Elder Wand
From UnknowableWiki
The Elder Wand, also known as the "Deathstick" and the "Wand of Destiny," is the most powerful wand in existence. It is made of elder wood and contains a Thestral tail hair, a core that can only be mastered by a witch or wizard who is capable of facing death (JKRW). It is the first of the Deathly Hallows, objects created by the Peverell brothers that purportedly make any who unites all three items the Master of Death. Antioch Peverell created the Elder Wand. It is represented by a vertical line dividing a circle (representing the Resurrection Stone) in half in the Symbol of the Hallows (DH21).
A fantasized version of the Elder Wand's creation is found in The Tale of the Three Brothers, a tale by Beedle the Bard, which tells the story of the creation of the Hallows. Supposedly, the Elder Wand was created when a man, having cheated Death, asked for the most powerful wand in existence, and Death made a wand from a nearby elder tree. This is, however, fabrication. Though the story was probably created to explain the power of the Hallows, there is some truth in it; Antioch Peverell met his death when he bragged about the Elder Wand's powers, after which he was killed by a wizard greedy to have the power for himself (DH21).
History
The Elder Wand has a bloody history, passing from wizard to wizard by the spilling of blood; to obtain the wand and unlock its full potential, one must defeat its possessor, thus becoming master of the Deathstick (DH21). Should the possessor die without the wand having been taken from them, the wand would lose its power. Although it is not necessary to kill the former bearer to master the wand, struggle for the wand was often deadly, and most wizards have started to believe that the Elder Wand's previous master must indeed die (DH36). Because of this characteristic, the Elder Wand is the easiest of the Deathly Hallows to trace. Egbert the Egregious obtained the wand after killing Emeric the Evil; Godelot's son, Hereward, imprisoned him in his own cellar after taking the Elder Wand from him; Loxias took the wand from Barnabas Deverill after he killed him. For most Hallows Questers, the trail of the wand disappears with Loxias, as the wand may have passed to either Arcus or Livius (DH21).
The Elder Wand eventually ended up in the hands of Gregorovitch, the famous European wandmaker, who foolishly spread the word to increase his fame and demand for his wands (DH24). Gellert Grindelwald, seeking to unite the Hallows, stole the wand from Gregorovitch (DH14), and used it until his defeat in 1945 at the hands of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore took the Elder Wand and kept it with him, intending to let the wand's power die with him (DH35). He made an arrangement with Severus Snape, and made Snape promise that he would murder Dumbledore (DH33); this arrangement would have allowed Albus to die undefeated (DH36). However, Draco Malfoy, during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Disarmed Dumbledore before the murder took place, thus giving him possession of the Elder Wand, though he did not know it (HBP27, DH36). The wand was buried with Dumbledore in his tomb (DH24).
Voldemort
After the Battle of the Seven Potters, Voldemort, seeking a new wand that would not be affected by the bond between his and Harry Potter's wands, decided to obtain the Elder Wand. He tortured Mr. Ollivander for information about the wand's whereabouts and, learning of Gregorovitch's claim to have possessed the wand, hunted down the wandmaker (DH7, DH24). Not finding the wand with Gregorovitch, Voldemort learned of Grindelwald's theft of the wand and then killed Gregorovitch (DH14). He then went to Nurmengard, where Grindelwald was imprisoned, and, though Grindelwald tried to throw Voldemort off the trail, Voldemort realised that Dumbledore had been the last possessor of the wand (DH23). He then killed Grindelwald, after which he went to Hogwarts, broke open Dumbledore's tomb, and took the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's corpse (DH24). However, the wand did not give Voldemort the extraordinary powers he desired; he thus concluded that Severus Snape must have been the last master of the wand, as the Potions master had killed Dumbledore. Voldemort then killed Snape, and believed that he was the wand's master (DH33).
However, Voldemort did not know of Draco's disarming of Dumbledore; nor did he know that Harry Potter had overpowered Malfoy and taken his wand, thus making Harry the true master of the Elder Wand. When Harry and Voldemort faced each other for the final time, Harry cast a Disarming Spell against Voldemort's Killing Curse, and the Elder Wand, refusing to attack its master, went to Harry as Voldemort's spell rebounded, killing him (DH36).
Harry used the Elder Wand to repair his old wand, which had been broken in Godric's Hollow, and kept the Elder Wand hidden, with the intention of letting its power die with him (DH36).
