Quick answer
- Only a handful of wands get full wood, core and length details in the books, and almost all of them come from Mr Ollivander: Harry’s (holly, phoenix feather, 11″), Voldemort’s (yew, phoenix feather, 13½”), Draco’s, Bellatrix’s, Pettigrew’s, Cedric’s, Fleur’s and Krum’s.
- Some of the most famous specs are not in the books at all. Hermione’s vine, dragon heartstring, 10¾” wand and the Elder Wand’s Thestral-hair core and 15″ length come from J.K. Rowling’s later writing on her website and Pottermore.
- Snape’s, Sirius’s and Dumbledore’s pre-Elder Wand materials have never been revealed anywhere official. Any wood or core you see for them comes from games or merchandise.
- The books name only three cores Ollivander uses: unicorn hair, phoenix feather and dragon heartstring. Fleur’s Veela-hair wand and the Thestral-hair Elder Wand are the two well-known exceptions.
Whose wand would you want?One tap to vote and see everyone's results
Vote to see how everyone else answered
Harry’s wand is holly with a phoenix feather core, 11 inches, “nice and supple” (Philosopher’s Stone, Ch. 5). Voldemort’s is yew, 13½ inches, with a feather from the same phoenix. Beyond those two, the books give full specs for only a small group of wands, and many “official” wand stats you see online were added later on J.K. Rowling’s website and Pottermore, or come from the film props.
This list sorts every major wand by where each detail comes from: the books, Rowling’s official writing (her old website, Pottermore and Wizarding World), or the films only. Chapter numbers are the same in the UK and US editions. Spoilers cover all seven books, including the end of Deathly Hallows.
Harry Potter wands by character (book details)
These are the wands whose materials are stated in the novels themselves. “Not stated in the books” means exactly that: the detail never appears in the text.
| Owner | Wood | Core | Length / flexibility | Where it’s stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Potter | Holly | Phoenix feather (from Fawkes) | 11″, nice and supple | PS Ch. 5; Fawkes named as the source in GoF Ch. 36 |
| Lord Voldemort | Yew | Phoenix feather (from Fawkes) | 13½” | PS Ch. 5 |
| Draco Malfoy | Hawthorn | Unicorn hair | 10″, reasonably springy | DH Ch. 24 |
| Bellatrix Lestrange | Walnut | Dragon heartstring | 12¾”, unyielding | DH Ch. 24 |
| Peter Pettigrew | Chestnut | Dragon heartstring | 9¼”, brittle | DH Ch. 24 (Ollivander made it for him after being kidnapped) |
| Ron Weasley (2nd wand) | Willow | Unicorn tail hair | 14″ | PoA Ch. 4 |
| Ron Weasley (1st wand, Charlie’s old one) | Not stated in the books | Unicorn hair (“nearly poking out”) | Not stated in the books | PS Ch. 6 |
| Neville Longbottom (2nd wand) | Cherry | Unicorn hair | Not stated in the books | HBP Ch. 7 |
| Lucius Malfoy | Elm | Dragon heartstring | Not stated in the books | DH Ch. 1 |
| Cedric Diggory | Ash | Unicorn tail hair | 12¼”, pleasantly springy | GoF Ch. 18 |
| Fleur Delacour | Rosewood | A hair from the head of a Veela (her grandmother) | 9½”, inflexible | GoF Ch. 18 |
| Viktor Krum | Hornbeam | Dragon heartstring | 10¼”, quite rigid, thicker than usual | GoF Ch. 18 (a Gregorovitch wand) |
| Rubeus Hagrid | Oak | Not stated in the books | 16″, rather bendy | PS Ch. 5 (snapped when he was expelled) |
| James Potter | Mahogany | Not stated in the books | 11″, pliable, good for Transfiguration | PS Ch. 5 |
| Lily Potter | Willow | Not stated in the books | 10¼”, swishy, good for charm work | PS Ch. 5 |
| The Elder Wand | Elder | Not stated in the books | Not stated in the books | DH Ch. 21 (“The Tale of the Three Brothers”) |
Most of these details come out of three scenes where Ollivander handles wands: Harry’s first visit to his shop (PS Ch. 5), the Weighing of the Wands before the Triwizard Tournament (GoF Ch. 18), and Ollivander examining the wands Harry took from Malfoy Manor at Shell Cottage (DH Ch. 24). Ron’s second wand and Neville’s new wand are described by Ron and Neville themselves, and Lucius’s wand comes up when Voldemort takes it from him (DH Ch. 1).
Wands known only from Rowling’s later writing
These specs are official, but you would never learn them by reading the seven novels. They come from J.K. Rowling’s old official website and from Pottermore character profiles (now archived or moved to Wizarding World).
| Owner | Wood | Core | Length / flexibility | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermione Granger | Vine | Dragon heartstring | 10¾” | Rowling’s website (wood); Pottermore (core and length) |
| Ron Weasley (1st wand) | Ash | Unicorn hair | 12″ | Pottermore (the core is also in PS Ch. 6) |
| The Elder Wand | Elder | Thestral tail hair | 15″ | Rowling’s website (core); Pottermore Dumbledore profile (length) |
| Remus Lupin | Cypress | Unicorn hair | 10¼”, pliable | Pottermore |
| Minerva McGonagall | Fir | Dragon heartstring | 9½”, stiff | Pottermore / Wizarding World |
| Dolores Umbridge | Birch | Dragon heartstring | 8″, “unusually short” | Pottermore (the books only call it unusually short, OotP Ch. 12) |
The biggest surprise for most readers is Hermione. She uses her wand for six and a half books, loses it at Malfoy Manor, and the text never once says what it is made of. Her vine wood was first mentioned by Rowling on her website in the 2000s.
Wands that have never been revealed
No book, Rowling essay or Pottermore profile gives the wood, core or length for these wands:
- Severus Snape
- Sirius Black
- Albus Dumbledore’s first wand (the one he used before winning the Elder Wand in 1945)
- Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, Neville’s first wand and most minor characters
If a list gives you “Snape: birch, dragon heartstring” or similar, it has come from a video game, a fan site or a replica-wand listing, not from canon.
Film-only wand details
The film props were designed from scratch, and their lengths often don’t match the books. Treat these as movie trivia, not canon:
| Wand | Books / Rowling | Films |
|---|---|---|
| Elder Wand length | 15″ (Pottermore) | 16″ prop |
| Remus Lupin’s wand | Cypress, 10¼” (Pottermore) | Different-looking prop, about 13½” |
| Snape’s and Sirius’s wands | Never revealed | Distinctive props with no stated materials |
| What Harry does with the Elder Wand | Repairs his holly wand with it, then plans to return it to Dumbledore’s tomb (DH Ch. 36) | Snaps it and throws it off a bridge (Deathly Hallows – Part 2) |
The handle designs, colours and carvings you see on replica wands are also film inventions. The books barely describe what any wand looks like.
What are the three wand cores in Harry Potter?
In Philosopher’s Stone (Ch. 5), Ollivander tells Harry that every Ollivander wand has a core of “a powerful magical substance”: unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers or the heartstrings of dragons. That is the full extent of core lore in the books.
The well-known personality descriptions come from Rowling’s 2015 Pottermore essay “Wand Cores”, written as Ollivander’s notes:
| Core | Ollivander’s notes (Pottermore, 2015) | Book owners |
|---|---|---|
| Unicorn hair | Most consistent magic, hardest to turn to the Dark Arts, most faithful to its first owner, least powerful | Draco, Ron, Neville, Cedric |
| Dragon heartstring | Most powerful, learns fastest, easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, most prone to accidents | Bellatrix, Pettigrew, Lucius, Krum |
| Phoenix feather | Rarest, widest range of magic, shows the most initiative, hardest to win over | Harry, Voldemort |
Two wands break the three-core rule:
- Fleur Delacour’s wand has a Veela hair core. At the Weighing of the Wands, Ollivander says he doesn’t use Veela hair himself because it makes wands temperamental (GoF Ch. 18). Fleur’s wand wasn’t made by him.
- The Elder Wand has a Thestral tail hair core, but only according to Rowling’s website. The books never name its core.
Krum’s wand is a Gregorovitch wand, but its core is ordinary dragon heartstring.
Brother wands and Priori Incantatem
Harry’s and Voldemort’s wands contain tail feathers from the same phoenix. Ollivander tells Harry this in his first visit, adding that “its brother” gave him his scar (PS Ch. 5). Dumbledore later confirms that the phoenix is his own, Fawkes (GoF Ch. 36).
That shared core pays off in the graveyard. When the two wands meet, they connect, and Voldemort’s wand is forced to bring back echoes of its most recent spells in reverse order. Echoes of Cedric, Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins and finally Harry’s parents appear (GoF Ch. 34). Dumbledore names the effect Priori Incantatem and explains that brother wands won’t work properly against each other (GoF Ch. 36).
This is why Voldemort borrows Lucius’s elm wand for the attack on Harry in Deathly Hallows. Harry’s wand acts on its own and destroys it (DH Ch. 4), which sends Voldemort hunting for the Elder Wand.
Who had which wand in Deathly Hallows?
By the Battle of Hogwarts, all three of the trio are fighting with wands they took from enemies.
| Character | Original wand | How it was lost | Wand used afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry | Holly and phoenix feather | Broken at Godric’s Hollow when Hermione’s Blasting Curse rebounds (DH Ch. 17) | Hermione’s wand, then a blackthorn wand Ron took from a Snatcher (DH Ch. 19), then Draco’s hawthorn wand |
| Ron | Willow and unicorn hair | Taken by the Snatchers and left at Malfoy Manor (DH Ch. 23) | Pettigrew’s chestnut wand |
| Hermione | Vine and dragon heartstring | Taken by the Snatchers and left at Malfoy Manor (DH Ch. 23) | Bellatrix’s walnut wand |
| Voldemort | Yew and phoenix feather | Not lost, but useless against Harry’s wand | Lucius’s wand (destroyed, DH Ch. 4), then the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb (DH Ch. 24) |
In the Malfoy Manor escape, Ron takes Pettigrew’s wand in the cellar, then disarms Bellatrix with it. Harry wrenches three wands out of Draco’s hands (DH Ch. 23). At Shell Cottage, Ollivander tells Harry that a wand taken from its owner by force usually changes its allegiance to the new master (DH Ch. 24).
Hermione hates using Bellatrix’s wand: it is the wand that tortured Neville’s parents and killed Sirius (DH Ch. 26). Ollivander can’t repair Harry’s holly wand. Harry only gets it back after the final battle, when he mends it with the Elder Wand (DH Ch. 36).
Who owned the Elder Wand?
The Elder Wand’s allegiance passes to whoever defeats its master. Killing isn’t required, as Harry explains to Voldemort in the final duel (DH Ch. 36).
| Order | Master | How they won it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gellert Grindelwald | Stole it from the wandmaker Gregorovitch and Stunned him |
| 2 | Albus Dumbledore | Defeated Grindelwald in their 1945 duel |
| 3 | Draco Malfoy | Disarmed Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower (HBP Ch. 27), without knowing what it meant |
| 4 | Harry Potter | Overpowered Draco and took his wand at Malfoy Manor (DH Ch. 23) |
Voldemort takes the wand from Dumbledore’s tomb (DH Ch. 24) but never becomes its master. He kills Snape believing that Snape won the wand by killing Dumbledore (DH Ch. 32). Because Draco had already disarmed Dumbledore before Snape’s curse, Snape never held its allegiance. When Voldemort’s Killing Curse meets Harry’s Disarming Charm, the Elder Wand refuses to kill its true master, and the curse rebounds (DH Ch. 36).
The wand chooses the wizard
Ollivander’s best-known line comes from Harry’s first visit: “the wand chooses the wizard” (PS Ch. 5). Harry tries several wands before the holly and phoenix feather wand produces sparks.
The books add only a few more rules of wandlore, all from Ollivander at Shell Cottage (DH Ch. 24): a wand won by force usually switches allegiance, and the Elder Wand’s bloody history may simply be because so many wizards wanted it. Most of the detailed lore about woods, lengths and flexibility comes from Rowling’s 2015 Pottermore essays, not the novels.
FAQ
What is Harry Potter’s wand made of?
Holly with a phoenix feather core, 11 inches, “nice and supple” (Philosopher’s Stone, Chapter 5). The feather came from Dumbledore’s phoenix Fawkes, which also gave the feather in Voldemort’s wand (Goblet of Fire, Chapter 36).
What is Hermione’s wand core?
Dragon heartstring, with vine wood and a length of 10¾ inches. None of this is in the books. The wood comes from J.K. Rowling’s old website and the core and length from Pottermore.
What is Snape’s wand made of?
It has never been revealed in the books or by J.K. Rowling. Any wood or core you see for Snape’s wand comes from games, fan sites or merchandise.
What is the Elder Wand’s core?
Thestral tail hair, according to J.K. Rowling’s website. The books only say it is made of elder. Pottermore gives its length as 15 inches; the film prop is 16 inches.
Did Harry break the Elder Wand?
Only in the film. In the book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his holly wand and says he will put the Elder Wand back where it came from, in Dumbledore’s tomb (Deathly Hallows, Chapter 36).
More Harry Potter guides
Voldemort's Horcruxes: All 7, When Made, How DestroyedVoldemort's Horcruxes in order: the diary, ring, locket, cup, diadem, Harry and Nagini. Who he killed to make each one, who destroyed it, how, and in which book.
Who Did Bellatrix Kill? Every Fight, Victim and Final DuelWho Bellatrix Lestrange killed and tortured, every fight in book order with chapter numbers, how she died, and what the films changed from the books.
Harry Potter Book vs Movie Differences: Key Cut ScenesCompare key Harry Potter book and movie differences: missing characters, Dobby and Neville’s roles, Voldemort’s past and the Elder Wand’s ending.
Harry Potter Potions: Effects, Limits and Common Mix-UpsCompare major Harry Potter potions, their effects and limits. Learn why Wolfsbane is not a cure, Amortentia is not love, and Ron never drank Liquid Luck.
Browse all Harry Potter Guides.
This guide is the English edition of a BuzzBeaver article originally written in Japanese: 日本語版を読む. Facts are checked against the official manga and anime; fan theories are labeled as such.