Created by Death itself…
The Elder Wand is the most powerful wand in existence in the Harry Potter series.
And its wielder would be given incredible strength.
So when Harry finally came into possession of it…
You might wonder:
“Why did he destroy the Elder Wand?”
Read on to learn:
- Why the Elder Wand can’t simply be repaired.
- How the Elder Wand’s fate is different in the books.
- 5 surprising reasons why Harry broke the Elder Wand.
- And more…
Why did Harry Potter break the Elder Wand? 5 reasons
Harry Potter broke the Elder Wand because it was an item that could only lead to more problems. Moreover, a powerful wand like that would be sought after by evil wizards. Also, all its past owners have a history of dying horrible deaths.
#1: It would only lead to more trouble in the future
When an item with such power falls into the wrong hands, it can only turn into a recipe for disaster.
Before Voldermort was such an issue as an antagonist, there was Gellert Grindelwald. And ahead of him was the unknown Sorcerer Ekrizdis.
Though the Dark Lord was defeated, history showed us that a new villain was always on the rise right after.
Naturally, someone would follow in Voldemort’s footsteps as well.
It may not be immediate, but it is eventually bound to happen.
And by destroying the wand, Harry prevented that future villain from harnessing its power.
#2: Violence always followed the Elder Wand
In the Harry Potter story, we see how Voldemort is after it. But he only got to know about it by torturing the wandmaker Ollivander.
The Dark Lord was after it because it would give him the power to do horrible things.
Generally, an item that possesses such power is rarely used for good purposes.
And even if it is, the odds are high that someone evil like Voldermort is after it.
Because of this, innocent people became victims of the Elder Wand’s power.
Snape met his fate due to the item, even though he never was its owner.
As long as the Elder Wand existed, violence would follow it. So Harry decided to break the cycle by destroying the wand.
#3: The previous owners of the Elder Wand had a rough time
Based on the history of the Elder Wand, its past owners rarely met a peaceful fate.
Out of the 14 wizards that owned the magic item, 7 were murdered.
The wizard Loxias was killed, and even his mother claimed to be responsible.
And it’s no surprise either.
See, the Elder Wand can only switch owners when the original master is disarmed.
Now, disarming someone can be done in many ways.
It’s stated that even grabbing the wand out of someone’s hand counts as disarming him. This is what Harry did to Draco and how he became the owner.
But in the eyes of the people after the wand, disarming often means killing.
If you are the owner of this powerful artifact, you’ll always have people after you. And they don’t intend on having a nice talk over a cup of tea.
By destroying it, Harry essentially saves himself from the same fate.
#4: Harry feared that the Elder Wand might corrupt him
The Elder Wand is a symbol of power. It was 1 of the 3 Deathly Hallows, but it’s the only 1 used for offensive practices.
The Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak were primarily used for defensive purposes.
But even in our world, it’s no secret that power can corrupt people.
In fact, this study perfectly shows us how.
It talks about power can nudge us in the wrong direction. It may start off innocent, but the corruption slowly creeps in.
Of course, it’s not as black and white as that.
But it holds some truth. Even the best of us can succumb to power if we’re exposed to it long enough.
Seeing that the Elder Wand is the most powerful item in the world, Harry may have feared it would corrupt him.
After all, anything is possible with this item.
So who’s not to say that over the years, you grow to be more reckless with what you can and can’t do with it.
Even if you’re unaware, using the wand may corrupt you over time. And it may lead you to be more evil.
#5: The movies were out of runtime
Perhaps a reason you did not expect to see. But it’s a valid one nonetheless.
See, the final movie has quite a long runtime. Harry broke the Elder Wand near the end of a more than 2-hour time mark.
On average, statistics have shown that movies usually tend to last around 2 hours and 10 minutes.
There’s a reason that most films tend to stick to this duration. And it’s a fairly simple one; to not lose the audience’s attention.
Oh, and this movie was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
You read that right. This story arc spans over 2 films, with a runtime of over 2 hours.
But what does that have to do with Harry breaking the wand?
See, in the books, Harry does not break the wand. Instead, a new story arc begins.
But since the movie counterparts were running out of airtime. So the easiest and most efficient way to wrap it up would be for Harry to simply destroy the Elder Wand.
Check the video below to see this scene for yourself:
Can the Elder Wand be repaired?
Harry broke the Elder Wand. But what’s stopping someone from picking up the pieces and simply repairing it?
Well, it simply doesn’t work that way.
See, repairing even a normal wand is impossible. Let alone a wand of such power.
We can see this play out when Ron breaks his. He tried to fix it, but nothing worked. And all his spells backfired.
In the end, he had to purchase a new one.
The only loophole is that the Elder Wand itself can repair other broken wands.
This is what Harry did in the books.
He used the power of the Elder Wand to repair his own.
But Harry destroyed the artifact that allowed him to do so.
So, in essence, the only item that could repair the Elder Wand is the Elder Wand itself.
And that’s now gone.
What did Harry Potter do with the Elder Wand in the book?
The story of the Elder Wand plays out slightly differently in the books.
See, in the movies, Harry ends up destroying it. But in the books, he simply hid it.
Harry was the rightful owner of the wand. But he stated that he was happier using his own.
So, he decided to bring the Elder Wand back to where it belonged: Dumbledore’s tomb.
His reasoning for this is that the owner cycle will be broken anyway.
All he had to do was die a natural death.
That way, he would never be disarmed, so the wand could never have a new owner.
However, this led to some issues that fans didn’t agree with.
While the books are the preferred story for most, the films tied up this plot much better.
As long as the Elder Wand exists, people will be after it.
Someone could literally just rob Harry while he was unaware and become the new owner.
The only issue I see with this is that Harry did not intend to use the wand himself.
He stored it in Dumbledore’s tomb.
So if anyone wanted to become the new owner, they had to follow a few steps.
First, they had to retrieve the wand from the tomb.
Then, they would have to trick Harry into wielding it.
And only after that can they try to disarm him to gain ownership of the Elder Wand. Both the books and the movies wrap up this story arc differently.
As seen in the movie, simply breaking the wand may be the easiest solution, but the books didn’t leave any issues concluding it either.
Conclusion: Why doesn’t Harry want the Elder Wand?
Although it’s extremely powerful, the Elder Wand would only lead to more trouble in the future.
An item so dangerous will always attract the worst of the worst.
So to prevent someone evil from getting their hands on the Elder Wand, Harry decided to destroy it once and for all.
It plays out fairly similarly in the books. Only Harry did not exactly destroy the wand.
Instead, he hid it in Dumbledore’s tomb.
But his reasons for not wanting to use the wand essentially remain the same.
Read also: Why did Harry drop the Resurrection Stone