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Writing "Not Only a Granger" led me to question how does a wand chooses his wizard/witch. I did some homework and found some interesting information on the matter.
The wood of what a wand is made varies and the perfect wand wood for a wizard/witch is chosen upon his/her birthday, according to J.K. Rowling.
On her web site, you can find this list. It's based on a Celtic System and between parentheses is the Celtic tree name.
December 24 - January 20 = Birch (Beth)
January 21 - February 17 = Rowan (Luis)
February 18 - March 17 = Ash (Nion)
March 18 - April 14 = Alder (Fearn)
April 15 - May 12 = Willow (Saille)
May 13 - June 9 = Hawthorn (Huath)
June 10 - July 7 = Oak (Duir)
July 8 - August 4 = Holly (Tinne)
August 5 - September 1 = Hazel (Coll)
September 2 - September 29 = Vine (Muin)
September 30 - October 27 = Ivy (Gort)
October 28 - November 24 = Reed (Ngetal)
November 25 - December 23 = Elder (Ruis)
Besides that, a wand has a magical core. According to J.K. Rowling, Ollivander (the most respected wand crafter of the Wizarding world) uses three kind of magical substance to core the wands he makes: Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring and Fenix Feather. There are other kind of cores (as in Fleur's wand) but they're not used by Ollivander.
The best wand core for each wizard/witch is a matter of discussion. J.K. Rowling didn't say much about it but there are some speculations. I found an article on Mugglenet (North Tower Editorial #26) where a thorough investigation on the matter is made. The author, Maline Fredén, comes to the conclusion that the wands core are related to the specific abilities of the wizard/witch and are divided as above:
1) Charms and DADA– Phoenix feathers
2) Changes (Transfiguration, which’s related to Potions and Alchemy) – Dragon heartstring
3) Creation (with animals and plants, healing, maybe Divination as well) – Unicorn hair
Using this logic and other clues, it's possible to assume that the characters wand cores as follow:
Phoenix Feather: Harry, Voldemort, Ginny, Flitwick, Lily, Luna (think of her gryffindor hat!), Bill (he’s a curse breaker after all), Lupin (he’s pretty good with the Patronus Charm himself for all his modesty), Cho (the silver swan patronus) and maybe even Malfoy (“potter stinks” badges, trip-jinxes and the like)…
Dragon Heartstring: Hermione, McGonnagal, Dumbledore, Snape, Viktor Krum, James, Sirius, Fred and George…
Unicorn Hair: Ron, Cedric, Charlie, Neville, Pettigrew (I somehow don’t feel him in the dragon group, could be in Phoenix too), Hagrid, Lavender (remember the love for her rabbit who died in PoA, her difficulties with producing a Patronus in OotP and her delight with the unicorns in GoF), Professor Sprout (naturally), Professor Grubbly-Plank…
The length of the wand is probably based on the height of the wizard/witch.
The wood of what a wand is made varies and the perfect wand wood for a wizard/witch is chosen upon his/her birthday, according to J.K. Rowling.
On her web site, you can find this list. It's based on a Celtic System and between parentheses is the Celtic tree name.
December 24 - January 20 = Birch (Beth)
January 21 - February 17 = Rowan (Luis)
February 18 - March 17 = Ash (Nion)
March 18 - April 14 = Alder (Fearn)
April 15 - May 12 = Willow (Saille)
May 13 - June 9 = Hawthorn (Huath)
June 10 - July 7 = Oak (Duir)
July 8 - August 4 = Holly (Tinne)
August 5 - September 1 = Hazel (Coll)
September 2 - September 29 = Vine (Muin)
September 30 - October 27 = Ivy (Gort)
October 28 - November 24 = Reed (Ngetal)
November 25 - December 23 = Elder (Ruis)
Besides that, a wand has a magical core. According to J.K. Rowling, Ollivander (the most respected wand crafter of the Wizarding world) uses three kind of magical substance to core the wands he makes: Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring and Fenix Feather. There are other kind of cores (as in Fleur's wand) but they're not used by Ollivander.
The best wand core for each wizard/witch is a matter of discussion. J.K. Rowling didn't say much about it but there are some speculations. I found an article on Mugglenet (North Tower Editorial #26) where a thorough investigation on the matter is made. The author, Maline Fredén, comes to the conclusion that the wands core are related to the specific abilities of the wizard/witch and are divided as above:
1) Charms and DADA– Phoenix feathers
2) Changes (Transfiguration, which’s related to Potions and Alchemy) – Dragon heartstring
3) Creation (with animals and plants, healing, maybe Divination as well) – Unicorn hair
Using this logic and other clues, it's possible to assume that the characters wand cores as follow:
Phoenix Feather: Harry, Voldemort, Ginny, Flitwick, Lily, Luna (think of her gryffindor hat!), Bill (he’s a curse breaker after all), Lupin (he’s pretty good with the Patronus Charm himself for all his modesty), Cho (the silver swan patronus) and maybe even Malfoy (“potter stinks” badges, trip-jinxes and the like)…
Dragon Heartstring: Hermione, McGonnagal, Dumbledore, Snape, Viktor Krum, James, Sirius, Fred and George…
Unicorn Hair: Ron, Cedric, Charlie, Neville, Pettigrew (I somehow don’t feel him in the dragon group, could be in Phoenix too), Hagrid, Lavender (remember the love for her rabbit who died in PoA, her difficulties with producing a Patronus in OotP and her delight with the unicorns in GoF), Professor Sprout (naturally), Professor Grubbly-Plank…
The length of the wand is probably based on the height of the wizard/witch.
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