Quote:Hazard wrote:But even if JKR didn't describe it explicitly, it exists in the setting itself. Heck, one of the required first year textbooks is titled Magical Theory, so they are presumably studying it in one of their classes.
The main reasons we don't get the theoretical side is because that would be boring to most people and it would require careful world building.
And while JKR is quite capable of spinning an interesting yarn, consistent world building is not one of her strengths.
Oh, here's another fanfic cliche: custom made wands being superior to Ollivander's standard stock.
According to Pottermore, and this wiki page, before the current Ollivander took over the family business, everyone had custom wands made, with materials they chose. (This is how Fleur's wand was made.) The current Ollivander invented a system that matched powerful cores (he only uses three types) with different types of woods (many types), and then let the wand choose the wizard, instead of the other way around. Ollivander's method is recognized as producing superior, better matched wands than the custom method, so not only is the custom wand thing a cliche, it directly goes against canon.
Edit
ouble checking, this is a cliche that was used in DW, (edit 2: though it also subverted it,I suppose, since none of those would have worked either.)Also, when looking back at the segment in chapter 2, this caught my eye:
Quote:I shrugged. "Sure." I handed it to him, still full-size, saying to it, "Now you behave. He's not trying to take you from me, he just wants to look at you." This got me a raised eyebrow from the wand maker, but since he didn't get electrocuted or anything, I didn't care.What sort of wood is the Toothpick made of again? Because the different woods used for Potterverse wands have certain interesting properties, such as well...
Quote:LaurelIt is said that a laurel wand cannot perform a dishonourable act, although in the quest for glory (a not uncommon goal for those best suited to these wands), I have known laurel wands perform powerful and sometimes lethal magic. Laurel wands are sometimes called fickle, but this is unfair. The laurel wand seems unable to tolerate laziness in a possessor, and it is in such conditions that it is most easily and willingly won away. Otherwise, it will cleave happily to its first match forever, and indeed has the unusual and engaging attribute of issuing a spontaneous lightning strike if another witch or wizard attempts to steal it.Edit 3:Looking back at DW5-7, the Toothpick was made from a twig from Yggdrasil, so ash. Here's what Ollivander has to say about ash wands:
Quote:AshThe ash wand cleaves to its one true master and ought not to be passed on or gifted from the original owner, because it will lose power and skill. This tendency is extreme if the core is of unicorn. Old superstitions regarding wands rarely bear close examination, but I find that the old rhyme regarding rowan, chestnut, ash and hazel wands (rowan gossips, chestnut drones, ash is stubborn, hazel moans) contains a small nugget of truth. Those witches and wizards best suited to ash wands are not, in my experience, lightly swayed from their beliefs or purposes. However, the brash or over-confident witch or wizard, who often insists on trying wands of this prestigious wood, will be disappointed by its effects. The ideal owner may be stubborn, and will certainly be courageous, but never crass or arrogant.I think that fits Doug fairly well.
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber." --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.