GARRICK OLLIVANDER, MAGIC WANDS, SAFETY & HEALTH

Today, to know more things about magic wands, The Weasleys & The Grandma have received the visit of Garrick Ollivander, the most experienced wizard in wands.

Garrick Ollivander (b. 25 September, pre 1908) is a British half-blood wizard who was the proprietor of Ollivanders in Diagon Alley during most of the 20th century.

Ollivander was widely considered the best wandmaker in the world, and many wizards and witches bought their wands from him.

Ollivander was captured and tortured by Lord Voldemort. He was rescued by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Dobby. He imparted important information regarding wandlore to Harry, it helped him in his understanding of the Deathly Hallows.

Ollivander's family have long been associated with the profession of wandcraft. The surname means he who owns the olive wand which is of Mediterranean origin, suggesting that the family emigrated to Britain from elsewhere. Mr Ollivander believes that his ancestors arrived in Britain with the Romans and set up a stall and eventually a shop, to sell newer and improved wands to British wizards who had poorly constructed wands that were unrealiable.

More information: Wizarding World

Garrick Ollivander was born to Gervaise Ollivander, a wizard, and his wife, a Muggle-born witch, on the 25 September, in or before the year 1907.

He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his youth, where he was Sorted into Ravenclaw House.

Ollivander grew up in the family business, and showed precocious talent in wandmaking. Soon, he developed an ambition to improve upon the cores and wand woods he made and developed a determination to pursue the ideal wand.

Before Garrick Ollivander's proprietorship of Ollivanders, wizards used a wide variety of wand cores; the customer would often present their wandmaker with a magical substance to which they were attached, and he would turn it into their wand core.

Mr Ollivander believed that doing so altered the wand's temperament, and he revolutionised the way wands were crafted by having cores of immensely powerful magical substances expertly enclosed in specially selected and complementary wandwoods, with the result being that the wand would be matched to an owner that the wand itself felt an affinity for.

While there was initially substantial resistance to this new way wands were made, it soon became clear that wands made by Ollivander were far superior to any others. His methods of locating wand woods and core substances, marrying them together, and matching them to ideal owners were all jealously guarded secrets that were coveted by rival wandmakers.

Sometime into his career, in the summer of 1938, Ollivander sold Tom Riddle his wand.

Shortly before the 1984–1985 school year, Ollivander sold a wand to a soon-to-be student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, just like he did their brother before them.

As with other wandmakers, Ollivander made it his business to study the mystifying Elder Wand in depth, such as its history and distinctive characteristics. Unlike Hermione Granger, he believed that the Elder Wand was not a myth or tale, and showed great enthusiasm with the powerful object despite the fact that it was dangerous and has had a bloody history. When held captive by Lord Voldemort, he was forced to relate all information he had known about the powerful wand. He also revealed that the last person rumoured to own the wand was Gregorovitch, a foreign wandmaker, though he did not believe the rumour and thought that Gregorovitch spread it to boost his business.

Ollivander supplied Harry Potter with a wand, and as he did so, he told Harry a few facts about wands. He explained that a wand has a core, in Harry's case a phoenix feather. He told Harry that the body of the wand is made from a choice of different woods with different magical properties. Ollivander said he made a similar wand using another feather from the same phoenix, but using a different wood. Harry's wand is holly, which symbolises protection, rather than Voldemort's yew, which is symbolic of death. He also explained that the wand chooses the wizard, rather than the other way around. Immediately after Harry left the shop, Ollivander sent a letter to Albus Dumbledore informing him of the wand's sale.

When first meeting him, Harry Potter described Garrick Ollivander as an old man with pale silvery eyes and white skin. However, after he was kidnapped by Voldemort's Death Eaters, Ollivander's appearance changed for the worse as a result of the torture and abuse he suffered at the hands of Voldemort. After he was rescued, he was described to be emaciated, with yellow skin, his facial bones sticking out, skeleton-like hands, and vast, sunken eyes.

Ollivander was an intelligent man, with a perfect memory when it came to his work; he remembered the details of every wand he ever sold. He seemed to become happier the more difficult the challenge to find exactly the right wand for a difficult customer was. He used a magical tape measure to help assess customers for their wand.

 

More information: Wizarding World

 

 

Curious indeed how these things happen.

The wand chooses the wizard, rememb...

I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter...

After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things

-terrible, yes, but great. 

Garrick Ollivander