Elder Wand

Elder Wand
Deathly Hallow information
Also known as	The Deathstick Wand of Destiny Albus Dumbledore's Wand
Manufacturer	Antioch Peverell / Death (as stated in The Tale of the Three Brothers)
Made	13th century
Masters	Antioch Peverell Antioch Peverell's killer Emeric the Evil Egbert the Egregious Godelot Hereward Barnabas Deverill Loxias Arcus and/or Livius Gregorovitch Gellert Grindelwald Albus Dumbledore Draco Malfoy (never wielded) Harry Potter
Owners	Antioch Peverell Antioch Peverell's killer Emeric the Evil Egbert the Egregious Godelot Hereward Barnabas Deverill Loxias Arcus and/or Livius Gregorovitch Gellert Grindelwald Albus Dumbledore Tom Riddle (never mastered) Harry Potter

Hermione: "You — you really think this wand exists, then, Mr. Ollivander?"

Ollivander: "Oh yes, yes, it is perfectly possible to trace the wand's course through history. There are gaps, of course, and long ones, where it vanishes from view, temporarily lost or hidden; but it always resurfaces. It has certain identifying characteristics that those who are learned in wandlore recognize...Whether it needs to pass by murder, I do not know. Its history is bloody, but that may be simply due to the fact that it is such a desirable object, and arouses such passions in wizards. Immensely powerful, dangerous in the wrong hands, and an object of incredible fascination to all of us who study the power of wands."

— Garrick Ollivander to Hermione on the Elder Wand

The Elder Wand is one of the fabled Deathly Hallows. In the "Tale of the Three Brothers" it was the first Hallow created, bestowed on Antioch Peverell, supposedly by Death himself after the wizard requested, as his bounty, the most powerful wand in the history of wizardkind. According to legend, whoever reunited it with the other two Hallows, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility, would become the Master of Death.

It is said to be the most powerful wand that has ever existed, able to perform feats of magic that would normally be considered impossible, such as mending another wand damaged beyond normal magical repair. It is known that the Elder Wand's core is the tail hair of a Thestral, a potent yet tricky substance to master that can only be handled by a witch or wizard who is capable of accepting death, since only by such can it be seen.

Description

The Elder Wand is ancient and made of elder wood. It is fifteen inches long and has a Thestral tail-hair core, which is "a tricky substance that only wizards that mastered death can control.". The Elder Wand, as well as being more powerful than other wands, is noticeably unique from other wands in its appearance, particularly because it bears carvings that resemble clusters of elderberries running down its length.

History

"The bloody trail of the Elder Wand is splattered across the pages of Wizarding history."

— Xenophilius Lovegood

Mythic origins of the Elder Wand

"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death!"

— The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Elder Tree from which the wand was made.

According to the "Tale of the Three Brothers" in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the three brothers — suspected to be Antioch, Cadmus, and Ignotus Peverell — were out travelling the world one day when they came to a treacherous river that had been known to claim many of the lives of those attempting to cross it. The three brothers pulled out their wands and conjured a bridge out of thin air. As they began to cross it, however, they found a hooded figure blocking their path midway across the bridge. It was Death himself, and he did not like missing out on new victims.

Death gives Antioch the Elder Wand

While pretending to congratulate them for their triumph, Death schemed against them. He offered each brother a gift for outsmarting Death. The eldest went first, and being a belligerent man, he asked for a wand that would defeat all others. Death went to the nearest tree and created a wand of elder wood, which he handed to the eldest brother. The second brother, who wanted to humiliate Death even further, asked for an object that would recall the dead and was given the Resurrection Stone. The youngest was wiser than his brothers and was sceptical of Death's intentions. He asked for an object that would allow him to live his life without the fear of Death following him. Defeated, Death handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.

Early recorded history

Antioch's throat is slit

As Albus Dumbledore thinks it was unlikely that the Elder Wand was made by Death, it may have been created by the eldest of the three Peverell brothers, Antioch. After killing a rival wizard in a duel shortly after creating the wand, Antioch drunkenly boasted of the wand's powers. He was murdered in his sleep that night and another wizard took possession of the wand.

Over time, the powerful wand passed through various owners, usually by violent means, and acquired names such as the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny. Several of the wand's owners are known, as its "bloody trail" was "splattered across the pages of Wizarding history." Many owners were killed by their successors in a lust for power. In time, the legend included an assumption that murder is necessary in order to attain mastery of the Elder Wand.

Emeric the Evil

Emeric the Evil was a short-lived but exceptionally aggressive wizard. He was the first historically known master of the Elder Wand after Antioch Peverell's killer, though it is possible that others possessed the wand before him. Emeric terrorised the south of England in the early Middle Ages. He was "slaughtered" in a ferocious duel against Egbert the Egregious.

Egbert the Egregious

Egbert the Egregious was once Master of the Elder Wand after killing Emeric the Evil in a duel (Emeric was "slaughtered"). What became of Egbert after mastering the Elder Wand is unknown, but it is expected that he did not last long. A century later, Godelot is recorded to have obtained mastership of the wand.

Godelot

"My moste wicked and subtle friend, with bodie of Ellhorn, who knowes ways of magick moste evile."

— An entry on Godelot's notebook regarding the Elder Wand.

Godelot was recorded to have obtained mastership of the wand around a century after Egbert the Egregious. Godelot, having considered the Elder Wand an instructor, had used his knowledge of the Wand's powers to write Magick Moste Evile, a book that contained information on Dark magic. Godelot perished in his own cellar, after he was locked in by his son, Hereward, who did this to gain ownership of the Wand.

Hereward

Hereward was a wizard who mastered the Elder Wand after killing his father, Godelot. He succeeded in this by locking him in his own cellar to die after stealing the wand.

Barnabas Deverill

Barnabas Deverill was a wizard who mastered the Elder Wand in the early eighteenth century, and used it to carve himself out a reputation as a fearsome warlock, until his reign of terror was ended by Loxias, who murdered Barnabas and gained mastery of the wand.

Loxias

Loxias was a wizard who became Master of the Elder Wand after Barnabas Deverill. Loxias gave it the name "the Deathstick", and used it against anyone who displeased him. It is unknown who killed him, as — according to Dumbledore — many claimed to have finished him off, including his own mother, but from Xenophilius Lovegood's understanding of history, either Arcus or Livius seemed to have done it, as he believed one of them to be the next master of the Elder Wand.

Arcus or Livius

Arcus and Livius were wizards. It is debated which of them became the Master of the Elder Wand after Loxias's death.

Recent History

Mykew Gregorovitch

Gregorovitch

At some point many years ago before 1899, the wand eventually ended up in the possession of the wandmaker Mykew Gregorovitch. Upon realising that it was the most powerful wand in existence, Gregorovitch began experimenting to try and duplicate its powers. Gregorovitch, somewhat foolish by nature and hoping it would improve business, started a rumour about him possessing a wand and his efforts to replicate its properties. The result came one night between 1899-1945 when Gregorovitch heard someone breaking into his workshop. He promptly ran inside and saw a blond haired young man had taken the wand, an intruder who then promptly shot a Stunning Spell at Gregorovitch to acquire mastery of the wand, before leaping out the window. Gregorovitch never found out who stole the wand.

Gellert Grindelwald

Gellert Grindelwald.

Gellert Grindelwald was considered to be one of the most powerful Dark Wizards of all time, second only to Lord Voldemort. He was schooled at Durmstrang Institute and later struck up a friendship with Albus Dumbledore, when he lived in Godric's Hollow for a summer with his great-aunt, Bathilda Bagshot, following his expulsion from Durmstrang. The two made plans to find the Deathly Hallows and create a world in which Muggles would, of necessity, be subservient to wizards and witches, for the greater good. This partnership fell apart after the two were involved in a three-way duel with Aberforth Dumbledore that resulted in Ariana Dumbledore's death.

Grindelwald delved into his research of the Deathly Hallows, and uncovered the location of the Elder Wand. Rumours had been circulating that the renowned wandsmith Gregorovitch had the wand and was trying to duplicate its properties. Grindelwald broke into the wandmaker's workshop, and succeeded in claiming ownership of the fabled wand by waiting until Gregorovitch came then casting a stunning spell on him, making himself the rightful owner instead.

Over the years, Grindelwald raised an army and began a reign of terror that spread through several European countries and murdered many wizards and Muggles, though he never attempted to seize power in Britain, due to his fear of his former friend, Dumbledore, who was "a shade more skilful" than he was. During his reign, he built the Nurmengard prison to hold any objectors, and murdered countless European wizards, all the while continuing to claim everything he did was "for the greater good." which was the phrase he put on the entrance of Nurmengard.

In 1945, at the height of his power, his onetime friend, Dumbledore, felt compelled to confront him, due to the public outcry, and defeated him in what became known as a legendary duel. Grindelwald was subsequently incarcerated in his own prison, Nurmengard, for decades. He was slain there by Lord Voldemort in 1998, when Voldemort was in search of the Elder Wand, which Grindelwald refused to divulge any information about, defying Voldemort, perhaps (as Dumbledore believed) as a final act of atonement for his own crimes.

Albus Dumbledore's possession

"I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Elder Wand, and not to boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it."

— Albus Dumbledore on the Deathly Hallows and the Elder Wand.

Albus Dumbledore

When Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in 1945 in their famous duel, mastery of the Elder Wand passed to him. Dumbledore also used his wand periodically to siphon his thoughts into his Pensieve, thus rehousing his thoughts in that device when he found his mind a bit too cluttered.

Dumbledore duelling Voldemort with the Elder Wand

During Harry's fifth year, Dumbledore used the wand to Stun Dolores Umbridge, Cornelius Fudge, John Dawlish, and Kingsley Shacklebolt as he made his escape when the Ministry tried to take him to Azkaban. In addition, Dumbledore arrived at the Department of Mysteries to aid the Order of the Phoenix in the battle against the Death Eaters. He engaged in a ferocious duel with the Dark Lord, in which he used his wand to enchant the statues from the Fountain of Magical Brethren to protect Harry. Dumbledore then was able to keep Voldemort at bay by cocooning him in a sphere of water from the fountain.

During Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore and Harry set out to the cave where Dumbledore believed a Horcrux resided. When Harry dipped a goblet into the lake to provide water for Dumbledore (who was incredibly weak and thirsty after drinking the Drink of Despair to reach the Horcrux), all the Inferi that resided in the lake grabbed at Harry and attempted to drag him down and drown him in the lake.

Albus Dumbledore using the Elder Wand to conjure a firestorm to defeat the Inferi

Dumbledore recovered enough to conjure a firestorm around them to ward of the Inferi. but remained very weak. When they returned to Hogsmeade, Madam Rosmerta informed them that the Dark Mark had been conjured over the Astronomy Tower. In the tower, Dumbledore enjoined Harry not to interfere in the events that were about to take place there, and, to ensure this, placed him in a Body-Bind Curse under his invisibility cloak. Hidden, Harry was unable to intervene as Dumbledore (now extremely weakened by the potion) was Disarmed by Draco Malfoy. The wand flew from Dumbledore's hands over the battlements, but was clearly found later, as it was put in Dumbledore's grave.

Dumbledore was conversing with Draco about the plot to kill him, when several other Death Eaters entered the tower and tried to persuade Draco to finish his task, and Dumbledore. When Draco hesitated, Snape appeared and performed the Killing Curse on Dumbledore himself. Harry learned that, in order to save himself from a more agonising death and to prevent Draco from tarnishing his soul, Dumbledore had instructed Severus Snape to kill him and Snape had, most reluctantly, acquiesced.

Harry with The Elder Wand

Unbeknownst to Snape, Dumbledore had also done this to ensure that when Snape killed him, Dumbledore would not be "defeated" (as they had agreed to it beforehand and Dumbledore was ready to accept death) and thus the powers of the Elder Wand would be nullified. However, all did not go according to Dumbledore's plan, because Dumbledore was disarmed and thus was defeated by Malfoy. Without his knowledge, Malfoy thus became the next master of the Elder Wand.

Lord Voldemort's search

"The Dark Lord no longer seeks the Elder Wand only for your destruction, Mr. Potter. He is determined to possess it because he believes it will make him truly invulnerable"

— Ollivander

Lord Voldemort

During the summer of 1997, Voldemort held a meeting at Malfoy Manor with his Death Eaters, in which he revealed that, in order to defeat Harry, he would need to borrow another person's wand, because of the connection that his own wand shared with Harry's. He finally settled on Lucius Malfoy's wand, but that wand was destroyed by Harry's during the Battle of the Seven Potters. After this,a furious Voldemort tortured Garrick Ollivander into revealing more solutions to defeat Harry, eventually leading Voldemort to know of the Elder Wand's existence. Although originally desiring another wand only to defeat Potter, upon hearing the wand's legendary powers, he sought its mastery in order to not only to conquer Harry Potter, but also to secure his desire as the ultimate wizard in the world, which he believed would make him invincible. He devoted the latter half of 1997, and into the spring of 1998, into a relentless and murderous search for the Elder Wand. He traced the wand's recent history, killing both Gregorovitch and Grindelwald in the course of his search, and despite Grindelwald's efforts, Voldemort tracked the wand's ownership to Dumbledore. Voldemort broke into Dumbledore's grave and robbed it of the wand which had been buried with its previous master, thus taking possession of the Elder Wand.

Voldemort testing the Elder Wand's power after removing it from Dumbledore's tomb.

Despite this, Voldemort believed that the wand was not performing at the epic level that legend told, and so he ordered his snake Nagini to murder Snape, in order to ensure that the mastery of the Elder Wand would pass to him, since he believed Snape to be the wand's master for killing Dumbledore. However, as Harry Potter, who had been briefly seeking the wand as well, later deduced, its true master at the time of Dumbledore's death had been Draco Malfoy. Furthermore — and unbeknownst to Voldemort — as Harry had subsequently disarmed Draco and taken his wand during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor (although that was not itself the Elder Wand, it still marked the defeat of the wand's master), the Elder Wand's allegiance had since shifted to Harry.

Harry Potter's possession

"You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying."

— Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter

File:Tumblr mqmdbxW40G1qag66no6 250.gif

Harry Potter overpowers Draco Malfoy and masters the Elder Wand

Nearly a year after Draco had unintentionally become the wand's master, Harry had taken Draco's wand by force during the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor, making him the new master of the Elder Wand. Late in the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter, who had learned that he had been accidentally made into Voldemort's Horcrux when he was a year old, walked into the Forbidden Forest to sacrifice himself to Lord Voldemort. Voldemort cast a Killing Curse on Harry using the Elder Wand. The wand seemingly worked because Harry intended to die at Voldemort's hand, much as Dumbledore had planned his death with Snape. Harry had entered a limbo state, portrayed as King's Cross Station, from which he could choose to return. When he did return, Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse on Harry's "dead" body but caused no pain. At this point, Harry realised that he was, in fact, the master of the Elder Wand.

Only in his final encounter with Harry at the Battle of Hogwarts was Voldemort told that he had failed to win the true allegiance of the wand, as he did not gain ownership by defeating its previous owner. Despite this, Voldemort used the Elder Wand to cast his final Killing Curse against Harry's Disarming Charm. But because the wand's allegiance was to Harry, Voldemort's spell backfired and killed him, once and for all.

Harry's decision

"I'm putting the Elder Wand back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won't it? The previous master will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it."

— Harry's decision to give up the Elder Wand

Harry Potter with the Elder Wand after defeating Lord Voldemort.

With Voldemort defeated, and Harry now the true master and possessor of the wand (and in fact all that remained of the Hallows, since he also had the cracked Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility), he used it to repair his damaged original wand of holly and phoenix feather, which he said he was "happier with". After the repair, Harry told Dumbledore's portrait that he would place the Elder Wand back in Dumbledore's tomb, and when Harry died a natural death, the wand's power would be broken as Dumbledore had intended. The portrait of Professor Dumbledore approved.

Known masters of the Elder Wand

• Antioch Peverell
• Antioch Peverell's killer
• Emeric the Evil
• Egbert the Egregious
• Godelot
• Hereward
• Barnabas Deverill
• Loxias
• Arcus or Livius (maybe)
• Gregorovitch
• Gellert Grindelwald
• Albus Dumbledore
• Draco Malfoy
• Harry Potter

Power

"An unbeatable wand, Hermione!"

— Ron Weasley

Dumbledore fighting Voldemort with the Elder Wand in the Ministry of Magic Atrium

The Elder Wand was the most powerful wand in existence. Its owner could have used it to cast spells more powerful than any believed to be magically possible. For example, Harry Potter was able to repair his regular Phoenix feather wand using the Elder Wand in 1998, even though broken wands were held, by experts such as Garrick Ollivander, to be damaged beyond magical repair. However, there appears to be limitations, since Dumbledore was not able to cure petrified victims of Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk, nullify the curse on Marvolo Gaunt's ring, and neither was he able to overcome the enchantments upon Voldemort's Drink of Despair with the wand amplifying his own magic, suggesting that the wand can merely improve pre-existing spells rather than allow the user to perform the impossible.

Although the wand was rumoured to be unbeatable, in Dumbledore's commentary on The Tale of The Three Brothers, in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, he commented that the Elder Wand, while being immensely powerful, had never been unbeatable, as it had been beaten hundreds of times. For it to pass to a new master, the wand must have been beaten, and as there had been many masters of the wand, it was obvious that it was possible to defeat the wielder of the Elder Wand. However, since the first story of the Elder Wand passing featured the Wand's master being killed while he was asleep rather than being defeated in a duel, duels may not be required to claim the wand.

Voldemort casting the Shield penetration spell with the Elder Wand, to breach Hogwarts protection

While it is stated that a wand will not give up its master so easily if it is attempted to be won, The Elder Wand seems to do this time and time again. However this might not be referring to its willingness to give up its master, but rather to the amount of effort it took to defeat the wielder of the Wand. As the wand, like the eldest brother in the Tale, embodied the conceit that "Might is Right", greater power would, from its perspective, indicate superiority. Ron has noted that he would choose the wand of the three Hallows, but argued that he would do so while not proclaiming his ownership of it, reasoning that the wand was only dangerous to the first brother because he bragged about owning it rather than the wand being dangerous on its own.

It appears that the Elder Wand is still somewhat more powerful than other wands, even when the user has not mastered it, as seen when it was in the hands of Lord Voldemort. However, Voldemort was a very powerful wizard even without special artefacts to aid him. It is unknown to what extent his power was boosted by the wand, but it is certain that he never unlocked its full power, because he was never the Wand's true master. Voldemort himself sensed, and was immensely frustrated by, this fact.

Symbolism

In the Deathly Hallows symbol, the Elder Wand is shown as the vertical line that goes right through the middle of the circle and the triangle; it represents the aspects of power and invincibility of the Hallows as a whole, the tent pole, as it were, of the entire edifice.

Other elder wands

While "The Elder Wand" (capitalised) refers to one of the Deathly Hallows, other wands have been made from elder wood. In general wizards seem to eschew elder wands, due at least in part to the sordid history of the Elder Wand itself, favouring wands made from various other woods, such as holly, willow, vine, and oak. Ron repeats an old wizarding saying, "Wand of elder, never prosper" after Hermione reads The Tale of the Three Brothers, to illustrate how wizarding lore may be passed from generation to generation.

Behind the scenes

Elder Wand in LEGO form.

The real elder wand movie prop

The Elder Wand cracking.

• As shown on the cover picture of "The Tale of the Three Brothers", the book version of the Elder Wand only has two bumps, and at the bottom. It's also dark wood, and with no white or bumps.
• Dumbledore's commentary on the Tale of the Three Brothers notes that all known Masters of the Elder Wand had been men.
• The wand has been available to purchase on the Noble Collection website, contained in an Ollivanders Wand Shop box. This implies, incorrectly, that the wand was made and sold at the shop by Garrick Ollivander. (Though this could be due to the fact that the Noble wand was released before Dumbledore's wand was revealed to be the Elder Wand)
• The film-makers designed Albus Dumbledore's wand for the films years before it was revealed to be the Elder Wand, or that the Elder Wand even existed. Fortunately, the wand they created happened to be unique among all the film series' wands, even bearing carvings which resemble clusters of elderberries running down its length.
• Those to whom the Elder Wand isn't loyal can perform feats of magic equivalent to owning a regular wand. In the Battle of Hogwarts, Voldemort remarked about this to Severus Snape, and reasoned that, since he believed Snape to be the master of the Elder Wand, Voldemort would have to kill him to claim true mastery of it. The only thing that it has been shown that the Elder Wand can't do (or, rather, won't do) is harm its own master if it finds itself in the physical possession of another. Unfortunately for Voldemort, Draco Malfoy was the master of the wand, as he was the one who disarmed Dumbledore.
• At the end of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Elder Wand is seen lying on the headmaster's desk, instead of being buried in the White Tomb. This scene must take place before Dumbledore's burial (which isn't seen on film), given that in the next film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the wand is buried with its former master.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Albus Dumbledore claimed he would make it easy for Draco Malfoy and allowed Malfoy to disarm him, though he could have defended himself. Therefore it seems as though he wanted Malfoy to have the Wand; however it should be noted that the Elder Wand was said to only switch allegiance if it was removed from its master against his will. However it's possible that Dumbledore truly hadn't expected Draco to attack him, even if only to disarm him, and was therefore genuinely caught off guard. Also, because he was in a very weak and slow state from drinking the Potion, it's likely that he was just too slow and weak to defend himself.
• If Dumbledore had managed to keep his wand and not be disarmed by Draco Malfoy, then he would have presumably been disarmed by one of the Death Eaters before Snape came, if they saw him. However they didn't attack him directly, as they knew that Draco needed to kill him, so it's possible that Dumbledore could have kept his wand. It's unknown how Severus Snape would have reacted if he had seen Dumbledore with the wand, but most likely, given the ravaging effects of the curse which Dumbledore was already suffering, he would have killed him anyway.
• It's unknown what would have happened to the Elder Wand if Dumbledore had been killed by the Inferi in the Horcrux Cave. It might be that its loyalty would have passed to their master, as Voldemort seemed to believe would be the case when he instructed Nagini to kill Snape.
• Albus Dumbledore (with the exception of Egbert the Egregious) is the only known wizard to have defeated a Master of the Elder Wand (Gellert Grindelwald) in a wizarding duel. Other Masters of the Elder Wand obtained mastery through deceit, stealth (as when Grindelwald stole it from Gregorovitch), foul play (the murder of Antioch Peverell in his sleep), happenstance (as when Draco Malfoy disarmed Albus Dumbledore, who was concurrently casting a Full Body-Bind Curse on Harry Potter) or beating the current master while he doesn't physically possess the wand (as in Harry Potter's disarming of Draco Malfoy). This is another testament to Dumbledore's innate magical skills, which he references to Harry when the latter is in limbo by admitting that although both he and Grindelwald were evenly matched in magic, he was a shade more skillful. The Elder Wand, therefore, bears a certain resemblance to the One Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", as an instigator of murder and mayhem.
• In the film adaptation for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, it seems that the Elder Wand has a much darker colour; this may be a change the film makers employed to make the wand fit better with Voldemort's "dark and evil" personality.
• The curse that killed Lord Voldemort came from the Elder Wand. As Voldemort thought that Snape was the Master, Voldemort killed him. Draco, however, was the true Master, as he had disarmed Dumbledore, and then Harry disarmed Draco. So, when Voldemort tried to kill Harry, the Wand wouldn't harm its master, and so turned the spell back on Voldemort. Although this does make one wonder why it didn't backfire on Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, as Harry was already the Master of the Elder Wand by then. Perhaps it was because Nagini, a Horcrux, was still alive, or it may have been because Harry intended to die, much as Dumbledore did when facing Snape in the Astronomy Tower. Alternatively, it may have been that, since Harry didn't fight back, he couldn't be defeated. Alternatively, it's possible that the curse did indeed backfire because it destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul that was in Harry's forehead.
• Though Harry hoped to break the power of the wand by dying a natural death, he would need to do so without ever being defeated, even by simply being disarmed. Unless the aggressor knew that Harry was the Elder Wand's master, and was attempting to defeat him in order to become master of the wand (in which case, Harry would simply need to allow himself to be defeated intentionally to retain mastery) then it's unlikely the victor would ever know to take control of the Wand, so its mastery would become increasingly difficult to trace if they were defeated in turn, and the probability of their dying a natural death while undefeated would become more and more likely. Further, so long as Harry succeeded in subsequently defeating anyone who defeated him, the allegiance of the wand would return to Harry.
• The Noble Collection wand is also not painted correctly. On the movie prop, The shaft is goldish bronze and the knobs are black, but the Noble wand is all black.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, when Voldemort tries to unleash the Elder Wand's capabilities upon the shield surrounding Hogwarts, he seems to feel a slight pain in his arm carrying the wand, similar to the effects of the Horcrux being destroyed. The wand as well cracks under the strain.
• In Part 2 of the film adaptation, Harry simply breaks the Elder Wand and throws it away as opposed to the seventh book where he repairs his holly wand. This is justified as the wand won't fall into the wrong hands.
• When asked which of the Deathly Hallows they preferred, Hermione Granger chose the Cloak of Invisibility, while Ron chose the Elder Wand, and Harry chose the Resurrection Stone.
• It's mentioned in Dumbledore's (not entirely honest) commentary that rumours of an unbeatable wand are preposterous. For example, Grindelwald had mastered the "unbeatable" Deathstick, and yet was still defeated by Dumbledore in 1945. However, it's more probable that only one who has mastered the wand by becoming a Master of Death (which is required to truly unlock the Wand's full power) will be unbeatable with it. This is supported by the fact that, although (fifty-one years later) Dumbledore didn't defeat Lord Voldemort in their duel at the Ministry of Magic due to the latter's use of Horcruxes, but ended up fighting him to a stalemate, this is only because he fled. Indeed, it appears that Dumbledore would have won had the fight continued (hence Voldemort fleeing).
• The Elder Wand is now also available to buy at the 'Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour' in London, where it's known as Professor Dumbledore's Wand.
• It has never been clearly defined what it means when it is said that the Elder Wand's power will break if its current master dies a natural death. It could mean that its powers would be diminished to the point of it becoming a regular wand, or it could mean its powers being utterly obliterated, turning it into a mere stick, unable to cast any more magic.

Author's comments

J. K. Rowling has discussed how the Elder Wand behaves slightly different from other wands in its loyalty:

"The Elder Wand is simply the most ruthless of wands in that it will only take into consideration strength. One would expect a certain amount of loyalty from one's wand. So even if you were disarmed while carrying it, even if you lost a fight while carrying it, it has developed an affinity with you that it won't give up easily. If, however, a wand is won, properly won in an adult duel, then a wand may switch allegiance ... However, the Elder Wand knows no loyalty except to strength. It's completely unsentimental. It will only go where the power is. So if you win, then you've won the wand. You don't need to kill with it. But ... almost inevitably, it attracts wizards who are prepared to kill and who will kill. And also it attracts wizards like Voldemort who confuse being prepared to murder with strength."

See also

• Peverell family
• Deathly Hallows
• Cloak of Invisibility
• Resurrection Stone
• The Tale of the Three Brothers

Appearances

The Elder Wand is one of the Deathly Hallows, represented here by the vertical line.

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First identified as Elder Wand)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Appears in flashback(s)) (Appears in vision(s))
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game) (Appears in flashback(s))
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard
• Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter for Kinect