To be fair, Dumbledore used the instant he had to defend against Malfoy to immobilize Harry so he wouldn’t reveal himself and possibly get killed on the tower. That’s how Malfoy was able to get the drop on him.
What I’m wondering is why Harry had to cast Expelliarmus at all, if the Elder Wand would have had Voldy’s AK spell rebound anyway. What was the point of that?
Why didn’t he break the damned thing?
I’m not sure that an ordinary wand could break it. Just like it was the only wand capable of repairing a normal one, it seems like it would be immune to damage from those, “lesser,” others.
Uh, did I read it wrong? I’m pretty sure that afterward Harry didn’t take the Elder Wand, but just used it to repair his own wand, then planned to put it back in Dumbledore’s tomb.
So did Harry’s gathering of the deathly hallows do anything for him? Why did Dumbledore hide the resurrection stone in the snitch? Was there a point behind that whole quest, or were they just to show the fault of Dumbledore’s past ambitions?
That would be entirely inconsistent with Voldemort’s character. Voldemort is a classic psychopath: he’s cunning and manipulative, but he’s also arrogant, misunderstands behaviour that isn’t similar to his own, and lacks foresight. He really does believe Potter has just gotten lucky up to that point.
One thing REALLY bothered me with the epilogue. Why is it that Harry gets to name his and Ginny’s kids after his parents and his mentor/protectors? Why isn’t one of the kids named Fred after Ginny’s brother who passed away? Ginny doesn’t seem like the type of person to step back and let Harry name all three of their kids.
WAG: There’s already another Little Weasley (i.e. Ginny’s nephew) named after Fred.
Well, after Harry’s long speech (reminiscent of stock movie villains revealing their super secret plan to the incapacitated hero), you’d think ol’ Voldy woulda at least switched to his back-up wand. I mean, the Dark Lord already knows he can kick Horcrux Potter’s ass in any fair fight, so why even chance letting the showdown come down to luck?
And this is the kind of silly crap people always trot out.
smiling bandit, how’s the SAS doing at taking out Osama? This is the Osama that can’t turn invisible, teleport, fly, or perform mind control.
This assumes, of course, that things like bullets and grenades would actually affect a wizard. Something that caused a massive explosion on the Lovegood house (enough to bring down part of the floor above, IIRC) left a good half dozen people in the room unharmed. As far as we know, mundane weapons wouldn’t kill a wizard, since we never hear of Hagrid once dropping someone from ambush with his crossbow.
I know guns give some people little hard-ons, but they actually won’t solve any and all problems.
-Joe
On the other hand Bellatrix threatened to kill Hermione with a knife. And one can be killed by falling off of a broomstick.
It’s been stated in the books that witches and wizards are human. They have magical powers, but they’re still human. I’m sure they can be killed by non-magical means. It’s just that they rely so heavily on magic that it rarely occurs to them.
Doesn’t make any difference. Draco never possessed the Elder Wand, but it still recognized him as master because he’d disarmed the previous master. It then turned its allegiance to Harry - while sitting in Dumbledore’s tomb - when Harry took a different wand from Draco. If Harry is disarmed as an auror (and apparently, simply disarming him can be sufficient), then the Elder Wand, sitting in Dumbledore’s tomb, will have a new master.
Falling isn’t a weapon. Bellatrix’s was a silver knife, wasn’t it? Possibly enchanted, even. I don’t see her as the weapons expert type, but she was somehow able to toss the thing across the room well enough to kill someone.
The point is, The Big Bad in the real world seems to have survived the SAS, SEALS, and anything else every first-world nation can throw at him - and he doesn’t even have any magic working for him. The idea of that Rowling and her characters are morons because some Special Forces squad hasn’t killed Voldemort is just people being wet blankets, presumably to show how ‘clever’ they are.
-Joe
It didn’t say anything about the knife being enchanted. And I have an idea that the old throwing-the-knife-across-the-room-and-killing-someone trick is largely a Hollywood myth. Falling isn’t a weapon, but it does show that they can be killed in non-magical ways.
As for the fictional world vs. the real world, the SAS don’t even know Voldemort exists much less know where to find him. All I’m saying is that a wizard or witch who can be attacked before they can cast a protective spell can likely be killed just like anyone else.
Because they are human.
My guess.
The cloak made the wearer perfectly safe from death. It was impervious to any person or thing that was a threat to the wearer. It wasn’t impervious to Mad-Eye because he wasn’t a threat.
But the eye worked for Fake Moody (Barty Crouch polyjuiced to look like Moody), and he was definitely a threat to Harry. It’s probably just a property of the eye. There seem to be lots of unique items in the wizarding world. I’m guessing it’s not uncommon for a witch or wizard to take their secrets to their grave.
I think it is more likely as Dumbledore (I think) said that the powers of the Deathly Hallows have been puffed up over time. The Elder wand wasn’t unbeatable either, it couldn’t be if the owner could be disarmed to gain it’s loyalty. It was just a really powerful wand. It’s more likely that like the wand, the cloak is just a super well made, really effective cloak, not necessarily invincible though.
Yes, Harry put the wand back in Dumbledore’s tomb.
Gathering the Hallows allowed Harry to ressurect Sirius, James, Lily, and Remus who guided him to meet Voldemort.
Dumbledore hid the stone so Harry would not open it and attempt to use it too early. I OPEN AT THE CLOSE. Harry used it right as he was ready to die.
Which quest are you talking about? Gathering the Horcruxes allowed Harry to kill Voldemort finally. Gathering the Hallows allowed him to gain strength from his parents and mentors.
Nitpick: Harry never had all three Hallows. Two at a time max. The cloak and the Stone. Drops Stone as he (believes he) meets his death. The cloak and Wand.
Agreed about the wand being at risk if someone kills (or disarms) Harry. Which could be a way to continue the series with the kinderlachen in a few years. I see JKR flailing to have another successful book for a few tries and then returning to Hogwarts in this way.
but that doesn’t make sense. Harry went to face Voldemort, intending to die, his death would be a charm that protected his friends, right? And the stone gave him the courage he needed.
But how could dumbledore have known this?
He was technically the owner of the wand as soon as he disarmed Malfoy, which means that he did have all three of the Hallows at the point before he dropped the stone.