Changes: Bellatrix Lestrange's first wand

Revision as of 07:23, 18 December 2012

Hermione: "I hate that thing. I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn’t work properly for me… It's like a bit of her."

Ron: "It’ll probably help you get in character, though. Think what that wand's done!"

Hermione: "But that’s my point! This is the wand that tortured Neville's mum and dad, and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius! I miss my wand."

— Hermione Granger on using Bellatrix Lestrange's wand while using the Polyjuice Potion.^[src]

The wand of Bellatrix Lestrange was 12 ¾" walnut, with a dragon heartstring core. It was constructed by Garrick Ollivander, who described it as being "unyielding".^[1] The wand also has a slight bend in it, making it appear somewhat like a bird's talon. After the skirmish at Malfoy Manor, Hermione Granger used Bellatrix's wand. ^[2]

History

Bellatrix Lestrange HBP — Bellatrix with her wand drawn.

As Hermione Granger identified this wand as being the one that tortured Alice and Frank Longbottom^[3], it is likely that Bellatrix Lestrange used this wand both before and after her imprisonment in Azkaban, possibly since the age of eleven. She recovered it after escaping from prison in 1996, fighting with it during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and killing her cousin Sirius Black with it.

"He looked down at the wand and was visited by a brutal urge to snap it, to slice it in half with Gryffindor's sword..."

— Harry Potter's thoughts on the wand upon securing it.^[src]

Harry with Bella's wand — Harry dueling with Bella's wand at Malfoy Manor

Bellatrix used this wand until the spring of 1998, when Ron Weasley disarmed her in Malfoy Manor after she had tortured Hermione. She held a knife to an unconscious Hermione's throat and ordered Harry and Ron to drop their wands, and for Draco Malfoy to collect hers. However when Dobby dropped a chandelier he was unable to collect it. Bellatrix threw the knife at them and it hit Dobby in an attempt to stop them leaving. This was unsuccessful and the house-elf and the trio escaped with Bellatrix's wand.^[4]

Hermione Bella's Wand — Hermione Granger with Bellatrix's Wand

Bellatrix reported that her wand had been stolen to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as she feared Harry, Hermione, and Ron would try to break into her vault, which contained an item important to Lord Voldemort. Within weeks, this is precisely what they did.^[3]

Bellatrix's wand was used by Hermione at least until the Battle of Hogwarts, during which Hermione duelled Bellatrix with her own wand, along with Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. It is unknown if Hermione kept the wand after Bellatrix's death and the end of the Second Wizarding War, but it is very likely she discarded it, having expressed hatred of the wand and its original owner.

Behind the scenes

Bellatrix's wand wood, walnut, is associated with some old European superstitions. In seventeenth-century Italy, a walnut tree in Benevento was believed to be a gathering place for witches. Another legend held that nothing should be grown near a walnut tree, because it contains evil or poison.
During the filming of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Helena Bonham Carter accidentally punctured Matthew Lewis's eardrum when she stuck her wand in his ear during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries scene, in which Bellatrix threatens Neville Longbottom.^[5]
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Bellatrix made a whip extend from her wand, which she used against the Snatchers who were holding Gryffindor's Sword.
It is interesting to note that the "length difference" of Bellatrix's wand and Hermione's is the same as that of Harry Potter's and Lord Voldemort's. This may have also of been intended to keep the symmetry.
In the films in which the wand appears, it has a bent look, with etchings on it. It also resembles the talon of a large bird. There are also etchings on Sirius Black's wand, which may indicate a familial comparison.
Helena Bonham Carter said she achieved a large blister after the duelling scene in the Order of the Phoenix film from her wand, the reason being the handle on her curved wand, different from all of the other wands.
Bellatrix had a wand when she fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and duelled Molly Weasley. She likely found this off another witch or wizard.
An error occurs where in her full body poster of Deathly Hallows part two she has it again when Hermione was meant to have it.

Appearances

Notes and references

↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ch. 24
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 26
↑ Deathly Hallows, Ch. 23
↑ "Helena Bonham Carter Gets Wicked"

[DH24-1] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ch. 24

[2] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)

[DH26-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 26

[DH23-4] Deathly Hallows, Ch. 23

[5] "Helena Bonham Carter Gets Wicked"

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@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 |made=[[1981]] or earlier
 |masters=*[[Bellatrix Lestrange]]
-[[Ronald Weasley]]
+|=*[[Ronald Weasley]]
 |owners=*[[Bellatrix Lestrange]]
 *[[Hermione Granger]]