Wands Up for Mr. Ollivander!

Published September 28, 2013 by A. Featherquill

Last September 25, Garrick Ollivander celebrated his birthday. As a tribute, this post will be about my experience in his ‘store’ and my relationship with my wand.

It has been a long time since I have been matched with my wand at Ollivander’s yet I still remember the thrill that comes along with the choosing. This experience still remains for me the best Pottermore moment because it is highly interactive and it reveals much about the personality of the wizard. That the result will be final and unchangeable adds to the delicacy of the matter and makes it even more exciting.

I answered each question carefully because the accuracy of the match would depend on it. In my opinion, I gave the honest answers. Thus, I was initially disappointed when I got a wand that I did not expect.

My wand is made of Aspen with Unicorn Core and is reasonably supple.

I have no problems with the core and the flexibility. The Unicorn Core, I believe, is a good match because, while it doesn’t make the most powerful of wands, it produces consistent magic and is faithful to its owner. I am also glad that it is not likely to be drawn to the Dark Arts.

As for flexibility, I want to think that I am indeed reasonably supple like my wand. I am not stubborn but also not easy to be swayed. That I read somewhere that reasonably supple wands are usually well-rounded convinces me even more that my wand’s flexibility suits me.

What I initially had issues with was my wand wood.

According to Pottermore:

“Wand-quality of aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highy prized by wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outsanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. An infamous and secretive eighteenth-century duelling club, which called itself The Silver Spears, was reputed to admit only those who owned aspen wands. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.”

Please do not get me wrong. For me, all wand woods are great in their own way and I do see the beauty in aspen. Nevertheless, it can also be quite disappointing if you think you have been matched with a wand that is not you.

My friends think that my wand is awesome as it is suited for duelling. It can be quite useful, they say. However, I have never thought of myself as a revolutionary and I am not the type who is drawn to fighting.

Many times have I been tempted to create another Pottermore account and test if the result will be the same. I am glad I never gave in to the temptation and have waited for myself to warm up to my wand.

It took me a year to realize that I got the right wand, but it was worth the patience.

Now, I am proud to have aspen for my wand wood and I believe that it does suit my personality.

I have understood that duelling does not mean picking a fight. Duelling is also about strategy which involves both physical and mental skills. Experience, creativity and sensitivity also figure in stragetizing for duels.

Also, it can be done for leisure and can aid a witch to learn new spells. Therefore, it can also be a good wand for someone with a passion to learn. In times of serious circumstances, however, an aspen owner will have a good fighting chance.

Finally, the determination that comes along with aspen can also be found in me. Even though I am a Ravenclaw, I have to admit that I do not find intelligence or creativity as my best traits. Instead, the virtue that has helped me in critical moments of my life is determination.

I am not the brightest or the most artistic but I am determined to pursue my interests as long as I do not trample on other people’s lives. Indeed, it is determination which makes me say that I am passionate to learn and pursue the the things I love.

My relationship with my wand may have been filled with doubts and disappointment at first. But now I can say, “Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. Your wand picked the right witch. Belated Happy Birthday!”

What about you? What is your wand? Do you feel that it suits your personality?

I will be very happy to hear your stories.

Stay Magical,
A.Featherquill

11 comments on “Wands Up for Mr. Ollivander!”

      • 🙂 My wand (according to the pottermore site) is…12 and ¾ inches, Hawthorn with Dragon Hart String, reasonably supple.

        The website says, “The hawthorn wand seems most at home with a conflicted nature, or with a witch or wizard passing through a period of turmoil.” And so, I thought it was fairly accurate considering the fact that I found, and used the Harry Potter books to help me through one of the hardest events of my life.

        The essays on my own blog come are a collection of ideas that Harry Potter helped me put back together after these rough experiences. 🙂

        ~Aspen

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  • It’s nice to meet someone else who has an uneasy relationship with their wand. My own wand is Maple and Unicorn Hair, 11 inches, slightly springy. Here’s what Ollivander/Pottermore says about maple wood:

    “I have often found that those chosen by maple wands are by nature travellers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands, and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard, otherwise their magic grows heavy and lacklustre. Fresh challenges and regular changes of scene cause this wand to literally shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. This is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. Possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.”

    I feel like this was me at one point in my life, but I’m beginning to move away from that now. I’ve always loved travelling, sure, but only for brief periods. I’m very much attached to the comforts of home and I can’t thrive when I’m away from home for long periods. In that sense I feel like my wand and I would be in constant conflict: my wand wanting changes of scene, and me wanting to stay with what was familiar. I know you can have fresh challenges and change without necessarily leaving the country, but the stuff about ambition and status bothers me as well. I don’t want to have status, I simply want to be good at what I do and to be able to do what I love. And after three years of studying at a very competitive and renowned university, I really just want to get away from all of those who desire status and accolades and who will do whatever it takes to get it. I’m not like them, and I’m more interested in defining myself by the absence of those qualities rather than their presence.

    Recently a friend offered to make me a “real life” wand, and asked what my wand wood was. I confessed that I wasn’t happy with my Pottermore wand wood, and in any case she wasn’t able to get a hold of that wood to make me one, so she encouraged me to pick another. I chose willow wood because I feel like it speaks to parts of me that maple wood doesn’t, as well as having its areas of overlap. I won’t quote the whole thing at you, but my favourite few phrases are: “Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power” … “the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity” … “willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn”.

    I feel like that’s something I would like to be worthy of.

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    • “… the stuff about ambition and status bothers me as well. I don’t want to have status, I simply want to be good at what I do and to be able to do what I love….I’m not like them, and I’m more interested in defining myself by the absence of those qualities rather than their presence.” –> I can relate to this feeling.

      I was once quite ambitious, too. However, I learned to value more being myself than being great based on society’s standards. Often I say to myself that maybe my ambition has been directed to being myself and finding my own voice.

      I think you really do have much potential in you. Maybe, the wand saw that in you and so it picked you thinking it could fulfill what it wants through you. But, in the end, it’s our choice that matters 😉

      Thank you very much for reading my post and for posting a comment. I am happy to read your reply.

      Reply ↓

      • I’m happy to read yours, too! 😀 I think that’s a great ambition that you have. I’ll do my best to join you in it, too.

        I realise that “ambition” can be anything you aspire to achieve for yourself, and it doesn’t have to be ambition in the sense that society commonly defines it. It was mainly the combination of all the things that defined a maple wand – travelling and exploring, fresh challenges, regular changes of scene and ambition – that made me feel uneasy about being chosen by it. One on its own, I could explain in a way that fits who I am. But all of them together… Well, to put it in overly simplistic terms, it sounds more like the wand of a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. And I’m a Ravenpuff, so xD While I might have my areas of overlap with those houses, it’s not because of anything that’s described here…

        Anyway, like you said, our choice still matters in this 🙂 Also, there are many kinds of wood that aren’t even mentioned here (like James Potter’s mahogany, a fact that fans are fond of pointing out). Maybe my true wand wood isn’t even on this list? ;D

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        • Highly possible. Sometimes I think that there may be an undiscovered wood that fits me better. But, at least, I am now comfortable with my wand. Although I still think that my wand is more fit for a Gryffindor.

          Also, it’s interesting to know that you are a Ravenpuff. I am a Ravenclaw and I feel that my second house is Hufflepuff 🙂

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