Ronald Weasley's first wand

From Harry Potter Wiki

The first wand of Ron Weasley was 12" ash wood, with a unicorn hair core. It originally belonged to his older brother Charlie. The wand was old and part of the unicorn hair stuck out of the end.^[2]

This wand was snapped in half in September of 1992 in a run-in with the Whomping Willow, barely held together by a strain of the wood. Ron attempted to hold it together using Spello-tape, but its magical capabilities were damaged beyond repair. It subsequently started malfunctioning. When Ron attempted to hex Draco Malfoy for calling Hermione Granger a "filthy little Mudblood", the spell backfired, causing him to vomit slugs. When he tried to transfigure beetles into buttons in class, he instead created smoke that smelled like rotten-eggs, and accidentally crushed his beetle. During the first meeting of the Duelling Club, the wand once again malfunctioned, injuring Seamus Finnigan.

Despite its negative effects it had all year against its master, its one positive deed was at the end of the school year. When Gilderoy Lockhart stole it and attempted to wipe the memories of Ron and Harry Potter, the charm backfired, causing Lockhart permanent and drastic memory loss, thus saving Harry and Ron from Lockhart's scheme.^[3] It has also been speculated that had Gilderoy not pointed the wand the wrong way, his attempt may have still backfired due to the concept of wand allegiance expanded upon in the final book's discussion of the Elder Wand.

Ron's father subsequently purchased a new wand for him.^[4]

[edit] Behind the scenes

• J. K. Rowling used a Celtic calendar to assign Ron's first wand wood, ash, based on his date of birth. She did the same for Harry's wand and Hermione's wand, as "a hidden connection" between the three friends.^[5]
• In the film version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Ron was supposed to transfigure Scabbers into a goblet, the wand's damaged power caused the transformation to be incomplete, which left the cup with fur and a tail.

[edit] Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)

[edit] Notes and references