Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video- I’m going to
be discussing the boy who lived-Harry Potter- as well as the fabled Elder Wand. More specifically-
I’m going to be discussing the actions that Harry took at the end of the last book/film,
after Voldemort had been defeated and where Harry was left as the true owner of the wand.
The first thing worth mentioning is that the fate of the Elder Wand varied from book to
film. In the book, after repairing his own wand, Harry lays the elder wand to rest with
Dumbledore. The following excerpt conveys Harry’s words to Dumbledore’s portrait
in the headmasters office:
“I’m putting the Elder Wand,” he told Dumbledore, who was watching him with enormous
affection and admiration, “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.”
In the film however, a very different course of action is taken. In the film- the fate
of the wind is far more drastic- as Harry dramatically snaps it in half:
Harry Potter : It's mine.
Ron Weasley : What should we do with it?
Hermione Granger : We?
Ron Weasley : I'm just saying - that's the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in the
world. With that, we'd be invincible!
[Harry pauses and has second thoughts, then snaps the Elder Wand in half destroying its
power before tossing the two halves into the abyss, Ron and Hermione proudly smile at Harry]
So they’re different- However, one thing is consistent from book to film: Harry being
worried about the power of the wand. The elder wand is undeniably the most powerful
wand in the Harry Potter universe. It was the first Hallow created, made by Death himself,
and no other wand is its equal. Possession of the wand also meant that you could produce
magic which was not otherwise possible- and to say that the wand would be dangerous in
the wrong hands is a massive understatement.
Let me clarify something: in order for the elder wand to truly change hands, the current
holder MUST be bested by another witch or wizard- that is disarmed or defeated. Bearing
this in mind, BOOK Harry left the wand in Dumbledore’s tomb so that the wand would
naturally lose its power. His thought process was this: if the wand is detached from the
world, and the wand is never taken forcibly from him- then no one else can be it’s true
master. His understanding was that if HE died without ever losing possession of the wand,
then it could never change allegiance again-rendering it useless- and most importantly, unable to
be used for evil. This is supported by the following excerpt from the book:
“The previous master will never have been defeated. That’ll be the end of it.”
Film Harry on the other hand had a different approach. He didn’t want to leave things
up to chance, he wanted to be sure that the wand could never be used for evil again. And
what’s the best way to do that? SNAP the wand.
I think it’s safe to say that the film method was safer, however, there were also a few
holes in book Harry’s logic. As long as Harry was still alive- the risk of him being
disarmed/killed always existed- and whether he was actively wielding the wand or not-
the person who bested him may become the elder wands true owner. So in this respect- Harry’s
logic was flawed. Does that mean he made a mistake? Was the elder wand just waiting to
be taken?
In actuality- the elder wand WAS safe- just not for the reasons that Harry thought. Harry’s
initial view was ‘I won’t be defeated therefore no one will become the new master’-
but this was not realistic-particularly as Harry pursued a career in the auror department.
However, the life of risk and danger that Harry would eventually follow- and the high
likelihood that he WOULD be disarmed at one point or another, is actually what kept the
elder wand safe.
The fact that he would likely be disarmed by countless other people throughout his career,
who would unknowingly become masters of the Elder Wand - and that they themselves would
likely be disarmed by countless other people- means that the path of the wand’s ownership
will become too convoluted to follow. In this regard- Harry’s plan was in fact accidentally
effective. So no, Harry didn’t necessarily make a mistake-but he certainly didn’t think
it through entirely.
Do you guys have anything else to say on the matter? What would YOU have done with the
elder wand? Personally, I think I would have kept it for myself.
Until next time
Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving
Who said that?! Comment down below