well, HP-Deathly-Hallows, those are some very strong feeling you shared with us in that last post... lol.



I feel that Umbridge might work with Voldemort in book 7. Or if not Harry will now have 2 very powerful enamys that he will have to look out for. Voldemort and Umbridge. She can easily make Harry look like a fool because she works with the Ministry. Though I am very thankful the there is a new minister, for if Fudge was still in charge, I think Umbridge would have him under he control. He would probably listen to all her rubbish about how awful Harry is, and the two of them being so high in the Ministy could make Harry get very little followers to help him fight Voldemort.

this is my first post inside the gryffindor thread...and even though i love being in gryffindor i do have to disagree with you on that last reply....I don't see Umbridge coming back with Voldemort. There's no way unless he manipulated her. She's mean and evil, but she, like everyone else is probably scared of Voldemort. In my opinion, it doesn't sound like it'll happen..but it might be pretty cool if it did. i mean...she WOULD be of some use to the dark lord..HmmMMmMmmm..

Good question, After The Burial! Also, it was described as 'Muggles started to swarm around' or something like that.

My guess is that while Dumbledore didn't actually say where Grimmauld Place was or is (he wrote it down and passed it along), Peter actually said where it was. I suppose saying it makes it no longer a secret but through another means, where it remains a secret and not in the open so to speak, it is still a secret.

Think of it as passing notes in class. You can do it while your teacher has his or her back turned to you. But if you whisper or say what is on the note to someone else, the teacher will hear it and know the secret. Maybe its something like that.

Judging by the reactions of a few people, I think I should clarify my last post more clearly.

We know the Fidilius Charm is used to keep secrets (hence, there is the secret-keeper). Only the secret-keeper can reveal the secret to another. If the secret-keeper does not tell you about the secret, you can stare 'into the Potters window and not see them.'

Furthermore, we may use Snape's comments in the beginning of HBP we conclude that you cannot reveal the secret unless you are the secret-keeper. Otherwise, Voldemort would know where the headquarters to the Order are located.

Now, after Voldemort was taken from body when he came to kill Harry, the house was left in rubble. Still, the secret should remain. How is it that anyone could enter the rubble/house to find Harry? They would need to know where the Potters were hiding. To know this, the secret-keeper must have told them.

Peter was the secret-keeper. So, he must have told someone the location of the Potters (other than Voldemort). This presents a dilemma. No one knew that Peter was the secret-keeper except James, Lily, Sirius, Peter and Voldemort.

Peter could not have told anyone in the Order, or they would have told Dumbledore about Peter being the secret-keeper. This would mean that Dumbledore would know that Sirius was not the secret-keeper, and would not let him rot in Azkaban.

Peter would probably not tell any of the Death Eaters. After all, Voldemort would want that information for himself. Of course, there is the possibility that Snape or another Death Eater forced it out of him....

However, assuming that Snape did not do this, there is a short list of people who knew where to find Harry. Voldemort had no body, James and Lily were dead. The only ones left were Sirius and Peter. Sirius arrived AFTER Hagrid. Thus, the only person who could have taken Harry out of the house was Peter. But why would Peter take him out and leave him for anyone to find?

If Peter did not take Harry out of the house, then who did? No one in the Order knew that Peter was the secret-keeper, so they could not have done it. If a Death Eater forced the information out of Peter, then why would they leave Harry alive?

The way I see it, there are four possibilities. The first is that JK made a major mistake. The second is that the destruction of Voldemort's body broke the Fidilius Charm. Dumbledore knew where they were (but was not told the secret), and could then go get Harry.

The third is that Peter was there, took Harry out of the house, and for whatever reason, left him to be found. The last is that some Death Eater forced the information out of Peter and he/she took Harry out of the house, but left him to be found.

So, take your pick. Which possibility is the best and/or most likely. I know that your opinions will be based on a lot of other theories, but lets include those as reasoning for your opinions (but lets not delve too deeply into the reasons for your beliefs in other theories). There, I certainly hope that this can spark some interest and debate.

Thank you very much After the Burial for that wonderful post! It really made me think.

The first thing I would like to say is that I sure hope JK did not make a mistake! She is such a wonderful writer, and I do not want to put anything against her about her writing. I really hope she did not make a mistake!! I don't think anyone wants to she her make one!

Secondly, I find this question very interesting, and it sure is a very good discussion starter!!! I find it very unbelieveable that a death eater would go to the Potters house, find Harry, and then leave him there. Then again, the death eater's didn't know about how Voldemort wanted Harry yet, but still, they are death eaters, don't they want to kill? Or would they not kill Harry because he was a wizard?

As for Peter leaving Harry there, I find that to be one of the stronger possibilities. I think that after what he just did Peter would have been extremely scared and frightened of what would happen to him next. I think that Peter feared people would come after him because of how he betrayed the Potters, and therefore when he found Harry he didn't want anything to do with the child, for all Harry caused him was greif. So I think that Peter would leave Harry in the open so that someone would find him and be able to take care of him, leaving Peter unnoticed for a while, and giving him time to hide/recover.

Ok, I have a theory on this one. Lets say that after the people that the secret is about, Lily and James, are dead. Then the secret is lifted. So if they had told Dumbledore where they were planning on hiding before they went into hiding. Then he would have known where to look for them. I know that's a little far fetched, but it's the only plausible explination I could think of.

But this made me think of another question. Someone had to preform the charm on them right? So wouldn't this person know that Peter was the secret-keeper, not Sirius? And since they most likely would have used Dumbledore to perform the charm, because he's the most advanced. Then wouldn't he have known it was Peter?

I don't find that very far fetched, Weasly_Girly_83. That actually makes some sense to me. The only thing is if this theory is true or not.

I think Lily and James would have told Dumbledore where they were going to hide, for they new Dumbledore was one of the strongest people that could keep them safe. It is also possible, thought, that Lily and James did not plan on making a Fidilius Charm until they felt that there was no other choice. That could be a reason why Peter was their secret keeper and not someone who was more reliable to James and Lily.

It is possible that the Potters felt so pressured in wanting to be safe and going into hiding that they were willing to use Peter to make an unexpected Fidilius Charm, so that could be a reason how Dumbledore knew to find Harry where he was. I am not saying this in a way that the Potters would not have chosen Peter of all people to do this charm, I am saying that the Potters probably did not want to make this charm because then they knew that if tey did get caugh some how, no one would be able to find them if Peter was also dead.

I still stand by this. Dumbledore may have not have actually told anyone where Grimmauld Place was, but writing it down kept the secret in a magical sense. On the flip side, Peter did say where the Potters' were so anyone could know. If he had just writte it down and given the note to Voldemort, then I think nobody would have known where it was after Voldemort's defeat and the destruction of the house.

But, if I'm wrong, is it reasonable to say that Harry was thrown from the house? Not by Voldemort himself but by the force of either what destroyed the house or the force of the killing curse, like what happened to Dumbledore when Snape used it on him? While many of you think Snape used both a killing curse and a lifting charm to throw Dumbeldore off the tower, it could have been the force of the curse itself because of all the emotions mixed in with it and what allows one to use it. Voldemort could have been overjoyed that he was about to become undefeatable (or invincible) and added a little more either by accident or not, which wound up flinging Harry from the house after the curse did what it did (many theories on that aspect too).

If I were to go by your points, After The Burial, then I don't think it would be a Death Eater because then Voldemort would have killed that person eventually for getting Harry out and not killing him or attempting to and failing because of the protection. Thats why I don't think Snape could have been standing next to Voldemort (or anyone close enough to Voldemort and an important part of the plot) because that person would be dead as well, so it can't be, in my opinion, someone important.

There are many many theorys that could be arosed from this delema El Barto. I think After the Burial and yourself came up with the most likely possibilities.

I really like the one about Peter finding Harry. I think it makes a lot of sense. It seems to fit his character, feeling guity so he leaves Harry.

And a death eater finding him also seems even more unlikely, because as El Barto said, Voldemort would have killed him later on for not killing Harry or giving him to Voldemort.

Maybe Sirius, DD, and Hagrid new as well where the Potters were going to be, I mean afterall somewhere in the books it says the DD told the Potters to go into hiding and that they should make someone secret keeper. They chose Sirius as he was their best friend, but with that being common knowledge - LV would come after him so he persuaded the Potters to make Wormtail... anyways we all know that I don't know what my point is in re-telling everyone... anyways back to the point - maybe it's b/c DD, Sirius, and Hagrid knew before hand where they were staying they knew where to go.

Just some thoughts....

Ok, first of all, great question After the Burial. I don't want to believe that JKR made a mistake, though it is very possible since she is a human and it is very probable making a mistake. So, i support the theory that says that someone esle knew the secret.
I don't think it was Peter who removed Harry.Why would he do that? Probably, he would be so scared at the moment, and stunned at the view of the body-less Voldemort, that he would care more about his own safety than Harry's. Of course, we could say that he felt guilty for what he caused and tried at least, to save Harry by removing him from the house. Maybe he thought that this would be a way of fixing his mistake.
If we exclude this theory, however, what we have left is that someone esle knew it. Either a Death Eater or a member of the Order. When it comes to Death Eaters, the only ones that could have saved, and would have been willing to save Harry, would be Snape or...Regulus. But Snape, as mentioned in book 1 i think, saved Harry from that spell Quirell used to throw him out of his broomstick, because he felt guilty. Which means that he had not paid yet what he owned to James for saving him from Lupin. I don't know if this makes sense, but it is a point. As for Regulus, he could not have saved him since he had died a year ago. If he died of course. So, there is a major gap here. Regulus saving Harry makes sense to me. Of course, we could also support that Sirius revealed the secret to Dumbledore who sent Hagrid to Potters' house when they died. It is actually the most easily explained possibility.
Well...that's what i think. I believe that we have added yet another question for JKR to explain...

I have already given my theory on all of this.

All of them were in the order.
The Potters
Wormtail
Lupin
Sirius
Dumbledore
Hagrid

These are all of the people involved in doing the fidlius charm. Hagrid went to get Harry. He would have been told by wormtail. All this would be classified info in the order. Wormtail would have to tell all of these people were the potters were.

To be honest ( not being full of my self) this to me is the only proper theory.
This was classified and so they wouldnt have wormtail writing the adress down on parchment and leaving them all over the place.

As regards DDs knowlege of Harry's whereabouts when he was one year old. I seem to recall someone quoting JKR as saying that none of the spells were always absolute. She is supposed to have said that a prepared and powerful enough wizard would be able to resist the Veritaserum and lie under its influence, in certain situations.

Now, DD has stated on several occasions that he followed Harry's progress more closely than Harry could possibly know. We know that Fawkes can do things inside of Hogwarts, like disappear and reappear elsewhere, that Wizards cannot do. So perhaps JKR wants us to believe that there are "chinks" in these spells that a Wizard of DDs ability can overcome. Of course that falls into my previously postulated Deus ex Machina explanation of certain events. They happen, seemingly illogically, because a)JKR needs them to happen and b)she is not expecting the level of scrutiny millions of fans will bring to a work. And I will be the first to admit that this kind of error, really does not ruin the story for me.

And After the Burial, I agree you did a superb job deliniating the problem.

Wow, so many ideas going. The Fidlium Charm what a mystery. What if it’s not a secret anymore because the house was destroyed? I believe someone has already said this, but might be that the secret holder was for where the Potters where hidden. Not on the Potters themselves. So might be once the house was destroyed there was no secret to keep. That would leave Harry in the open for all to see.
MoM and DD both would have know of a wizard house being destroyed with magic. Maybe DD got word first the Harry was in the rubble and so he sent Hagrid.
HMMMM

I know this is a bit but seeing as the MoM can detect underage magic, I would think this means that they would have to know every time a wizard did a spell or something. So, wouldn't they then know when Voldemort casts a spell? What I mean is, then the Ministry would know the where abouts of Voldemort, right? Unless that is not how the Ministry tracks spells, I think the Ministry should be able to find out where Voldemort is.

I know that the Ministry most likely doesn't keep track of every single spell, but shouldn't there be a way of tracking Voldemort by him casting spells?

The ministry can tell when a spell is cast, and what spell it is, but they can't tell who did it. If they could, they would have known that Dobby was the one who blew up the pudding, not Harry. So, they may have known that a killing curse was cast, and therefore have known where to go to see who was dead. But they wouldn't have known who cast it. It probably would have been safe for them to bet on Voldy tough...

Well there could a way to track spells but I think that a really powerful/ cunning wizard like Hp, DD, Sanpe, or Harry could find a way around it and also if they can detect every spell didn't it say in one of the books that when there is a wizarding home then the ministry can't tell who did the spell only where the spell took place or something like that.

Ok, thanks Weasly_Girly_83, for clearing that up for me.

As you said betting that Voldemort is a pretty good guess, so then don't you think they could "track" him whenever the killing curse is said to occur. Because it might not always be Voldemort, but then it is normally one of his death eaters or some other bad person, so they would want them to go to jail anyways, so shouldn't they be more strick on what to do if the killing curse occurs?

It's true that they could go to the place where the curse was performed. But, it takes about two seconds to dissapperate. So by the time the ministry gets knowledge of it and apperates there, the person who performed it will probably be gone. Plus, if they place is protected by a secret-keeper, like the Potters was, I doubt that the ministry would know about a spell performed there.

thats true. Voldemort or whoever preformed the curse would probably be gone by then. But it could still be helpful to look at the site of the killing. Though they probably do do that.

Yeah, if there was a secret keeper most likely the curse would not be shown...

i am sure the curse would be shown, but they wouldn't be able to get and address for it, the secret keeper charm only works on the location, not what happens at that location

If it were a simple matter of tracing magic, Dawlish would have been able to track down Dumbledore in Half Blood Prince. Cunning wizards are able to conceal their movements. I have no doubts that Voldemort does everything possible to hide his location. There must be concealing spells for a person. They use them for just about everything else.

Also, there is a telling line in the books. Fudge says it. I think it was during Harry's hearing in Order of the Phoenix. When they are discussing Harry's magical transgressions at Privet Drive, Fudge says there are not other registered witches or wizards in the area. He also says that the Ministry has watched that area closely, given past events. They always catch Harry because they are always watching him. The ministry probably does not watch all areas for magic equally.

HPDH, Lupin did not know Peter was the secret-keeper. He admitted that in the Shrieking Shack in Prisoner of Azkaban. I am convicned Dumbledore did not know either. He would never let anyone sit in prison for something they did not do. He tried to get Morfin (hardly an innocent) out of prison. Why would Dumbledore leave Sirius in Azkaban if he had proof of his innocence?

Wow this topic is a good one. I like the idea that you could track You-Know-Who's where abouts with tracing the spells but the idea is hard to get my mind around I mean if that was the case wouldn't DD have found him already let alone the MoM. I don't know and the issue on whether or not the ministry can get something from where the magic occered(sp?) when a secret keeper is involved i think they can if the magic is a strong enough spell. like the killing curse for example i mean if they couldn't how many people weren't found for days when they were killed if they were in hidding? and i bet DD had his ears all over the MoM at that time knowing that LV was after Lilly and James. so as soon as heard about the curse there he sent hagrid to find out what really happened there. but that is all just my opinion.

I have an question about Sirius - when someone is arrested wouldn't thier wand be snapped in half - and doesn't the wand chose the person - so how did Sirius get a new wand without being seen? or is Olivander part of the OOTP and wouldn't turn him in as he believes DD..... oh wait - Olivander is taken 'hostage' in HBP isn't he???? to many questions and not enough time

After the Burial: That's a really good point. The ministry knew that Harry was living there, and that no other wizards were, so they watched it carefully, looking for a reason to expel him. But other places, like the burrow, have a ton of known wizards living there, so it would be hard to pin down which one did the magic. So probably aren't watched as carefully, since it wouldn't really help much anyways. And then there are places the Grimuald Place, which is in the middle of a muggle comunity, and since Mrs. Black died, however long ago that was, there has been no knowledge of a witch or wizard living there, so probably isn't watched at all. So, all Voldemort would have to do, is set up his hideout in an area that no wizards are in, and he'll be set, because the ministry wouldn't know to watch that area.

Padfoot's companion: In answer to your question, Dumbledore probably sent somebody to get him a new wand. I think you can use other peoples wands, but they won't work as well. Because remember in SS/PS Ron was using Bill's old wand or something, but it didn't work as well, but then in CoS when he got a new wand, it worked much better. And in the DoM the DE were scrambling for any wand they could find.

As to the MoM tracking spells that are cast. Doesn't that strike you as being like the NSA [National Security Administration - a government agency that tracks possible terrorist phone messages 24/7] ? There must be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of spells cast every hour. Many being cast at the same time. The MoM must have some kind of filtering mechanism that alerts when certain spells are used, or when a spell is used in certain areas. It does seem like the MoM knows what kind of spell was cast, where it was cast, but not who cast the spell. However there must also be counter measures, as the Avada Kedavra spell that Voldemort cast to kill the groundskeeper, would have stuck out. It was a] cast in a muggle village, b] it was a killing curse. Both facts would have red flagged that spell, if that's how the ministry filters out the "noise" of many multiples of spells. Had it been detected, wouldn't aurors have immediately descended on the Tom Riddle House to see what the heck was happening?

Yeah, I agree with Weasly_Girly_83, someone most likely went out to get Sirius a wand. Though it wouldn't be the perfect match for Sirius it is better than no wand...

And yes, Olivander was taken hostage.

This is another off topic question and it has nothing to do with anything, but I was wondering if Nagini is the same serpent as the one mentioned in SS/PS? The one that Harry set loose from the zoo. I know it has nothing to do with anything, but I was just wondering.

I can't remember where eactly but I read it somewhere. It's up to the adult wizards to keep underage wizards from using magic. If you remember Fred and George they tried to use the Unbreakable Vow on Ron and look how old he was! So they were definitely underaged. If adult wizards are around they usually can't tell who did it. if voldemort did something in the vacinity of the burrow or a place with wizards living there they wouldn't be able to detect who did what. -.-;; gosh i hope i'm not repeating someone.

I think it's like after the burial said, they watch certain areas more carefully than others, so if they were watching the area where the spell was cast then they would have noticed and sent somebody out to investigate. However, the known muggle-haters in that area had all been carted off to Azkaban, it was an all muggle area, not a single wizard. So I doubt they were watching that area at all. I mean, if you were the wizard in charge of watching for underaged magic or misused magic or whatever it would be called, would you really waste time watching an area with no wizards in it? I wouldn't.

ooooh good possibility about Nagini... but then would the snake somehow owe something to Harry for setting it free?

Wow, that's a really intresting question. I agree, that would definitley mean that the Nagini owes Harry something as well. Because even though Harry didn't technically save his life, he saved him from a life in a cage. That would be a really interesting twist, Voldemort's snake/horcrux is in debt to Harry! hmm...did it ever say what kind of snake Nagini is? I know it was a boa at the zoo, but can't remember....

*goes to find book...* I can't find it...all I found was that Nagini is a giant snake, about 12 feet long, with a dimond shaped tail. I don't know snakes that well, so I don't know if that means boa or not...

Ha! I love google! ok, here's what I found...



Ok, so I guess it's not the same snake...because if I remember correctly, the snake at the zoo was a boa, besides, that snake was heading to Brazil anyways...God only knows how it got there but...sorry getting off topic.

Sure, and the question was more to the point of how does the MoM filter the magnitude of spells that must be cast at a given time. If you're watching for the unusual, then light monitoring of all-muggle areas would be necessary. If there is to be punishment for use of a spell in front of a muggle, then yes, all non-wizard areas would have to be watched, if the locations of wizards, who are highly mobile, cannot themselves be watched. However this is a small point.

There has been some discussion about how different wizards, Pettigrew, and Sirius to name two, came about having a wand. Isn't a related question what happens to "excess" wands. I mean wizards die all the time from natural and other causes, what happens to their wands. We know that Ron and Neville "inherited" wands from others. Who gets say, DD's wand? *sigh* and ultimately does it matter?

Well, that is very difficult to say. Do these wand get buried with another person or do the dissolve. We have to remember JKR is writing about a whole world, she cant explain every detail.

What i want to know is if the wand chooses the wizard, how can you 'inherit' a wand.

Dunno, I guess you just take a wand. Though it won't be a perfect match because the wand that suites you the best is gone, its better than no wand.



o, well, it was worth a try asking... That would have been a very spectacular twist!!!



My guess it that some wands get buried with their owner. Like some sort of respect, I guess so no one else can use their wand. Ron and Neville might have gotten those wands because their families did not want to pay for new ones. As for Dumbledore's, it might get buried with him, for he was such an important person... again, respect. Otherwise I would think Harry would get it.

Ron and Neville did not 'inherit' the wands. I say this with the meaning that those wands did not choose them. They were given wands that were used by others people (Neville's father and Bill, if I remember correctly....maybe Charlie). The point is, they were using those wands, but they were not chosen by them.

Now, Dumbledore's wand is a curiosity in itself. I have heard more than one theory that it will be important to Deathly Hallows. Personally, I like the idea that the family decides what to do with it. I would guess that it would be buried with the deceased.

Speaking of wands, (since it came to mind) it must be a bad thing to have your wand broken. Neville thought his gran would kill him for breaking his dad's wand. And the dying wizard Odo had his wand broken (which was sad).

I don't think it's necessarily a think to break your wand, just not a good thing either. What I mean is, if the wand chooses the wizard, that means there is one wand that is perfect for you, all other wands will work, but not as well. So you really don't want to break yours, because then you have to settle for one that won't work as well.

I think the reason that Neville said his Gran would kill him for breaking his dad's wand was that it was like the last thing left from when his father was sane, she was emotionally attatched to it. However, I noticed that after he got his own wand his magic skills improved slightly.

The same goes for Ron. In CoS when he broke his wand his mother refused to buy him a new one, but after they won money in PoA and he got a new wand his ability to cast spells correctly impoved.

The reason for this is that before they had been using borrowed wands, so those wands hadn't chosen them, they had chosen somebody else. So the wand didn't work as well for them, but after it broke, they got a wand that chose them so it worked better.

One more thing, this is slightly off topic, but why was Ron using Bill or Charlie's old wand? I mean, I understand that his family doesn't have much money and all, but wouldn't they have had to buy a new wand for whoever's it was before? Why didn't that person keep his wand, and Ron get a new one?

The only reason I could find for Ron 'inheriting' an old wand was that his older brother had good reason for receiving one. If it was Bill, maybe Bill was given a new wand for becoming Head Boy. Maybe they got one for being named prefect. Ron chose a broom. Maybe the older brother simply chose a new wand.

Who says that the snake is Nagini because of what type/breed she is. It could be name that LV picked, doesn't really have to mean that she is a cobra.... ***watching SoS now*** I am not at all a snake fanatic - I run from them in fact, but Boa's can get to be huge snakes, I ibelieve even as big as cobras - just with most mammals/animals - they grow to be as big as their surrounding permits.

Changing topics now:

Maybe Bill bought himself a new wand when he got a job and knew that Ron would be needing one for school so gave him his old one... you know how it is always get the hand me downs when the older is done with whatever it is...

Ok, while it could be a random name that Voldemort picked, we have to remember who is picking these names. Jo has said that she loves names, so I doubt she has ever picked a name for these books at random.

Also, I'm not a big snake person either, so I may be wrong on this, but I thought that Boa's strangled their prey, while Cobra's injected a venom into them. If that's true, then it would be the Cobra, because when Mr. Weasly was attacked, he was bitten, not strangled.

Ok, just looked up cobra's online, bad evil pictures! I hate snakes even when I'm just looking at a picture...ok, sorry, done now...The cobra in the picture had a diamond shaped tail the description of Nagini in the book says "a giant snake, about 12 feet long, with a dimond shaped tail." So that would fit as well.

And now, I am officially done talking about snakes, their creepy!

How exclusive is the wand/ wizard relationship. Sure the wand chooses the wizard, but Ollivander makes the wands. He obviously has lots of wands available to try and fit the wizard, or witch. However, what happens if a Wizard breaks his "choosing" wand? Neither Neville nor Ron broke the "choosing" wand. But Umbridge supposedly got her "choosing" wand broken. Is Umbridge doomed to never have the perfect fit again? Or, now, will a different wand choose her? Will a 15" willow with a Unicorn's tail hair, fairly whippy, always work for that wizard or is it only that willow, that unicorn tail hair, and that particular flexibility? Perhaps Ollivander never made two wands alike, its possible, but could he reproduce a wand that would work as well as an original? The more Ollivander is skilled at producing wands that work well for given wizards, the more valuable Ollivander is.

I realize this is a small point, but the questions it raises are endless. Please forgive me if I am delving too deep into the minutia.

Ok, cobras are smaller than boas. Their head has a weird shape and they use their teeth to bite the victim and kill it with its poison. Cobras are considered i think, as the kings of the snakes. Boas on the other hand, are very big and they wrapp around their victim and drown/straggalise it. Then, they swallow it down whole and their body takes the shape of their victim. Haven't you read Petit Prince?
Anyways, on topic, that boa has already been used in the plot. Firstly, it was yet another example of Harry's magical skills and secondly, it was the proof that Harry is a Parseltongue. So, i don't think we have to expect a lot from that snake...
Now, when it comes to the wand issue, i don't believe that Olivander can ever make two same wands. Here is why: even if he uses wood from the same tree, hair from the same unicorn tail, with the same length and flexibility, the wands will never be the same. They wil be alike. Because, no hair is the same as the other and no piece of wood is the same as the one next to it. Just look at your hair. You will never find, not in a million years, two same hair. (i don't believe you don't have a word for each piece of hair... ) Another example. Snowflakes look all the same. But scientists have not managed to find two same snowflakes. Because each snowflake moves with its own speed which affects its shape etc. I think you get the point.
So, to sum up, i don't think anyone can ever make two same wands. That's why it is so harsh when a wizard has his wand broken because it is irreplacable, meaning that no other wand can be as good as the original one...

ron's new wand would have helped him, because it was actually intended for him, but i would say that umbridge will never have the perfect fit again. the one that chose her was broken, and couldn't be exactly replaced. she'll have another, and it'll work, but where ron got a new one that was finally right for him, hers would always be at least a step below.

and i would say that for the reasons posted two above me, ollivander would be incredibly valuable. but would there not be some counterpart elsewhere, as well?

Harping on my previous post (two above you), can anyone learn to be a wandmaker? Is it a tradition passed down in families? Does one apprentice? Does the wood, core, flexibility and length get calculated for their various properties like making a potion? What happens with poorly made wands? What if a poorly made wand "chooses" you, and you are hampered by the workmanship on the wand?

One can see that by missing Ollivander, and possibly having to replace his skills with a new and different wandmaker, there opens a pandora's box of questions.

hmm...interesting questions.

can anyone learn to be a wandmaker? Is it a tradition passed down in families? Does one apprentice?
I would think that it's probably something that's passed through the family, or maybe there's some special schooling about it. I think that you probably could have an apprentice, somebody needs to do it after your gone after all.

Does the wood, core, flexibility and length get calculated for their various properties like making a potion?
I don't see how they could calculate it like that. I mean, every wand is different. No two are alike. For a potion there are set rules to make a certain potion, but different ones for a different potion. Well, each wand is like it's own potion.

What happens with poorly made wands? What if a poorly made wand "chooses" you, and you are hampered by the workmanship on the wand? I suppose a poor wand would choose a very powerful wizard, so it balances out. Or else it would choose a very poor wizard, someone who wouldn't have done much magic anyways.

haha... that seems like a very cruel but honest answer Weasly_Girly_83. I completely agree with it! lol.

Voldemort having Olivander can be very valuable. First of all, he could make wands for him, though they might not be the right wand for 'whoever.' I think Voldemort might also ask him about Harry's wand...

Is it possible for a wand to be 'evil' or 'good?' Like, is there distinct characteristics about a wand (the wood, what type of hair) that make it more powerful/less or evil/good? Or it could just be random, and that the wands just become whatever they become from no reason at all. I guess a wand could also just seem more evil because of the person who is using it.... so I guess the wand takes the personality of its holder... wow, I just answered my own question...

In my opinion a wand is just a type of stick that a wizard projects his magic into and holds it until it is needed (so a wizard doesn''t have out of control magic like harry did at first). As a result, I don't think that a wand could be good or evil, only the wizard.

I agree, the wand isn't good or evil, just the wizard who uses it. If it were then it would stand to reason that a good wand picks a good wizard and a bad wand picks a bad wizard. But remember Olivander said that Harry's wand was the only one he had ever made two the same of or something, I don't know the exact quote, but you know what I'm talking about. So, if the wand was either good or evil, it would be safe to assume that they would both be the same, except that one chose Voldy and the other chose Harry, and an evil wand would not choose Harry because he's so good, and a good wand would never chose Voldy, because he's so bad.

Yeah, it makes more sense to me now. I was just wondering if there could be like a certain something in some wands that makes it unique to the other.

As for Olivander selling two of the same wands, or wands that are 'brothers,' to Harry and Voldemort, there has to be some sort of sign or something, as the reasoning behind that happening... Thats why Ollivander fon it so "interesting."

I agree with all about the wand itself not being good or evil - it's the person who uses it. I have a question though - with Harry's and LV's wands being made of a feather of the same Phoenix, would they be able to use eachothers wand if need be? Not saying I want it to happen, but Ollivander said that those were the only wands that are similar that he has ever made.... just a thought.

Hmm...that's an interesting theory. I think it would work. If they were in battle and Harry's wand broke and he was able to get Voldemorts, then I think he would be able to use it just as well. Because the wand is related to his own wand.