Hazel wands also have the unique ability to detect water underground, and will emit silvery, tear-shaped puffs of smoke if passing over concealed springs and wells. The positive aspect of a hazel wand more than makes up for such minor discomforts, however, for it is capable of outstanding magic in the hands of the skillful, and is so devoted to its owner that it often ‘wilts’ (which is to say, it expels all its magic and refuses to perform, often necessitating the extraction of the core and its insertion into another casing, if the wand is still required) at the end of its master’s life (if the core is unicorn hair, however, there is no hope the wand will almost certainly have ‘died’). Others should be very careful handling a hazel wand if its owner has recently lost their temper, or suffered a serious disappointment, because the wand will absorb such energy and discharge it unpredictably.

An additional fact that I have unearthed during my long years of study is that the owners of elder wands almost always feel a powerful affinity with those chosen by rowan.Ī sensitive wand, hazel often reflects its owner’s emotional state, and works best for a master who understands and can manage their own feelings. Sculped from resin and measuring at approximately 15 in length, the unique wand is the perfect gift for any aspiring witch or wizard. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny. Take home the wand of Hermione Granger, founding member of Dumbledore’s Army, best friend to Ron and Harry and often called the brightest witch of her age. The old superstition, ‘wand of elder, never prosper,’ has its basis in this fear of the wand, but in fact, the superstition is baseless, and those foolish wandmakers who refuse to work with elder do so more because they doubt they will be able to sell their products than from fear of working with this wood.

It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time. The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other.

Harry potter wands