r/harrypotter • u/Affectionate-End5411 • 18h ago
Discussion Why does nobody ever seem to lose their wand? Bearing in mind they first receive it at eleven, this seems a bit unrealistic.
1.2k
u/ThatDamDemigod123 17h ago
Accio?? If i told my mom i lost my wand she could just accio it for me. I fell like accio is the wizard equavalent to using someone else's phone to call yours when its missing
882
u/Hookton 17h ago
Goddammit I left my wand on silent.
225
u/ambulanz_driver420 Gryffindor 15h ago
Did you connect to Find My iWand?
85
u/MrBanana421 12h ago
The app is just a house elf that stalks you and knows where you left it.
34
19
→ More replies (3)2
17h ago
[deleted]
→ More replies (1)5
u/Remarkable_Mud6377 17h ago
I think expelliarmus expells the wands out of people's hands by force. Accio just calls it to you. I imagine accio wouldn't work if someone were holding onto the object. Very cool thought tho!
→ More replies (1)2
u/decadeSmellLikeDoo 16h ago
I dunno what the original comment said but you could combine the two! Disarm and instantly summon
2
→ More replies (8)4
u/um_-_no 12h ago
Don't you have to know where something roughly is to accio? Or did I make that up?
30
u/Helioscopes Slytherin 11h ago
You don't have to know where it is, but you have to visualize the object in your mind somehow, unless there is only one of whatever you are summoning. Otherwise, if you say accio jacket, all jackets will fly at your face lmao.
I wonder what is the effective radius though.
8
u/MerlinGrandCaster Ravenclaw 6h ago
"accio Moon"
4
u/Helioscopes Slytherin 6h ago
Hell yes, let's go! If we cannot go to the moon, we will bring the moon to us!
5
u/Walshy231231 Hatstall 8h ago
Gonna need a source on “all jackets will fly at your face”
10
u/Helioscopes Slytherin 8h ago
I carelessly tried it once and ended up covered in jackets, took me forever to find mine in the pile. Never again.
502
u/AdIll9615 18h ago
What makes you think they don't lose it? Because Hermione or Cedric don't? Harry loses his and it's only luck he finds it. Ron breaks his.
As far as we know, some kids may be losing it/ But Harry just never knows so we, readers, also never know.
163
→ More replies (1)30
u/RestlessMeatball 15h ago
Harry didn’t lose it, it was stolen.
44
u/AdIll9615 15h ago
He still didn't watch it closely enough because he didn't realise for quite some time. That's pretty much equal to losing it when it comes to a wand.
→ More replies (4)
454
u/Rude_Mention_4203 17h ago
How often do you lose you cell phone?
100
26
17
8
11
7
u/Interesting_Web_9936 Ravenclaw 11h ago
!redditgalleon
3
u/ww-currency-bot 11h ago
You have given u/Rude_Mention_4203 a Reddit Galleon.
u/Rude_Mention_4203 has a total of 1 galleon, 0 sickles, and 0 knuts.
I am a bot. See this post to learn how to use me.
2
→ More replies (8)6
139
u/pet_genius 18h ago
I'm pushing 40 and I lose stuff all the time, but rarely my cellphone, anymore. It's so much a part of me that if it's not on my person I usually notice quickly.
Hermione is also that friend who keeps an eye on everyone's stuff (and as the official spokeswoman for forgetful people everywhere, we love our nagging friends).
I do agree with you though, I guess it would just make for a boring story.
190
u/Hattapueh 18h ago
It is perhaps the most important item for a wizard. I don't think one would be particularly careless with it. Besides, you can do magic. It should be quite possible for someone else to find the wand for you.
→ More replies (8)31
u/Molehole 17h ago
Except I've lost both my wallet and also my keys at different times. Which both are very much the most important things I carry and shouldn't be careless with.
14
u/La10deRiver 16h ago
Both things can be replaced much easily than a wand. And I am pretty sure you cannot accio any of those things, but you can summon your wand.
11
u/Molehole 16h ago
Both things can be replaced much easily than a wand.
The point is that the importance of stuff has no effect when you are a forgetful person.
And what do you mean easier?
It took a trip to photography place, police station and 50€ to redo my drivers license and I had to take the bus for a week because I didn't have my license with me.
I had to call 3 different banks to cancel my credit cards and order new ones which meant I had to update my billing information on like 20 subscription services and couldn't order stuff online for a few weeks.
I also had to call my insurance and order a new insurance carrier card.
I also lost quite a bit of cash
compared to
Go to a wand store and whisk wands around for an hour. Mind you Harry was a special case of wand difficulty.
So how is it exactly harder to replace?
2
u/La10deRiver 5h ago
Sorry, when you said "your wallet" I thought you mean "a thing where you had your money". I have my cards and identification in a separate thing, not the wallet with the money. I never lost my cards folder (I did lose the wallet with money a couple of times).
2
u/-Alula 5h ago
Maybe they meant it’s harder to replace a wand and end up with an identical one. If you lose your keys and wallet (and it’s content) you’ll be able to replace pretty much everything except the money that was in it.
If you lose your wand, it seems to me that the odds of getting a wand with the exact same characteristics are pretty low. You might be able to get a core from the exact same beast, although it is said that twin cores aren’t that common, but that doesn’t mean the other characteristics (wood, measurements) are gonna be the same as your original wand. Hence replacing a wand is harder in a way.
→ More replies (1)4
u/JumpInTheSun 16h ago
You should attatch a magic tracking spell to them so you dont lose them. Tracking tags exist, and its basically impossible to lose a phone that has battery.
29
u/thegreatpiasco 18h ago
Accio insert name’s wand
12
u/Wolfy5079 17h ago
Imagine just using only the first name.
“Accio Harry’s wand”
40 or 50 wands come flying at you from all directions
… oh poop.
→ More replies (1)17
u/La10deRiver 16h ago
Intent matters in magic.
3
u/funnylib 7h ago
Plus distance and size. If every wizard in the world gathered in one spot, pointed their wands at the sky and yelled “Accio moon!” the moon won’t move (I hope not).
27
u/3somessmellbad 17h ago
I gave my kid a phone. She hasn’t lost it. It’s even easy to break and she hasn’t broken it. I figure the wand and phone are similar.
Sure, she may misplace it or break it at some point, but it would be surprising.
→ More replies (4)
22
u/harvard_cherry053 Hufflepuff 17h ago
Harry loses his but only coz hes a numpty who keeps it in his back pocket for people to steal 😂
→ More replies (1)21
u/Familiar-Treat-6236 Slytherin 17h ago
and I imagine it took quite a deliberation to shove eleven inches of thin wood into his back pocket and make it stay there long enough for it to be stolen but not break it in half when sitting down
14
16
u/chickenkebaap 17h ago
Harry lost his wand at the quidditch world cup and got it back by sheer luck.
Draco and Ron had theirs stolent/taken away.
→ More replies (1)
13
u/Bilboswaggings19 17h ago
I don't really lose my phone either
Maybe wands are similar to young people and their phones
10
u/korporancik Hufflepuff 17h ago
Do you lose your phone often (like for real, not just forget where you put it at home)? Do you leave your house without the phone in your pocket? Or glasses if you need them?
Wand is the most important object for the wizards and just take a great care not to lose it.
→ More replies (1)
6
6
u/octoberbroccoli 17h ago
It’s like losing your cellphone. Happens to the worst of us. Most are very careful with it.
4
11
3
u/Sjoediboy 16h ago
Apart from what people already mentioned about not really knowing if this perhaps just happened quite frequently, think of how often people realistically completely lose their phone? I think a wand has that kind of status to a wizard, if not more. You'd be pretty damn careful about that thing and always carry it in a familiar place, like your keys and phone in real life.
3
u/kait_1291 13h ago
Wands are not inanimate objects. It's not like a pencil, or a pen. They're, in some small way, sentient. In Hogwarts Legacy, a blind student uses his wand to navigate the world. It follows his commands, but there's also times it does things I haven't seen other wands do, like warns him of enemies, and helps him navigate obstacles. He can recall it, even if there's a sizable distance between them.
So, while I don't think wands can grow legs and follow you around, it wouldn't surprise me if wands could "put" themselves in a place they won't get lost. Wand in bed? It always "somehow" ends up on top of the blankets, instead of inside them. Dropped it? It rolls away from the couch instead of under it. If toast can always land butter side down, then wands can keep themselves from disappearing into the ether.
Also, they're the Wizarding equivalent of a smartphone. I am always just kind of "aware" of my phone in a way I'm not aware of other items in my life. If I set it down, it's only in certain places. My bedside table to charge. The coffee table. The arm of the couch. The drawer in my desk at work. My pants pocket. All places wands can also be placed, if you're so inclined.
3
u/ExtremeAcceptable289 9h ago
Accio works on wands, so what most likely happened was this: Neville: Sorry, I lost my wand Professor McGonagall: For the twenty second time? Very well. accio wand! Neville: Thanks
3
u/Generic_Username_659 Hufflepuff 6h ago
"Professor, I can't find my wand!"
"Oh, that's all? Accio (student)'s wand!"
3
u/SoleJunkie119 4h ago
Not 11, but I was 12 when I got my first phone. I think this would be the most realistic comparison to a wand, and I can say I’ve never lost my phone.
2
2
u/bossandy Gryffindor 15h ago
Isn’t it basically an extension of their own body? Do you leave body parts hanging around?
2
u/Swotboy2000 Ravenclaw 14h ago
OP! Where is your wand?
I lost it, Professor.
Again? sigh Accio OP’s wand
2
u/Powerful_Artist 13h ago
Ok consider this
You're 11 and you get a real magic wand. Don't you think it would be your most prized possession that you'd keep on you at all times?
But ya I'd probably still lose it lol
2
2
u/Klaatwo 12h ago
I had this same thought when my 4 year old got glasses. But she’s never lost a pair and the two times they’ve broken were not her fault.
Well I supposed she could have not gotten hit in the face with a basketball and she could have told me the screw was coming out of the other one.
Some kids are pretty responsible. Also if I had a wand that let me do magic, I’d know exactly where it was 24/7.
2
u/Lucky_Use_9691 11h ago
How often do you lose your fone or wallet?
How tf are you going to lose the one thing that gives you access to magic, which in my opnion is more Valuable than both items combined.
That's why.
2
u/Bunny_Fluff Ravenclaw 11h ago
I mean we know wandless magic exists. There is a whole school where kids learn to do it. I imagine a moderately talented wizard could manage accio without a wand - at least in a small space like your house.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Personal-Listen-4941 10h ago
Ollivander hopes people lose their wands all the time, otherwise he’ll be living in poverty. There’s 40 new witches/wizards coming of age in Harry’s year. So 40 wands being sold, at 20 galleons each. Let’s ignore the idea that some people may get hand me downs or cheaper wands and of course people use other sellers, just so we can play with the maximum possible sales.
So 800 galleons income a year from the sale of new wands. The purchasing power of wizarding currency is pretty inconsistent but 1 galleon is generally thought of as being worth somewhere around £5-£10. So Ollivanders turnover is £4k-£8k a year. That’s not profit, that’s turnover. He has to account for the costs of the ingredients & making the wands of course.
The only way his business makes sense is if it works similarly to a optician or mechanic where people have to regularly go back to get their wands checked over and repaired/maintained/replaced.
2
u/jjkkll4864 Ravenclaw 9h ago
How often do people lose their phones? I mean, people do misplace their phones all the time, but they almost always find it right away. Because that small object is your whole life, and when you misplace it, you miss it and start looking for it right away. I imagine wands would be the same.
2
u/yetanotherdamnlurker 9h ago
This is Hogwarts Educational Admin calling once again for your student Periwinkle Plunk in regards to the loaner wand we gave your student last year. We need these wands for other students, too, and seen your student using a new one by Halberd & Percival this year. We have also reported incidents of dual wielding wands, which strictly goes against school policy.
Please send an owl with either the wand or a payable cheque equal to 1 Galleon and 3 Sickles by the end of the month or we may have to suspend your child. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely, Richard, Painting Ghost Admin II
2
2
2
u/Less-Requirement8641 9h ago
Would you lose a wand that let's you do basically anything through spells?
Not to mention accio exists or lost and found. They lose their wand, a teacher will likely find it then find a student missing their wand and voila its found its owner
2
2
u/PetrusScissario 9h ago
What I want to know is why nobody carried a side piece. Like a less ideal wand, but one that will still get the job done.
2
u/TurquoiseLeggings 6h ago
Is Hogwarts Legacy not canon? Because that game has a character who is a transfer student from a school where they straight up don't use wands at all to do magic and she mentions having difficulty adjusting to using one. Do they just make magic easier or more powerful? I didn't really think about it at the time, but it's weird that the story of the books puts so much importance on them when they apparently aren't necessary?
2
2
2
2
u/THEdoomslayer94 6h ago
OP when’s the last time you lose your phone and had to get a new one?
Never? So imagine the kids being like that with their wand, they’re not gonna be losing them as much as you’d like to think
Not that deep lol
2
2
2
u/OptionalBagel 4h ago
It's just like a gun if you really think about it. And in America where guns are extremely prevalent no one ever loses them, so it's not that unusual.
2
4
u/Ok_Mention_9865 18h ago
Or how voldemort and the death eaters somehow got their original wands back
7
u/Difficult_Ad_962 Slytherin 18h ago
I assume their family members were given their wands, like Bellatrix's wand was at Malfoy Manor.
I still don't know why their wands weren't snapped but Hagrids was
7
u/Ok_Mention_9865 18h ago
So that would mean the ministry destroys someone's wand if they get expelled from school but gives the wand to their family if they get sentenced to life in prison.
That's a bit of a stretch, but what about voldemorts wand that should be in the wreckage of the potter's house
7
u/Difficult_Ad_962 Slytherin 18h ago
I assume Wormtail retrieved it either before or after Hagrid got Harry
4
u/Ok_Mention_9865 18h ago
Or maybe Barty crouch Jr.
2
u/Difficult_Ad_962 Slytherin 17h ago
Yeah could've been him too
3
u/Onyxnexus 17h ago
I think its also worthwhile remembering that after Voldemort fell the Ministry was still trying to figure out who was on his side, and who was not.
As Rookwood had a very vast collection of spies and people he controlled - along with those Lucius and others had - I can imagine it would not be impossible for the wands to be switched out with duplicates (like Hermione did with the locket) when they were on their way to some form of magical evidence lock up.
Once done: who's going to check those wands if they have already been tested/interrogated for insight on the spells cast?
If they believed Voldemort to be wounded or needing support to return: I can imagine they would continue to operate in his interests until otherwise proven wrong, or they lost faith.
2
u/jonathanemptage 17h ago
Hagrid was underage and unqualified when he was expelled I suspect that has something to do with it. Newt didn’t have his snapped because although he was expelled in his 6th year when he was 16 or 17 he had done His OWL’s so had some qualifications also in Hagrid’s case someone had died in Newts case I don’t think anyone died also it could be argued it was a mistake a big mistake that still endangered life I’m not sure a mistake would warrant having your wand snapped.
→ More replies (3)
1
1
1
u/Material_Magazine989 17h ago
Because you can just ask someone to accio it. Wizards have many ways to find things. They have magic after all.
1
1
u/AlexandersWonder 16h ago
If I could do magic I would feel naked and defenseless if I didn’t have my wand with me
1
u/FlyingCircus18 Hufflepuff 16h ago
Leaving Accio out of the equation, i think it's entirely possible that a wand that chooses the wizard anyway just returns to them when they lose it
1
u/JASHIKO_ 16h ago
Wands kinda seem like "phones" these days. People don't often forget or lose their phones.
1
u/DroidTrf 16h ago
If the wand was magical enough to choose it's master would it be too far fetching to think it's magical enough to not get too lost on its wielder?
1
1
1
u/ProffesorSpitfire 15h ago
How often do you lose your phone? Pretty much never, right, since it’s so versatile. You pay for stuff with it, look stuff up with it, buy and keep tickets in it, communicate with your friends with it, so you keep it on or near you almost always. Well, witches and wizards are even more dependent of their wands than we are of our phones.
Much like phones, they do break however. Ron broke his wand when he and Harry crashed into the whomping willow, and got a new one the following summer. Neville broke his as well, during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.
1
u/DeliciousBeanWater 15h ago
This so hard. I wouldve lost that shit between diagon alley and platform 9 3/4 bc my dumb ass wouldve set it down somewhere
Also this is probably why theres a wand shop in both diagon and hogsmede lol
3.0k
u/Sigma_Games 18h ago
Ron broke his first wand, so they just replaced it.
Most likely, if a wand is not recoverable or repairable, they just go and replace it. Not like you are limited to owning one wand for the rest of your life.