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slumberArgh, sorry, I don't mean to spam, but I've been going through this Tumblr account of Pottermore.
Anyway, Draco's wand has been described as:
On length: 10", a little on the short side
On wood: Hawthorn
On core: Unicorn
In conclusion: (Caroline's words, not mine)
Draco's wand is as emo as he is.
An aside: Hermione and Ron
Harry's wand is 11 inches, almost exactly the middle of the 9-14 range that Ollivander said.
Hermione's is 10 3/4, with a dragon heartstring core (the most likely to bend to the dark arts) and vine wood (drawn to "witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best").
Ron's is 14" (big personality!) and it contains a unicorn core (so the trio make up the three main wandcores, as already noted before) with a willow wood, which is "an uncommon wand wood with healing power, the ideal owner for which often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it." They select "those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow."
And now for some math:
Assuming the lengths of a wand are from 9 inches, moving up a quarter of an inch in gradation until it reaches 14 inches, we have 24 potential lengths for a wand.
3 wand cores x 38 woods x 24 lengths = 2,736 wand combinations
The actual wand selection process for Pottermore, however:
Is a 7-question test that basically gives you 39,690 possible unique answers.
Soooooo I thought I heard there were about 35,000 different wands that were available for Pottermore. Where is this number coming from? Even dividing 35,000 by 114 (3 cores x 38 woods) gives us 307 different lengths. Are we supposed to get a holly wood with a unicorn core that's 9.12132 inches long then?
IDK, just curious.
I will shut up now.
Anyway, Draco's wand has been described as:
The wand of Draco Malfoy is 10" precisely, Hawthorn wood and with a unicorn hair core. It was described by Mr. Ollivander as "reasonably springy".
On length: 10", a little on the short side
Many wandmakers simply match the wand length to the size of the witch or wizard who will use it, but this is a crude measure, and fails to take into account many other, important considerations. In my experience, longer wands might suit taller wizards, but they tend to be drawn to bigger personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of magic. Neater wands favour more elegant and refined spell-casting. However, no single aspect of wand composition should be considered in isolation of all the others, and the type of wood, the core and the flexibility may either counterbalance or enhance the attributes of the wand’s length.
Most wands will be in the range of between nine and fourteen inches. While I have sold extremely short wands (eight inches and under) and very long wands (over fifteen inches), these are exceptionally rare. In the latter case, a physical peculiarity demanded the excessive wand length. However, abnormally short wands usually select those in whose character something is lacking, rather than because they are physically undersized (many small witches and wizards are chosen by longer wands).
On wood: Hawthorn
The wandmaker Gregorovitch wrote that hawthorn ‘makes a strange, contradictory wand, as full of paradoxes as the tree that gave it birth, whose leaves and blossoms heal, and yet whose cut branches smell of death.’ While I disagree with many of Gregorovitch’s conclusions, we concur about hawthorn wands, which are complex and intriguing in their natures, just like the owners who best suit them. Hawthorn wands may be particularly suited to healing magic, but they are also adept at curses, and I have generally observed that the hawthorn wand seems most at home with a conflicted nature, or with a witch or wizard passing through a period of turmoil. Hawthorn is not easy to master, however, and I would only ever consider placing a hawthorn wand in the hands of a witch or wizard of proven talent, or the consequences might be dangerous. Hawthorn wands have a notable peculiarity: their spells can, when badly handled, backfire.
On core: Unicorn
Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.
Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing.
In conclusion: (Caroline's words, not mine)
Draco's wand is as emo as he is.
An aside: Hermione and Ron
Harry's wand is 11 inches, almost exactly the middle of the 9-14 range that Ollivander said.
Hermione's is 10 3/4, with a dragon heartstring core (the most likely to bend to the dark arts) and vine wood (drawn to "witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best").
Ron's is 14" (big personality!) and it contains a unicorn core (so the trio make up the three main wandcores, as already noted before) with a willow wood, which is "an uncommon wand wood with healing power, the ideal owner for which often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it." They select "those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow."
And now for some math:
Assuming the lengths of a wand are from 9 inches, moving up a quarter of an inch in gradation until it reaches 14 inches, we have 24 potential lengths for a wand.
3 wand cores x 38 woods x 24 lengths = 2,736 wand combinations
The actual wand selection process for Pottermore, however:
Is a 7-question test that basically gives you 39,690 possible unique answers.
Soooooo I thought I heard there were about 35,000 different wands that were available for Pottermore. Where is this number coming from? Even dividing 35,000 by 114 (3 cores x 38 woods) gives us 307 different lengths. Are we supposed to get a holly wood with a unicorn core that's 9.12132 inches long then?
IDK, just curious.
I will shut up now.
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Date: 2011-08-18 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-18 04:47 pm (UTC)As for your Dreamwidth-added footer, change it by going to your Dreamwidth settings, clicking the Accounts tab, and the settings for crossposting, including the footer, are right there.
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Date: 2011-08-18 05:07 pm (UTC)and the wand is from Ollivander's shop, who mentions using "main" wand cores but also seems to dislike any other core that might not be as potent/powerful as the three he uses. So there might be more wood types involved, but not sure how much more.
Ahh, thanks for the Dreamwidth footer help! I think I have it now. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-08-18 05:40 pm (UTC)33000 / (3 cores x 24 lengths = 72) = 458.33 different wood types. :< I don't know either! What up, JK?
Maybe when I get in I'll take the wand test repeatedly, with a one-changed-answer assumption. Or maybe there are more lengths--after all, he says that 9-14 is average but that less than 8 and more than 15 aren't impossible. If you add lengths 7.5, 7.75, 14.25, 14.5, 14.75, 15, and 15.25... that still leaves you with 355 (excuse my rounding) different wood options assuming exactly 3 cores.
Or wait... Probably they only let you take it once, and you get what you get. Maybe I can get my technosavvy husband to hack in and pull out all the possible answers.
Adding only one extra possible core and all those lengths drops the number of necessary wood types to 266.
Of course, it is possible that what they mean is 33,000 possible combinations of answers to the quiz, not of wood/core/length. Which would be terrible and misleading, but what isn't.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-18 05:46 pm (UTC)Yeah... I doubt there even exists 458 kinds of wood.
Of course, it is possible that what they mean is 33,000 possible combinations of answers to the quiz, not of wood/core/length. Which would be terrible and misleading, but what isn't.
THAT IS PROBABLY IT, and that's just terribly misleading. *huffs* I want 33,000 kinds of wands, JKR!
PS: Husband! I didn't know you'd gotten married already--congrats! :D
no subject
Date: 2011-08-18 06:21 pm (UTC)Yes! On the 7th. It still blows my mind sometimes. Thank you!
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Date: 2011-08-19 01:31 am (UTC)Woooooooow that was not very long ago! ♥
Crossposting footer message
Date: 2011-08-18 08:07 pm (UTC)"Text of the footer to add on other sites. If you leave it blank, the system default footer will display."
How was the chocolate(s)? =D
Re: Crossposting footer message
Date: 2011-08-19 01:28 am (UTC)Also, REALLY GOOD. Thanks again for taking me there! :D If you're ever in Chicago let me know and I'll repay the favor :D
Re: Crossposting footer message
Date: 2011-08-19 04:57 am (UTC)=D Yay. What were the other ones you got--I wasn't paying close attention ^^;;
Don't know when I'll ever go to the East Coast again but I'll keep that in mind =)
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Date: 2011-08-18 08:11 pm (UTC)*LOVES*
Hawthorn wands have a notable peculiarity: their spells can, when badly handled, backfire.
=(
the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing.
AAHHAHAHA hair dying X-D A not-so-subtle reference to the epilogue? lol
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Date: 2011-08-19 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-22 09:51 am (UTC)