Summary

• The Elder Wand can only be truly mastered by its rightful owner and can be passed on through simple disarmament.
• The Elder Wand has a fascinating and storied history, with various powerful wizards becoming its owners throughout the centuries.
• The Elder Wand is described as the most powerful wand in existence, capable of performing incredible feats of magic, but it does have its limitations.

The most powerful artifacts in the Harry Potter universe are the Deathly Hallows and one of those is the Elder Wand, passed on to different Elder Wand owners throughout history. While not all wands are bound to their specific owners, the Elder Wand can only be truly mastered by its rightful owner. Early on in the Elder Wand's existence, the legendary nature of its powers made it a coveted object for power-hungry wizards. This led to the belief that a wizard must murder the current owner to master the Elder Wand. Instead, the ownership of the Elder Wand can be passed from one wizard to another through simple disarmament.

The Elder Wand has become a fascinating point of lore in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Rowling's book series has become one of the biggest franchises in existence thanks to the fandom surrounding the novels and subsequent movie adaptations. The original Harry Potter franchise consists of eight movies released from 2001 to 2011. Warner Bros. continued to make new movies set in this world, with the Fantastic Beasts series exploring the Wizarding World several decades before Harry Potter's story. Even those movies feature the famed Deathstick as one of the Elder Wand owners appears in them.

1 Antioch Peverell

He Created The Legend Of The Elder Wand

Antioch Peverell is the original Elder Wand owner. While the legend states that Death created the powerful wand for him, other wizards, such as Albus Dumbledore, believed that Antioch made the wand himself. The pure-blood wizard's time with the Elder Wand quickly led to him killing someone with whom he got into a fight. During the celebration of his victory, legend said Antioch got drunk and spread the story that the Elder Wand was created by Death itself. This boasting led to another wizard killing Antioch in his sleep to take the Elder Wand for himself, but the killer's identity is unknown.

2 Emeric The Evil

He Used The Elder Wand To Terrorize England

Emeric the Evil was a powerful Dark Wizard during the Middle Ages. He came into possession of the Elder Wand at an unspecified time but used it throughout the early portions of the Middle Ages to attack England. The specifics of his conquests are not known, but he was eventually killed in a duel with the Elder Wand's next owner.

3 Egbert the Egregious

He Gained The Wand When He Killed Emeric

Egbert the Egregious became the owner of the Elder Wand following his slaughtering of Emeric. He mastered the powerful wand, but Harry Potter lore hasn't revealed much about what he did with it. Dumbledore suggests that his time with the Elder Wand didn't last very long. It isn't confirmed who defeated the evil wizard to take the Elder Wand immediately after him.

4 Godelot

He Wrote A Book About The Elder Wand & Horcruxes

Godelot became one of the Elder Wand owners sometime later, making it possible that he was the one who killed Egbert. Unlike most of the past owners, Godelot didn't use the Elder Wand for conquests. Instead, he wrote the book "Magick Moste Evile" (the book that taught Voldemort about Horcruxes) after learning about their powers and filled the book with information on dark magic. Godelot died during the Middle Ages in a cellar after being locked in it by the Elder Wand's next owner.

5 Hereward

He Killed His Father To Gain The Elder Wand

In Rowling's wealth of Harry Potter lore, the next owner of the Elder Wand is Hereward. Hereward is the son of Godelot who locked his father in a cell to gain ownership of the Elder Wand. Hereward's accomplishments with the Elder Wand have not been explored in any Harry Potter material thus far. He eventually lost the Elder Wand, but it is unknown who took it from him or how he was defeated.

6 Barnabas Deverill

He Used The Elder Wand To Become A Fearsome Warlock

Barnabas Deverill came to own the Elder Wand in the eighteenth century. His time with the wand helped gain him the reputation of a "fearsome warlock," according to Albus Dumbledore. However, it is not known what Barnabas did with the Elder Wand that brought him such fame.

7 Loxias

He Is Who Called The Elder Wand A Deathstick

Loxias became the owner of Harry Potter's infamous Elder Wand after murdering Barnabas Deverill in the eighteenth century. The Dark Wizard came to master the wand and used it to kill any enemy who dared stand in his way. Loxias is responsible for coining the Deathstick name for the Elder Wand. It is unknown how many people Loxias defeated with the Elder Wand or who specifically killed him. Many wizards claimed to be responsible for his death, including his mother.

8 Arcus Or Livius

Their Time As Elder Wand Owners Remains A Mystery

According to Xenophilius Lovegood, Loxias' killer and the next Elder Wand owner was likely either Arcus or Livius. There is not much known about either possible owner of the Elder Wand. Both of them were killed by an unknown wizard, allowing the Elder Wand ownership to pass.

9 Mykew Gregorovitch

He Sold Wands To Many Powerful Wizards

Mykew Gregorovitch (who probably sold Gellert Grindelwald his very first wand) became the owner and master of the Elder Wand sometime in the 1900s. He was an expert wand maker and became quite knowledgeable about wand lore. He eventually came into possession of the Elder Wand through unknown means. Gregorovitch attempted to duplicate the Elder Wand's power for some time and then tried to use it to improve business at his shop. However, this led to someone stealing the Elder Wand and stunning Gregorovitch as he escaped.

10 Gellert Grindelwald

Grindelwald Used The Elder Wand To Gain Great Power

The young man who stole the Elder Wand from Gregorovitch was Gellert Grindelwald. Gellert decided to steal the Elder Wand as part of his desire to obtain the Deathly Hallows and heard that Gregorovitch had it. The stunning spell Gellert cast on Gregorovitch was enough to make him the new Elder Wand owner. Grindelwald owned the Elder Wand for decades and used its powers to terrorize Europe.

His use of the wand in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore allowed him to reanimate a dead qillin to choose him at the Wizarding election. Gellert continued using the Elder Wand beyond this point, leading to a confrontation with Albus Dumbledore. Albus defeats him in combat, leading Gellert to go back to prison.

11 Albus Dumbledore

Dumbledore Used The Elder Wand For Good

Albus Dumbledore achieved ownership of the Elder Wand after the legendary duel with Gellert Grindelwald. Albus possessed the Elder Wand for the next 40 years of his life and took it with him to his grave. During his time with the Elder Wand, Albus used its magnificent powers for good and helped earn him the reputation of the world's most powerful wizard. He used the Elder Wand in several instances during the Harry Potter story, including duels with Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic Atrium and saving Harry from the Inferi. Although the Elder Wand was with Dumbledore in his grave, it switched owners before he died.

12 Draco Malfoy

Draco Gained The Elder Wand By Accident

Draco Malfoy was not the one who killed Albus Dumbledore, as Severus Snape intervened. Still, he did become the rightful owner of the Elder Wand after disarming the powerful wizard. Draco was unaware that he was the true owner of the Elder Wand at that moment and never wielded it.

13 Lord Voldemort

Voldemort's Pursuit Of The Elder Wand Led To His Downfall

Voldemort was searching for the Elder Wand even before Dumbledore's death, and his search for the wand led him to meet and kill Gregorovitch and Grindelwald for information. This led Voldemort to eventually learn it was Dumbledore's, and he broke into his grave to steal it. Voldemort knew that Snape was responsible for killing Dumbledore and set out to kill him so that he'd become the rightful owner of the Elder Wand. Although he successfully killed Snape, Voldemort was unaware Draco had disarmed Dumbledore moments before and that Draco, as one of the Elder Wand owners, prevented Voldemort from successfully using it.

14 Harry Potter

Harry Potter Was The Last Of The Elder Wand Owners

Harry Potter became the owner of the Elder Wand after a skirmish with Draco led Harry to rip Draco's wand from his hand. Even though this was not the Elder Wand, the disarmament of Draco in any fashion still meant that the Elder Wand's ownership had now secretly passed to Harry. He didn't realize what had happened until his final duel with Voldemort at Hogwarts. With the wand's allegiance to Harry, Voldemort's attempt to use the Killing Curse on Harry backfired and killed him instead. Harry repairs his original wand and then breaks the Elder Wand in half, making him the last Elder Wand owner.

The Elder Wand’s Powers Explained

The Elder Wand is described in the Harry Potter books as the "most powerful wand in existence." The wand is made from the wood of an elder tree with the hair of a Thestral's tail as the core. The Thestral hair core is said to be incredibly difficult to tame and deeply unlucky. Somehow, it works for the Elder Wand, whose allegiance to its user is total. The only way that the Elder Wand can be won is through a disarming charm, theft, or by taking it out of the wizard's hands. The legendary Deathly Hallow isn't given a list of powers, per se, but it has been shown to perform incredible feats.

It's said to perform the most complicated of magic, even if the Elder Wand owners aren't all that capable. It can also mend wands, as Harry fixes his own in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. That doesn't mean that the Elder Wand can do everything, though. For example, while under Dumbledore's possession, the wand couldn't un-petrify the students during Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It also couldn't fix Dumbledore's withered hand or counteract the effects of Voldemort's potion in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. So, while the Elder Wand is a mighty tool of death and destruction, it does have its limitations.

Harry Potter Canon Is Really The Journey Of The Elder Wand

When one looks at the Harry Potter series in its entirety, the whole story could be considered a journey of the Elder Wand and the Deathly Hallows. From the beginning of the book series, Dumbledore had the Elder Wand. He also had the second piece of the Deathly Hallows, the invisibility cloak, which he saved for when Harry got to Hogwarts. The Hogwarts headmaster came in possession of the final Deathly Hallow when he acquired Voldemort's Horcrux ring, which held the resurrection stone.

Dumbledore knew from the beginning, or at least guessed, that the only way Harry could live would be to have all three Hallows in his possession. Though the Elder Wand was only introduced in the last book, Dumbledore always intended it to be passed on to Harry. While it took a while to get there, the Harry Potter canon hinges on the possession of the Elder Wand, and Harry becomes the complete master of death.

Will Fantastic Beasts Ever Get To Show The Famous Dumbledore/Grindelwald Duel?

In the Fantastic Beasts franchise, Gellert Grindelwald is the holder of the Elder Wand. Anyone who has read the Harry Potter series knows that Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald in a legendary battle, therefore becoming the Elder Wand owner. Fantastic Beasts 3's ending saw a small scrimmage between the two, but certainly not the harrowing battle that legend speaks of. By the end of the movie, Grindelwald is still holding the Elder Wand. The Fantastic Beasts series was supposed to have five films.

Due to the poor critical reception of The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore, a fourth installment might not happen. Coupled with this are the numerous controversies surrounding Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller. People will not get to see the legendary fight between Grindelwald and Dumbledore. Instead, Warner Bros. is going back to the well and creating a 10-season Harry Potter series for Max, which will re-tell the story from the books in a long-form format, where much more of the lore can play out for fans to see.

You Can Now Hold The Elder Wand In Hogwarts Legacy

Players of the Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy can now become one of the Elder Wand owners. They don’t have to defeat Albus Dumbledore or Harry Potter himself to do it either. There are a few different ways to access the Elder Wand, and they go against the lore of it from the books and the movies somewhat. After all, there’s no battle to gain it from an enemy.

Instead, in Hogwarts Legacy, if players have their WB Games account connected to a Wizarding World website account, they’re able to gain the Elder Wand through their participation in the Sorting Ceremony quiz. There, the Elder Wand, though with a possibly different core material, ends up in their possession. The only other way to become one of the Elder Wand owners in the game is a temporary one. As part of the game’s story, a Hogwarts Legacy player can wield the Elder Wand during one of the game’s final trials, but possession only lasts during the trial itself.

An approximation of the Elder Wand can also be created when the player gets their wand from Olivander’s. All the player has to do is use the same specifications as the Elder Wand: Elder wood type, fourteen and a half inches in length, unyielding flexibility, and a ringed/dark brown wand style. The core can be the player’s choice. It’s an interesting choice for Hogwarts Legacy since the Deathly Hallows have such an intricate mythology connected to them in the Harry Potter books and movies. The mythology is largely absent from the Harry Potter game. Instead, the Elder Wand is simply a very powerful object.