Post by RockSunner on Sept 3, 2007 11:44:20 GMT -5
Here is a question that stumped the panel of experts on the latest Mugglenet.com podcast: why did Voldemort use Nagini to kill Snape rather than the Elder Wand? I thought of a possible answer.
1) Voldemort believed Snape was the master of the wand, and in fact killed him for that reason. We see later that attempting to use an AK on someone with a wand that recognizes that person as master is a fatal mistake. Voldemort might know this.
2) There is no requirement in canon that one use the Elder Wand to kill someone in order to take mastery of it from them. According to the legend of the Three Brothers, the first person to seize mastery of the wand from its owner did so by cutting the owner's throat while he slept.
Even Harry seems to have known about the AK exception for the wand's master. He cast an Expeliarmus as his "best chance" to survive the final duel. Why?
1) He said that if the wand knew that he had disarmed Draco, it would know he was master. But would it know? There's no reason to think wands are omniscient.
2) If it didn't know, it had to be informed. Harry cast the Expeliarmus in hopes that the wand would recognize the magic (and the wand) which last defeated it.
3) This seems to have worked, since the AK backfired on Voldemort.
Harry also knew that Voldemort's power was weakened because of Harry's attempted sacrifice of his life. Spells like the full-body-bind on Neville didn't hold long. But Harry couldn't know for sure that an AK couldn't kill him. so he had to act. It's entirely possible that without that well-timed and well-aimed Expeliarmus that Harry would have died.
1) Voldemort believed Snape was the master of the wand, and in fact killed him for that reason. We see later that attempting to use an AK on someone with a wand that recognizes that person as master is a fatal mistake. Voldemort might know this.
2) There is no requirement in canon that one use the Elder Wand to kill someone in order to take mastery of it from them. According to the legend of the Three Brothers, the first person to seize mastery of the wand from its owner did so by cutting the owner's throat while he slept.
Even Harry seems to have known about the AK exception for the wand's master. He cast an Expeliarmus as his "best chance" to survive the final duel. Why?
1) He said that if the wand knew that he had disarmed Draco, it would know he was master. But would it know? There's no reason to think wands are omniscient.
2) If it didn't know, it had to be informed. Harry cast the Expeliarmus in hopes that the wand would recognize the magic (and the wand) which last defeated it.
3) This seems to have worked, since the AK backfired on Voldemort.
Harry also knew that Voldemort's power was weakened because of Harry's attempted sacrifice of his life. Spells like the full-body-bind on Neville didn't hold long. But Harry couldn't know for sure that an AK couldn't kill him. so he had to act. It's entirely possible that without that well-timed and well-aimed Expeliarmus that Harry would have died.
