Wand allegiance

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 182057

> zgirnius:
> The only way in which I find wand lore thorny, is the dearth of 
> evidence with which to beat people who disagree with be about it over 
> the head. I personally find the whole "Snape killing Dumbledore to 
> end the power of the Elder Wand" thing quite natural and satisfying.

Pippin:
Bravo!  It was a very Dumbledore-ish thing to do, very much in 
character as well as showing how greatly he relied on Snape.


I think the wand also fills a necessary and useful role as a metaphor
for physical power -- it shows that when Dumbledore was talking about
love as the superior power he did not mean it only in a spiritual sense.
He was talking about power in the physical world as well. It's a 
more, well, militant view of love than some of us are used to, I think. 

Though the Elder Wand was only a piece of wood, it came to Harry through
Dumbledore's trust in the essential goodness of two people whom Harry
had always regarded as his enemies: Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. They
proved themselves worthy of that trust. Like Harry, Draco stood over his
helpless enemy and found that he could not kill. Like Harry, Snape did
what he had promised even though it was revolting to him.

Some fans get all hung up about what Snape was supposed to do with
the wand if he got it -- but to me, the point is  that Dumbledore
trusted Snape to do whatever was necessary. If the plan had worked and
the wand had no power any more, then Snape could simply have given it 
to Voldemort, who would hardly suspect that Snape could 
destroy so powerful a magical object.   If the plan didn't work, 
then Dumbledore could trust Snape to continue the quest for a way to 
destroy it. 

I suppose by the time  Snape first snuck back  to consult with
DD's portrait, the wand had  already been entombed and portrait!DD 
judged it  best to leave it there. Voldemort was bound to discover where it
had been bestowed, and if it was missing it would throw suspicion on
Snape or even worse, on Draco. 

Pippin