Charles Weasley's wand

Ronald Weasley's first wand
Historical information
Made	before 1984
Master(s)	Charlie Weasley Ron Weasley (inherited)
Owner(s)	Charlie Weasley Ron Weasley Gilderoy Lockhart (temporary)
Material information
Wood	Ash
Core	Unicorn hair
Length	12"

The first wand of Ronald Weasley was 12" ash with a core of unicorn hair that stuck out at the end of the wand. It originally belonged to his older brother Charlie.

This wand was snapped in half in September of 1992 in a run-in with the Whomping Willow, during Ron's second year at Hogwarts, it barely held together by a strain of the wood. Ronald attempted to hold it together using Spello-tape, but its magical capabilities were damaged beyond repair. It subsequently started malfunctioning; Ron refused to request his parents to buy a new one then due to fearing that he would receive another Howler from his mother for being irresponsible.

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 Charms, the wand shot itself out of Ron's hand and struck Professor Flitwick on the forehead, causing a green bump to appear. During the first meeting of the Duelling Club, the wand once again malfunctioned, injuring Seamus Finnigan.

Despite the wand's negative effects it had all year against its master, the one positive deed was at the end of the school year. When Gilderoy Lockhart stole it, he attempted to wipe the memories of Ron and Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets, but the charm backfired, causing Lockhart permanent and drastic memory loss, thus saving Harry and Ron from Lockhart's scheme to claim that he found the Chamber of Secrets. Ron's father, Arthur Weasley subsequently purchased a new wand for him.

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 although by coincidence, Draco Malfoy's wand, made from Hawthorn also corresponded to his date of birth 5 June.
• 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. During the Dueling Club, when Lockhart tried to pair Harry off with Ron, Professor Snape suggested otherwise, stating that Ron's malfunctioning wand would be sending Harry to the Hospital wing in a matchbox. Later, when Ron was about to use a Hover Charm on two cupcakes spiked with Sleeping Draught, Harry stopped him, thinking it would be better if he did it instead. In the end, when Lockhart's Memory Charm backfired, it sent him flying backward instead of causing sparks that caused a cave in.

"Backfire!" trading card.

• It has also been speculated that, had the wand not been broken, Lockhart's attempt to erase Harry and Ron's memories may have still backfired due to the concept of wand allegiance expanded upon in the final book's discussion of the Elder Wand. However, as Lockhart had stolen the wand from Ron by force, he might have won its allegiance.
• Why Ron had Charlie's old wand is likely due to the Weasley family being relatively poor, and therefore unable to purchase a new wand for Ron when he entered school (though technically, Charlie could have kept this wand and bought a new one for Ron instead).
• In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Ron's wand is shown to malfunction in an optional scene in Hagrid's garden.
• As it is described on Pottermore, Ash wood "cleaves to its one true owner and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, as it would lose power" as well as the Unicorn Hair core, as "they are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner." It can be speculated that, while this wand was in Ron's possession, he was not able to demonstrate his magical skills to full capacity.
• A placard describing this wand used in Harry Potter: The Exhibition appears to be copied from the text of this very article, even using the same image and retaining one of the reference marks, as can be seen in this past revision of the page.

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)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game