Hagrid's wand was snapped when he was expelled from Hogwarts but it still worked reasonably well for the wizard in Harry Potter. He confessed to Harry when they first met that the pieces of Hagrid's wand had been put into the umbrella he carries, and he demonstrated an ability to effectively start fires and give Dudley a pig's tail with the disguised pieces. But, as the Harry Potter series continued, it became clear that other broken wands performed nowhere near that standard. Even skilled wizards seemed to have catastrophic results with a broken wand.

The issue of Hagrid's wand is further exacerbated by the fact that other characters were expelled from Hogwarts and were able to keep their wands despite this. Two other characters in Harry Potter broke their wands, and they had to be replaced, leading to further questions about how Hagrid's wand still worked. Later, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry learned directly from Garrick Ollivander that his own snapped wand couldn't be mended. Once a wand was broken, it was broken forever, and using the pieces could be downright dangerous. Yet, Hagrid didn't seem to have this problem.

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Why Hagrid's Wand Was Broken

Hagrid and Harry Potter next to each other

The reason that Hagrid's wand was broken is revealed in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry submerges himself in the memory of Tom Riddle's diary, it's revealed that Riddle was told by Hogwarts headmaster Armando Dippet that if the attacks from the Chamber of Secrets didn't stop, he'd have to close the school. Not wanting this, Riddle secretly knew that Hagrid was illegally housing an acromantula and decided to frame him for the attacks. Hogwarts staff, save for Dumbledore, believed Riddle's lies, and Hagrid was subsequently expelled and his wand snapped.

Harry Potter Hints That Dumbledore Fixed Hagrid's Wand

Hagrid holding pink umbrella in Harry Potter.

The only way that Hagrid's wand could have worked as well as it did in Harry Potter is if it had been repaired, and this shouldn't have been possible. However, Harry discovered one magical secret that can mend a broken wand: the Elder Wand. Of course, Dumbledore was the owner of the Elder Wand, and he had taken care of Hagrid after the boy had been expelled. Dumbledore knew that Hagrid was innocent, so he gave him a home as the school groundskeeper. It would make sense that since he had the ability, he would have fixed Hagrid's wand.

Of course, Dumbledore's Elder Wand was one of his better-kept secrets, and fixing Hagrid's wand would have been against the law. So, he disguised the newly repaired wand as a pink umbrella. Hagrid, being young and hardly educated in magic at the time, wouldn't have recognized that the magic Dumbledore used to repair his wand should have been too advanced even for the Harry Potter headmaster. So, it's unlikely that Hagrid ever knew just what his idol had done for him. Dumbledore may have seemed like a villain in some ways, but this care for Hagrid could redeem him.

Was Hagrid Allowed To Openly Use His Wand?

Hagrid teaching a class in Harry Potter.

Even after it was revealed that Hagrid had been framed for the crimes that got him expelled in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hagrid's wand was only used under the guise of the umbrella. Though the Ministry of Magic knew that Hagrid was innocent, Dumbledore couldn't reveal that he could mend wands. That was precisely the sort of thing that could tip someone off about the location of the coveted Elder Wand. Therefore, Hagrid continued to perform magic in secret because it was safer for all involved.

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After the Battle of Hogwarts, when Kingsly Shacklebolt became Minister for Magic, things could likely have changed for Hagrid and Hagrid's wand. It wouldn't have taken Harry long to realize that the Elder Wand had been used to repair Hagrid's wand, and it might have even been this fact that inspired him to use it on his own holly wand. With all Harry's love for Hagrid, he would have pulled some strings to make sure his old friend could use his wand undisguised. Of course, with the respect and admiration Hagrid felt for Dumbledore in Harry Potter, he might have preferred to keep the battered pink umbrella since it was exactly the eccentric headmaster's style.

Newt Was Expelled Too, But Hagrid's Punishment Was Worse

Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts 2

Hagrid's wand was broken because of his expulsion from Hogwarts, something that almost happened to Harry in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. However, it's revealed in the Fantastic Beasts franchise that Newt suffered the same fate of expulsion, but his wand wasn't snapped like Hagrid's wand — why? This is never explained, but a Fantastic Beasts theory (via Stack Exchange) has stated that Newt's expulsion was never technically enforced, and Dumbledore defended him before it became official. This is confirmed in a companion book that sees a MACUSA document stating that Newt's expulsion never cleared.

What's worse about what happened with Hagrid's wand is that he and Newt were technically charged with the same crime. Newt was in possession of a Jarvey while at Hogwarts, and the creature threatened the safety of the other students. While no one died like in Chamber of Secrets, the fact that Hagrid's wand was snapped and not Newt's points to a certain prejudice: Hagrid's blood status as a half-giant. It's very possible, given the fact that Hagrid didn't want anyone to know about his giant blood, that Hagrid faced persecution from the Ministry and Hogwarts based on simply what he was. While this is never explicitly stated in Harry Potter, one can guess that this played a factor as Hagrid's wand was snapped and Newt's wasn't.

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