Hey everyone, welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re
going to be discussing the top TEN most powerful wands in the Harry Potter series.
“A wand is the object through which a witch or wizard channels his or her magic. It is
made from wood and has a magical substance at its core. Wands made by Ollivander have
cores of phoenix feather, unicorn hair or dragon heartstring, and are of varying woods,
lengths and flexibilities.”
Essentially, no witch or wizard, no matter how powerful, is complete without their wand.
After a wand has been chosen for them, it becomes a vital part of their existence. The
wand and caster establish an almost symbiotic relationship. Though ultimately the power
of a respective witch or wizard does come down to,well, the inherent power of that witch
or wizard- a wand CAN still have an impact. There have been instances where there are
incredibly powerful wizards with painfully average wands, and also instances where incredibly
weak wizards have had incredibly powerful wands. A powerful wand in the hands of an
untalented witch or wizard is not any more powerful than a regular wand, but in the right
hands, in the hands of someone who can tap in to the true potential of the wand-it can
be exceedingly powerful.
In this video, I’m going to be discussing the 10 MOST POWERFUL wands, at least as far
as what we can derive from the Harry Potter books / films. This list in no way ranks the
power of the respective witch or wizard, just their wand. So without further ado, let’s
get things started:
10. Lucius Malfoy’s Wand
Lucius Malfoy was a pure-blood wizard that came from the famous ‘Malfoy’ family.
He was the father of Draco Malfoy, and son of Abraxas Malfoy. While attending Hogwarts
he was said to have been exceptionally gifted at potions, earning the attention of Horace
Slughorn. Though Lucius was a loyal death eater for many years, him and his family eventually
defected. We don’t often see Lucius exhibit any of his magical prowess on screen, but
we know from his history at Hogwarts that he was a gifted wizard. Additionally, he was
trusted by the dark lord for many many years-whether that was just Voldemort preying on his weakness
is up for us to decide, but I still think that he was likely decently powerful. The
wand of Lucius’ is brought to our immediate attention when Voldemort requests it from
him:
Voldemort: "...I understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand
from one of you before I go to kill Potter. No volunteers? Let’s see...Lucius, I see
no reason for you to have a wand any more." Lucius: "My Lord?"
Voldemort: "Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand."
What this perhaps tells us is that, out of a room full of powerful death eaters, the
wand of Lucius’ may have been most fitting for Voldemort. Voldemort must have had some
inclination that Lucius’ wand was the best option to take out Harry. He was punishing
Lucius, but the wand was likely still quite powerful.
The wand itself is 18” long, made of elm, with a dragon heartstring core. 18” is particularly
long for a wand, much longer than the top end of normal, and this is because it also
has a silver snake head handle.
9.Minerva McGonagall’s Wand
Minerva McGonagall is a Scottish half-blood witch that attended the Hogwarts school of
witchcraft and wizardry, and later worked there. While she attended Hogwarts she was
the most talented student of her entire year. She achieved top grades in her Newts and owls,
and showed powerful magical ability from a very young age. She is also extremely talented
in transfiguration.
While she is massively talented as a witch, some of her magical capabilities can be attributed
to her wand. Her wand is a great match for her magical talent, and doesn’t stunt the
channeling of any of her magical capabilities. The wand itself is quite short, 9 1/2 inches
and made of fir wood with a dragon heartstring core. Her wand was really well suited for
transfiguration, which was a perfect fit for the transfiguration professor.
It has been expressed that the wand is ‘very much like it’s owner: elegant, refined,
and very powerful’
8. Flitwick’s Wand
Professor Filius Flitwick was the resident Charms master at Hogwarts, and head of Ravenclaw
house. He was a half-goblin wizard, and a former duelling CHAMPION. He was quite a powerful
wizard, and his charms skills far exceeded the average charms practitioner.
Though the length, wood and core of Flitwick’s wand are never released to us, we know that
with it he was able to produce some exceptional magic in the realm of charms. This tells me
that similar to McGonagalls wand, which enhances her transfiguration capabilities, Flitwick’s
wand likely enhances Flitwick’s charms abilities.
What we do know about his wand is that it had an angular cross-shaped handle, and was
made of a light wood with a deep brown tint toward the end.
7. Severus Snape’s Wand
Snape is arguably one of the most powerful wizards to have ever lived, and I think that
if he were to have lived a longer life (he died quite young) he would have truly been
pushing the limits of the magical capabilities of witches and wizards.
In his youth, Snape was a very promising young wizard, and while learning his primary course
material at Hogwarts, would scribble in his notebook and invent curses, charms, and potions.
Snape even produces his own version of the potions class textbook under the alias ‘The
Half Blood Prince’, which in addition to the regular textbook content contained shortcuts
to creating potions, as well as spells that Snape himself had created.
The wand length, material and core are never released to us, but what we do know is that
Snape didn’t take out his wand very often- and generally only used wandless magic. Snape
was immensely powerful, and so it was not essential that he always bring out his wand.
As we know, wands are used to channel magic, but a powerful wizard with enough focus is
able to produce magic without the wand.
The fact that Snape’s wand never stunted his magical capabilities, despite him being
an immensely powerful wizard, tells me that the wand was likely quite powerful as well.
Snape also had a pretty impressive duelling resume.
6. Bellatrix Lestrange’s Wand
Wielded by the infamous deatheater herself, the first wand of Bellatrix Lestrange was
constructed by Garrick Ollivander of Ollivander’s in Diagon Alley. It was 12 ¾” long and
made of walnut, with a dragon heartstring core. Described by Ollivander as ‘unyielding’
,it was the cause of much pain and suffering to many.
The list of people who suffered at the hands of this wand includes Sirius Black, Nymphadora
Tonks, Dobby, Neville Longbottom’s parents, and many more. The wands specialty was causing
pain, which paired well with Bellatrix’s affinity for the Cruciatus curse.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione finds herself in possession of this wand shortly
before impersonating Bellatrix. However, she found the wand to be extremely sinister and
entirely distasteful to wield.
"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."
5. Gellert Grindelwald’s Original Wand
Grindelwald is THE dark wizard of his time, preceding Voldemort as the quintessential
‘dark’ presence in the world. He is widely considered by many to be the second most powerful
dark wizard of all time, second to only Voldemort.
Grindelwald was born in the year 1883, and in his younger years he was a student at Durmstrang
institute. While attending the school, Grindelwald demonstrated exceptional magic ability, however,
his sadistic nature also shone through, and he was expelled for experimenting with twisted
and dark magic. While Grindelwald later became owner of the elder wand, the most powerful
wand in existence and one of the deathly hallows, we can derive from his earlier magical successes
that his original wand was quite powerful as well.
When he first met Albus Dumbledore, he still had his original wand, but regardless of that
the two were still able to produce immensely powerful magic, constantly challenging each
other’s magical capabilities.
It’s unknown what Grindelwald’s original wand was made of, but we know that it was
with this wand that Grindelwald cast the cruciatus curse on Abeforth, Dumbledore’s brother:
"And there was an argument ... and I pulled out my wand, and he pulled out his."
4. Harry Potter’s Wand
“I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single wand. And it just so
happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather.
Just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother
gave you that scar.”
Harry Potter’s wand is massively importance in the series. It is 11” long, made of Holly,
and is 1 of 2 wands that contain a phoenix feather core from the same phoenix.
The only other wand in existence that contained this core was the ‘brother’ to Harry’s
wand and it belonged to...you should know this….VOLDEMORT. The power of Harry’s
wand is exhibited in numerous instances, most notably when Harry was able to produce an
imperius curse, a patronus, and a shield charm all while still being a very young wizard.
In the words of Hermione: “you can produce a Patronus, you can do all sorts of stuff
that full-grown wizards can't”
3. Voldemort’s Wand
You just saw Harry’s wand, so you’re probably not surprised that the brother to Harry’s
wand, possessed by lord Voldemort, comes in at #3 on this list. Voldemort’s wand was
13 ½” long, and was made of yew with a phoenix feather core. Voldemort’s wand is
arguably one of the most infamous / destructive wands in the entire HP universe and was responsible
for the famous scar on Harry’s forehead. Voldemort’s wand’s specialty was perfectly
paired with Voldemort’s signature spell, Avada Kedavra. It’s capabilities did not
stop at avada kedavra, however, and has been showcased as being able to achieve a variety
of feats including conjuring a fire serpent and producing Horcruxes.The list of people
who fell victim to this dark wand is enormous, but most notably it was responsible for the
deaths of Lily & James Potter.
2. Dumbledore’s Original Wand
Obviously Dumbledore becomes the owner of the elder wand after defeating Grindelwald,
but the Dumbledore that we know and love didn’t always possess it. There was a time when,
just like every other witch and wizard, Dumbledore went out and bought his very own first wand.
Dumbledore would have purchased this wand in 1892 at Ollivander’s, right after he
turned 11. Given Dumbledore’s age, It’s likely that he purchased the wand from Gerbold
Ollivander, the grandfather of Garrick Ollivander. So, Dumbledore’s original wand was just
from a wand shop? There was no fabled story surrounding it like the Elder wand and it’s
association with the deathly hallows? That’s right- it was just a regular wand, but it
was still powerful, and it’s owner was even more powerful.
JK Rowling never actually released what Dumbledore’s original wand was made of, but if you’re
curious, I made a separate video where I presented some theories on this.
Why is this wand so powerful? you might ask. Well, it was with this wand that Dumbledore
was able to defeat an elder wand wielding Grindelwald. That alone should be enough of
an indicator that this wand was very powerful.
1. The Elder Wand
Now, you’ve probably guessed this one already. Coming in at #1 on this list is the Elder
Wand. It is undeniably the most powerful wand in the Harry Potter universe.. Wielded by
dumbledore from 1945 onwards, it is a source of great power. Perhaps the only reason that
Grindelwald was defeated by Dumbledore while wielding this wand is because Dumbledore is
such an immensely powerful wizard.
The Elder wand was the first hallow created, made by Death himself, and it was said to
be the most powerful wand that ever existed. The Elder Wand is made of elder wood, and
it’s core is the tail hair of a Thestral. It’s 15” long and has carvings down its
length that resemble clusters of elderberries. With the elder wand, witches and wizards are
able to effortlessly produce intensely powerful magic that others could only dream of. Possession
of the wand also meant that you could produce magic which was not otherwise possible, this
includes mending other wands that could not normally be repaired through magic. It’s
insanely powerful, particularly in the hands of an equally powerful witch or wizard, and
it is undoubtedly the most powerful wand to have ever been in existence.
And that’s it for this video! What do you think? What are YOUR top 10 most powerful
wands? Let me know down in the comment section below. Until next time,
YER A WIZARD ARRY