The Harry Potter franchise features many characters throughout the franchise, many of them magical. These fascinating and powerful figures are naturally nothing without the catalysts that allow them to demonstrate their abilities: their wands. The vast majority of these wands are manufactured by Mr. Garrick Ollivander (Sir John Hurt) in Diagon Alley, whose family has been making wands for millennia.
Though most characters have one, some wands are obviously more remarkable than others and receive more attention throughout the story. Whether because of their awesome designs, which set them apart from standard wands, or their inner resolve and ability to see any task through, no matter what, these magical instruments are more famous than some of the flesh-and-blood characters. These are the best wands in Harry Potter, so commended for how their designs reflect their wielders and how important they are in the grand scheme of things.
20
Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody’s Wand
Specs: Unknown
Alastor Moody’s (Brendan Gleeson) wand doesn’t look all that interesting at first glance. It’s kind of on the shorter side, and appears to be one cohesive piece without much ornamentation save for a small, hook-shaped bauble at the end of it. Truth be told, this is actually pretty fitting for Moody. The guy clearly is definitely more concerned with functionality and practicality than he is with needless ornamentation or designwork.
What makes this wand interesting, however, can be observed upon taking a look at Moody’s staff, which he uses as a catalyst for magic, and as a walking stick since he only has one leg. If you take a look at both wand and staff, you’ll realize that they look exactly the same. In fact, Moody’s wand is basically a miniature version of his staff. They have the same cohesive look and the same hooked bauble at the end and everything. This is actually really neat, highlighting how important both are to Moody.
19
Antonin Dolohov’s Wand
Specs: Unknown
Antonin Dolohov (Arben Bajraktaraj) is a Death Eater encountered by the Golden Trio during their time on the run from the Dark Lord. Dolohov, along with another Death Eater, ambushes the three in a London café, resulting in a short duel that leaves both Death Eaters incapacitated. Dolohov, hit with a full body-bind curse, is left to helplessly watch as his memory is wiped and his wand is taken, removing the threat to the trio.
His wand is seen in the movies, but not close enough where one can actually inspect it. As such, the only way to really see what it looks like is through official Harry Potter merchandise and replica wands. Dolohov has quite a unique design on his wand. It looks pretty plain, but has a hook at the bottom of the handle. Upon closer inspection, this hook isn’t plain at all, but is actually the head of some sort of magical creature, with eyes and a mouth and everything. It’s unclear whether it’s some sort of snake or some other being, but it’s kind of a neat feature nonetheless.
18
Queenie Goldstein’s Wand
Specs: Unknown
Queeni Goldstein (Alison Sudol) is initially portrayed as a stereotype, but gradually evolves into a surprisingly complex character with deep motivations and an intellect that most wouldn’t assume she has. She works primarily as a fashion designer in New York City, being an American witch, but she’s also quite skilled with a wand and in the crusade against the forces of Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Mads Mikkelsen).
Like many other wands in the series, it’s a bit hard to tell what the wand looks like since the camera doesn’t typically offer a close-up of it, but Queenie’s wand is really gorgeous. It’s pretty plain, except for the handle, which is ornamented with a beautiful white seashell at the bottom. The wand is much like Queenie herself: pretty, but also capable, and rather unassuming at first glance.
17
Amycus Carrow’s Wand
Specs: 14″, Unknown Wood, Unknown Core
For a wand that the camera never really shows, this is one of the coolest designs the movies have to offer. The books don’t allude to the wands of the Carrows at all. And why should they? The Carrows are only briefly in the series and only really make background appearances in the films. However, it seems that the prop department still went above and beyond for their wand designs, even if they can’t be really seen in the movies.
Amycus Carrow (Ralph Ineson) is a Death Eater and has an appropriately spooky wand to match. His wand is a deep chestnut brown and is of one cohesive piece, in the shape of a wicked-looking spike with a slight wave to it in the middle. But the handle is where it really stands out. Embedded into the handle is a small carving of a skeleton, painted bone-white. The skeleton appears to be the head and torso of some sort of magical humanoid creature, and is either sticking its long tongue out or is having a snake crawl into its mouth. This is a really awesome design, to the point that it’s frankly criminal that it didn’t get shown in the Harry Potter movies.
16
Seraphina Picquery’s Wand
Specs: 13½”, Swamp Mayhaw, Rougarou Hair
Seraphina Picquery (Carmen Ejogo) is the President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Basically, she’s the American Minister of Magic, serving throughout the Fantastic Beasts trilogy. Born in the deep South, Seraphina went to a renowned American wandmaker known for her extravagant designs and daring experimentation. Think Gucci, but for wand-making. What results is something really special.
Seraphina’s wand is a clear nod to her Southern roots, with parts originating in the Louisiana bayous. It’s made of swamp mayhaw wood, which is already atypical, but also contains a core of rougarou hair (a rougarou being a Southern werewolf-type monster). This is a core that the wandmaker kept secret from the public for years, so it’s very rare, indeed. On top of that, the design is immaculate. It’s perfectly straight, but doesn’t have a wooden handle. Instead, the handle is made of a hot pink crystal of some sort. It definitely captures Seraphina’s elegant flair and regality.
15
Luna Lovegood’s Second Wand
Specs: Unknown
Luna Lovegood’s (Evanna Lynch) second wand is constructed after her abduction by the Death Eaters in the seventh film. After her release, she enlists the help of Ollivander (John Hurt) to make her a new wand, though it’s not quite clear what the specifications of this wand were. Truth be told, this second one is a whole heck of a lot more interesting than her first one.
Her first was light-colored and had a few magical runes inscribed on it, which is the furthest from unique ever, as many other characters bear similar wand designs. The second one, however, has a grip in the shape of a tulip, with the stem of the flower being the main part of the wand. This one is very hard to spot as it doesn’t appear on screen much in the final film, but it’s certain that its design is truer to Luna’s personality and to her empathy and compassion towards other living things.
14
Minerva McGonagall’s Wand
Specs: 9½”, Fir, Dragon Heartstring
Professor McGonagall’s (Dame Maggie Smith) wand is almost perfectly straight and smooth, and doesn’t seem all that interesting at first glance. Upon closer inspection, it can be noted that the bottom bears a sort of glass or crystal, though the purpose of it is unknown. While the wand is elegant, much like the headmistress herself, it didn’t really see a whole lot of use throughout the films.
When the chance arises to actually do something important, it has no problem rising to the challenge. It made a whole hallway full of statues move in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and is mostly used for other non-offensive purposes, mainly transfiguration. Ultimately, this wand is less a weapon and more of an essential tool for the most savage witch in Hogwarts, which represents her dry wit and sweeping elegance perfectly.
13
Peter Pettigrew’s Second Wand
Specs: 9¼”, Chestnut, Dragon Heartstring
Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall) sports two wands throughout the films, gaining his second one towards the end. This wand was created by Mr. Ollivander, who was forced to make it by the Death Eaters. The main portion of the wand has a serpentine shape, suiting his backstabbing and manipulative nature, with a cool little snail shell shape at the bottom.
It’s made in such a way that it looks like the wand is actually a slimy snail trail or something, all combined with a lacquered black finish that gives it an aura of menace and foreboding. It’s kind of hard to spot in the movies that it appears in, but that doesn’t change the fact that this wand is definitely one of the most creative on behalf of the prop department, who always puts loads of time and effort into their wand designs.
12
Ronald Weasley’s Second Wand
Specs: 14″, Willow, Unicorn Hair
Ron Weasley’s (Rupert Grint) first wand didn’t serve him very well and broke in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, prompting him to try to undo the damage with tape. It didn’t work, obviously, resulting in several backfires of attempted spells. Ron’s second wand served him much better, and not only didn’t break but was by his side through thick and thin.
The core of Ron’s wand is unicorn hair, which isn’t super rare, but it also isn’t the most common type to be used. In terms of looks, it’s not really all that special, but it does earn points on account of how much it’s been through and how steadfast it’s been in tackling anything that comes at it. It’s a great contrast to Ron’s first wand, which couldn’t even survive a mild car crash because it was old, having belonged to his older brother, Charlie, first.
11
Dolores Umbridge’s Wand
Specs: 8″, Birch, Dragon Heartstring
Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) may be one of the most widely-detested characters in the entire series of films, coming in the fifth as the strict, uptight Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher whose sole purpose is to maintain the lie that Voldemort has not returned on behalf of the Ministry of Magic. She may not be liked by anybody at all, but one can’t deny how gorgeous her wand’s design is.
It looks like a series of baubles or orbs all connected together, with a glimmering pink crystal appearing about midway through. It’s unknown if this crystal actually contributes to the wand’s magical ability or whether it is strictly an aesthetic choice, but the wand suits her personality and style perfectly, and is an elegantly-made piece that deserves more attention.
