Wondering about Wands

Have you ever wondered about the wands in Harry Potter? I have…

The wand chooses the wizard, remember…
~ Garrick Ollivander, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

We were in Alnwick Castle recently. They filmed parts of the first Harry Potter movie there, and the gift shop had quite a range of collectable replica wands. Harry, Ron and Hermione’s were all there, as were the wands belonging to Snape, Luna, Tonks and assorted other characters. The kids and I spent a while poring over them discussing which ones we liked best.

It was the wands belonging to the dark wizards which struck me as most interesting.

If, as the book suggests, the wand chooses the wizard, would it not be really easy to tell a bad ‘un by their wand?

Take, for example, the Death Eater wand (it’s the one next to Voldemort’s in the photo). The grinning skull in the handle has got to be a bit of a giveaway, hasn’t it? Imagine before You Know Who turns up again. You’re a Death Eater^[1], minding your own business when someone spots your wand.

“Ere, you’re one of them Death Eater’s, ain’t cha?”
“Me, madam? Certainly not! What a preposterous suggestion!”
“Why’s your wand got a skull on it then?”
“Oh, drat. Avada Kedavra!“
“Oh, bum.” [dies]

Or the ‘snatcher’ wand.

“Ere mate. That’s not a wand. It’s a stick.”
“It’s a wand! Look!” [flourishes]
“Oh, bum. You’re right. It’s a stick. Now, where did I put me wand?”

^[1] What a stupid name that is. Honestly, if anyone can give me a *good* explanation of why they’re called Death Eaters, I’ll give you ONE MILLION HOUSE POINTS.