumbledore wouldn't have to give the real reason for
Snape to understand that he was supposed to get the wand as part of
the charade, whether he was told to do so explicitly or not. 

The wand would either be powerless, in which case Snape would not need
to know anything, or it would still have power. Snape would naturally
attempt to break or burn the wand as is customary when a wizard dies,
but it seems the Elder Wand can not be broken, so he would fail. 
Snape would undoubtedly report such a curious circumstance to the
portrait, which would then be able to instruct him further. 
 
When the wand was lost, I think Portrait!Dumbledore assumed the matter
was out of his hands, literally. The EW has dropped out of sight many
times in the past, presumably because its  master was ignorant of its
abilities or else too wise to boast of them. Obviously, it had done so
once again, eluding DD's plans to make it powerless. So be it.

Portrait!Dumbledore could not easily search for the wand, nor could
Fugitive!Snape, and if Headmaster Snape called for a search of the
grounds, that would only draw attention to the fact that something
important was missing. 

DD probably assumed that if someone found an old wand on the grounds
they would either turn it in or keep it for a souvenir. I think the
one place Portrait!DD didn't expect the wand to turn up was inside his
tomb. Voldemort expected to find it there, but only because he didn't
know it had been lost. I suppose that Hagrid was the one to find it,
since only he could have placed it in the shroud before entombment,
but with all the people on the grounds, how likely was that? 

Pippin