Something about the ending that bugs me

[THX-1138]

Why did Harry break the Elder Wand?

 

[THX-1138]

In the movie, of course.

 

[Tecdavid]

I can't claim to be an expert on the series, but wasn't it because A) He wanted life to settle down for him, and thus didn't want to be connected to yet another object of legend and power, and B) because as long as he was its master, someone would eventually try to challenge him for it so they could wield its power. After dealing with Voldemort, I'm sure he didn't want another foe to deal with.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Because it was the end and he wanted a clean break. It felt more final than the books because he didn't repair his own wand either - has Harry retired from magic ?

 

[THX-1138]

No, because he sent his kids to Hogwarts. And isn't that a little irresponsible, I mean that wand had the potential to do great good. The wand itself is not evil. What gave him the right to make that decision?

 

[AnyaKimlin]

No, because he sent his kids to Hogwarts. And isn't that a little irresponsible, I mean that wand had the potential to do great good. The wand itself is not evil. What gave him the right to make that decision?

Just because he sent his kids to Hogwarts doesn't mean he uses magic himself does it?

The fact it was in his possession gave him the right to take the decision. If he didn't want that responsibility he did the right thing.

 

[hopewrites]

The way I understood it, the Elder Wand was not one specific wand so much as a power passed from wand to wand, breaking it would only inhibit the seekers who wanted it for the wrong reasons.

 

[kythe]

I don't think the wand really had potential to to "great good". Throughout it's entire history, it had been the center of battles and murders as it's power usually transferred violently from person to person. The Eldar Wand was created (or obtained, depending on your view) to cheat death - not at any time was it's purpose to serve the good of others.

I think Harry was wise to destroy it. He had seen enough power in his young years for a lifetime.

 

[summeriris]

I don't think the wand really had potential to to "great good". Throughout it's entire history, it had been the center of battles and murders as it's power usually transferred violently from person to person. The Eldar Wand was created (or obtained, depending on your view) to cheat death - not at any time was it's purpose to serve the good of others.

I think Harry was wise to destroy it. He had seen enough power in his young years for a lifetime.

Harry didn't destroy the wand, he returned it to Dumbledore's tomb. On Harry's death the wand would lose it's power and become a regular wand. That's in the book canon of course, not that stupid film.

 

[kythe]

Harry didn't destroy the wand, he returned it to Dumbledore's tomb. On Harry's death the wand would lose it's power and become a regular wand. That's in the book canon of course, not that stupid film.

You're right. Now I've seen the movie twice and read the book twice, but since each reading/viewing happened around the same time I tend to get them mixed up.

Either way, Harry chose not to use the wand. But maybe the wand wouldn't lose it's power upon Harry's death. What if Harry was defeated in battle. Even if the wand wasn't there when it happened, power would still transfer to the next person. It would answer to that person, even if they didn't know it. This happened between Dumbledore and Snape, and between Draco and Harry. You can't guarantee no one would figure it out either. Voldemort figured out Dumbledore's wand and stole it from him post-mortem.

At least if I'm thinking about this the right way. Wand lore is quite complex and confusing.

 

[PTeppic]

The "problem" with the Elder Wand was that it was so powerful it attracted the wrong sort of witch or wizard. The problem with being the best is that you have to be the best: people will always challenge and one of you will lose. Because Harry had the benefit of both love (perhaps the biggest theme in the books) and also because he'd already died to get that far, he knew he didn't need the power of the wand. No-one else in the history of the Elder Wand had been prepared to give it up. And by giving it up (by returning it to Dumbledore's tomb or breaking it), Harry was breaking the "curse" of the wand.

 

[summeriris]

You're right. Now I've seen the movie twice and read the book twice, but since each reading/viewing happened around the same time I tend to get them mixed up.

Either way, Harry chose not to use the wand. But maybe the wand wouldn't lose it's power upon Harry's death. What if Harry was defeated in battle. Even if the wand wasn't there when it happened, power would still transfer to the next person. It would answer to that person, even if they didn't know it. This happened between Dumbledore and Snape, and between Draco and Harry. You can't guarantee no one would figure it out either. Voldemort figured out Dumbledore's wand and stole it from him post-mortem.

At least if I'm thinking about this the right way. Wand lore is quite complex and confusing.

The special 'power' of the Eldar Wand lay in the owner being 'bested' or defeated by some kind of opponent. The power in the wand went to the person who defeated the previous owner. If Harry died undefeated then the special power in the Wand would die with him. Harry put the wand where it would never be found. It has to be kept in mind that the Wizarding World in general thought that the Deathly Hallows were nothing more than a fairytale. Harry and Voldemort knew the truth but Voldemort did not really trumpet that he had the most powerful wand in the world in his physical possesion and it wasn't working that great for him. During the duel Harry and Voldemort did not shout out the facts. They had a conversation that probably went over the heads of most of the people present, because the 'DeathStick Wand' was a fairytale to most people. Harry was not that clear where he was going to put the Wand after he used it to repair his own Holly & Pheonix wand. He could have returned it to the Peverel family's grave or to Dumbledore's tomb. The one thing I don't think he could have done with it is snap it in half like it was a toothpick.

 

[Boaz]

summeriris, you're spot on.

I think it is important that ownership of the Wand was not something that Dumbledore plotted. He did everything he could to stop Voldemort. He was noble. He was ruthless. He was proactive. He shamelessly used Harry. He was relentless in chasing the plots of the Death Eaters. He opposed the Ministry. He protected the Ministry. He led the Order. He inspired many. He was mistrusted even by his intimates for being secretive.

He orchestrated events for years to bring Harry to the position of destroying Voldemort and his horcruxes. But the ownership of the Wand defeated even Dumbledore's schemes.

Fate. Providence. God's will. Call it what you want, but I think Rowling did not want to give Dumbledore that much power. Neither did she want to give Harry that much power... power to destroy the Wand... power to order all things as he willed. That is only for the Almighty. And it goes against the theme of the story... Bloom where you are planted... or these two quotes by William Penn...

"Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it."

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

Letting Harry destroy the Wand was the easy way out... and he lived happily ever after. Leaving the Deathwand in an undisclosed location and leaning on his loved ones to help him to resist temptation was the real way.

 

[summeriris]

Letting Harry destroy the Wand was the easy way out... and he lived happily ever after. Leaving the Deathwand in an undisclosed location and leaning on his loved ones to help him to resist temptation was the real way.

There is also another point, one that that stupid film didn't even start to address. The Wand was a Hallow. We see in the book and the film just how difficult it is to destroy a Horcrux. The Trio tried for months to destroy the locket. The Hallows were stronger magical artifacts that the Horcruxes. Dumbledore destroyed the ring the Stone was set in and the Stone still worked just fine. Harry's cloak was centuries old and it still looked like new. The Elder Wand could not be snapped in half like a rotten twig, I don't think a bulldozer would have marked the surface. I think it would have been impossible for the wand to be broken in half. Perhaps after Harry's death if he was still undefeated. Then it's power would die with Harry and it would become just a regular wand.

 

[biodroid]

Isnt it the notion that the wand might fall into the wrong hands and we might have Voldemort II? I think he felt that kind of power is too dangerous for one person to wield, so no one can have that power.

 

[summeriris]

Isnt it the notion that the wand might fall into the wrong hands and we might have Voldemort II? I think he felt that kind of power is too dangerous for one person to wield, so no one can have that power.

Harry would have to be defeated in battle for that to happen. And even supposing he was, would the person who defeated him know about the wand? Nobody knew about the wand except Dumbledore, Voldemort, and the Trio. Both Voldemort and Dumbledore are dead and I don't think the Trio are advertising it. Any hypothetical Dark Lord/Lady would have to know that the Wand actually existed and nobody but the Trio did.
Put all of that aside, a very powerful magical artifact can't be destroyed that easily. We see that with the Horcruxes and the other Hallows.

 

[Boaz]

And even supposing he was, would the person who defeated him know about the wand?

Great point. Even a conspiracy theorist, a journalist, and a seeker of the Hallows like Xenophilius Lovegood did not know the truth. Of course, Mr. Lovegood knew nothing about lots of important subjects... And Mr. Ollivander, the foremost expert on wandlore in the British Isles, did not know the exact nature of the Elder Wand.

 

[Reivax26]

There was only one thing about the Harry Potter series that agitated me. I wanted Neville Longbottom to kill Bellatrix and or make her into a vegetable just like she did his parents. In the movie it was Mrs. Weasley and although I agree that it was cool to see her do something useful in the films I feel cheated that Neville didn't get revenge.

 

[A. S. Behsam]

There was only one thing about the Harry Potter series that agitated me. I wanted Neville Longbottom to kill Bellatrix and or make her into a vegetable just like she did his parents. In the movie it was Mrs. Weasley and although I agree that it was cool to see her do something useful in the films I feel cheated that Neville didn't get revenge.

It was Mrs. Weasley in both the movie and the book

 

[Boaz]

Reivax, I understand your point concerning Neville's revenge. Yet, I felt that Neville's courage in the face of danger throughout the series (and especially in the finale) was more than enough for me. Of all the students, even those in Dumbledore's Army, Neville knew the power of Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix, and the Deatheaters. He understood the cost to stand up to evil. He knew the horror that evil could inflict upon him and his family. Couple this with Neville's knowledge that his own wizarding skills seemed severely lacking and I believe that Neville was the most courageous person in the books. Yes, Harry knew that Voldemort's heart's desire was to muder him. Yes, Hermione knew the history of evil wizards and their toll upon society. Yes, Lupin lived with his curse. Yes, Sirius survived Azkhaban. But Neville knew Bellatrix would torture him and Voldemort would murder him just to be absolutely sure... and still Neville opposed evil.

Neither Neville's potential with potions, his understanding of the room of requirement, nor his leadership of Dumbldore's Army were not fated nor the work of luck. He applied himself dilligently to his tasks. He also received encouragement from Lupin and Harry. Finally, he honored his parents by never forgetting their work and their sacrifice. The combination of work, assistance, and memory prepared him for the time when his mind and body matured from childhood to adulthood.

The surprise appearance of Godric's sword to kill Nagini mirrored Neville's own surprise revelation as a champion of Dumbledore's Army and hero of Hogwarts. The Deatheaters must have been elated when Dumbledore and Mad Eye were killed. And knowing that Lupin and Tonks were slain in the first attack should have boosted their morale. Then, after witnessing the death of Harry Potter, the Deatheaters should have felt invincible. For the final showdown, they must have thought that the only champions left were Shacklebolt and McGonagall. They never would have guessed (neither would the Order or most students) that Neville would resist Voldemort, reveal Godric's sword, and destroy their living symbol.

To me, it did not matter that Neville did not personally kill Bellatrix. He did the task set for him by Harry. In the Chamberlain family tradition, he defied evil with every ounce of his being. Win or lose, his spirit was indomitable.

My four favorite characters are Neville (fortitude), Mrs. Weasely (fidelity), Snape (impetus), and Ron (authenticity).