Who WAS the True Master of the Elder Wand?

[rlevatter]

No: HPFGUIDX 183912

The Wand chooses the Wizard, but why?

The Elder wand chose Dumbledore over Grindelwald. Why? Because Dumbledore defeated 
Grindelwald in battle.

But that's not the only way to win the allegiance of the Deathstick.

The Elder wand chose Grindelwald over Grigorovitch. Why? Because Grindelwald was able 
to steal the wand from Grigorovitch, snatching it and leaping from a window.

So at least some time the wand's allegiance is changed by theft.

For a time Draco Malfoy was the true master of the Elder Wand, having wrested it away 
from Dumbledore in battle. But Draco never actually held the Elder Wand. One might 
imagine, then, that the allegiance the wand felt towards Draco was minimal.

How can one steal a wand from someone who leaves it lying discarded? Perhaps by simply 
picking it up. Even more so, one would think, if one had to exert a lot of effort and magic 
to acquire it. Even more so, one would think, if one were explicitly making an effort to 
acquire it. Surely breaking into a tomb guarded by enchantments does more to gain a 
wand's allegiance than jumping out a window.

So, it would seem, had Harry not bested Draco in battle only a day before, Voldemort, by 
breaking into Dumbledore's tomb and grabbing the Elder wand, would have been stealing 
it from Draco as surely as Grindelwald stole it from Gregorovitch.

But by the time Voldemort does that, Harry is actually the true master of the Elder Wand.

Does the Elder Wand know that Harry knew where it was, and purposely chose not to 
pursue it? Does the Elder Wand know that Harry knew his own choice not to pursue the 
Elder Wand meant that Voldemort would obtain physical possession of the Elder Wand?

If so, wouldn't one think that, in choosing a wizard, the Elder Wand would prefer a wizard 
that sought it out, that longed for it, rather than a wizard who let it be stolen, as 
Grigorovitch had let it be stolen so many years before?

So, given all that, and given the fact that one can be the true master of the Elder Wand and 
still lose in battle (see Dumbledore v Grindelwald), who really was, in the end, the true 
master of the Elder Wand?

Ross L.