Dual-core wands? (was: Elder Wand ownership ...)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 181546

---  "Zara" <zgirnius at ...> wrote:
>
> > CJ:
> > But *I* want to talk about *my* point, which is that wand
> > strength seems to be cumulative: the triple spell that hit 
> > Greyback appears to have been more powerful than Harry 
> > could have mustered with his own wand. 
> > 
> > If three of any old wand is more powerful than a wizard's
> > own wand, then who cares if the wand chooses the wizard? 
> > Just grab any three wands and go.
> 
> zgirnius:
> This is not addressed within the books specifically. However,
> the common sense type answer that suggests itself to me is 
> loss of control. More wands make a bigger bang, but less 
> control of the sort of bang and location of the bang that 
> results. ...

bboyminn:

First let's note that one of the wands that Harry is using
is Draco's wand which I suspect has a reasonable natural
sympathy to Harry. This is, if Harry had simply borrowed 
the wand, it would have worked reasonably well for him.

But now, Harry has captured the wand from Draco, and the wand
is not only generally sympathetic to Harry, but now has an
additional allegiance to him. So, this wand by itself would
work just as good as Harry's own wand.

So, we have a normal spell compounded by two other wands.
One wand being Wormtail's, which might have had a slight
sympathy for Harry, and Bella's wand which has no sympathy
for anyone, yet would still work.

So, we have Harry's normal full power spell cast by Draco's
wand, combined with the medium spell from Peter's wand,
combined with the weak spell from Bella's wand. Added 
together, they certainly add up to one powerful spell.

But as Zgirnius points out, there is the added complexity
of control. Can you hold three wands in such a way that
you can full predict the direction that each individual
spell will take? I suspect this would be more of a shotgun
wand than a precision lazer-like wand. Even if you glued them
together, you would have to glue them in perfect alignment
to get a precision 'shot' off. Even then though, the 'beam'
of the spell would be wider and more scattered than a single
wand. That seems to leave the potential for collateral damage
when in a close quarters fight.

As well as the alignment problem, there is the additional bulk.
I don't see three wands, even when precisely align and glued, 
as being a quick or as fluid as a single wand.

I'm sure some wizards have tried it, and some have continued 
to use it, but after several of them had been defeated, it 
became apparent that skill, more than raw power, was the better
weapon in a duel.

NOTE: when I say 'sympathy' above I'm referring to the 
harmony, affinity, or compatibility between wand and wizard,
and NOT sympathy in the 'Oh, poor baby' sense.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now pardon me while I engage in a bit of speculative fantasy.


I'm working on a story in which, with Harry's help, Ollivander
takes on two street kids, who have a natural affinity for wands,
as apprentices. Being young and foolish, as we all once were, 
they aren't afraid to experiment. They try all kind of odd 
uncommon wands like taking a dragon bone, hollowing it out, 
and inserting a core of wood and standard magical wand core. 
So we have, for example, Dragon bone, oak, and unicorn hair. 
Not only does it work well but it looks cool. But it's a lot
of extra work for not much gain.

Eventually they try dual core wands, and like every other
wand maker before them, they try to make the most powerful
wand possible by combining Dragon Heart and Phoenix Feather.
And as every wand maker before them has discovered, this
creates a very volatile and unstable wand. Like all wand
makers, who tried to make a /powerful/ wand, they abandon
the attempt.

But it leads them to make a new discovery. You can make a
workable duel core wand, but only if one of the cores is
always Unicorn Hair. Unicorn Hair acts as a moderating 
influence and bring what otherwise would have been a very
unstable wand, under control.

So, they set about making very carefully matched duel core
Unicorn Hair/Phoenix Feater and Unicorn Hair/Dragon Heart 
wands.

The End.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sorry. I hope that doesn't bring a Howler down on me from
the list elves.

But, it shows I have given some thought to Duel Core wands
and why we don't see them. And, also that I have found a
potential solution to the dangers of trying to create Duel
Core wands. 

Because the cores and the wood have to be so closely and
precisely matched, it takes a great deal of time to make
them and they end up costing 3 or 4 times what a normal wand
would. Consequently, even if you are able to do it, the 
available market is still limited.

Hey...it was just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn