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I don't understand how does the Elder Wand ownership work. Draco disarmed Dumbledore and gained ownership of the Elder Wand, but when exactly does this switch happen. What if Dumbledore picked up the wand after being disarmed? Was Dumbledore it's owner up until his death, and only then did Draco attain ownership because Dumbledore never touched the wand after being disarmed until his death and that counted as Draco defeating him, or did the ownership switch to Draco right after disarming Dumbledore? If so, what if Dumbledore picked up the wand then, would it disobey him?

It seems a bit weird to me that ownership would switch to an attacker right after disarming it's owner because disarming doesn't really count as defeating an opponent.

EDIT after some discussion in comments:

"I'm putting the Elder Wand," [Harry] told Dumbledore, who was watching him with enormous affection and admiration, "back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won't it? The previous master will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Chapter 36: "The Flaw in the Plan"

Bold part of the quote doesn't hold true if disarming an opponent gains you ownership of the Elder Wand. Harry says that if he dies a natural death its power will be broken, but that is not really true if he can get disarmed, get the wand back and still win the duel he is in (or the unlikely scenario of him running away after getting disarmed) and still die a natural death but the wand's power will not be broken as after that disarming he is no longer it's owner.

UPDATE: I would disagree with the question being a duplicate. I understand that Draco unintentionally and unknowingly became it's owner, but my question is when exactly does this switch of ownership happen which the linked question does not answer.

UPDATE 2: The question you marked duplicate is actually not a duplicate as there is no answer about which exact act gives a person ownership of the Elder Wand.

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Mario Plantosar
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    @Marlo-- Doesn't it? In the wizarding world, I think generally knocking someone's wand away is like taking someone's sword. That means you win. – PointlessSpike May 18 '16 at 08:15
  • @PointlessSpike I have to disagree, there is still a good chance the owner will get to his wand quickly and continue the duel. From my point of view the wand should only switch owners after the previous owner has really been defeated meaning Draco would have to pick up the wand to get ownership, and since he doesn't do it, an act of Dumbledore's death (even though not by Draco) completes his defeat and only then does Draco get ownership. – Mario Plantosar May 18 '16 at 08:37
  • @MarioPlantosar I'm with PointlessSpike on this one, the sword metaphor seems to fit perfectly well with the canon as presented in the books. If you want you could look at it another way - the wand doesn't consider anyone who would allow themselves to be disarmed worthy of it, and so the instant it is forced from them it cuts all ties. – DavidS May 18 '16 at 09:11
  • I believe the accepted answer on the proposed dupe target contains the answer to this question (specifically, the third spoilered quote block indicates it was the wand's choice and Dumbledore's death/defeat or "sword metaphors" are completely irrelevant in this case), but I can see why the OP might miss that, so I'd prefer we leave this open and give a more focused answer here even if contains some of the same information. – Ixrec May 18 '16 at 09:12
  • @DavidS it could be that way, but then I see that as a minor plot hole. As I've seen mentioned in another question, because Harry is an auror it is to be expected that he will at some point get disarmed (even if it's just teaching someone the Expelliarmus spell, let's say he lets his kids disarm him for practice), wouldn't ownership of the Elder Wand transfer from Harry in that case? This is the reason why I wouldn't count just this act of disarming as defeating an opponent. – Mario Plantosar May 18 '16 at 09:20
  • @Ixrec ok, "...from Dumbledore against his will...", this does explain a bit, but I can still see Harry being disarmed in a duel because he's an auror, and it seems to me that it's too easy for someone to get ownership of the Elder Wand compared to its incredible power if all it takes is to disarm it's owner. In my eyes the duel doesn't have to be over once someone is disarmed as he can still get to his wand. – Mario Plantosar May 18 '16 at 09:28
  • As an aside, I'm reasonably certain that the wand needs to know that you've been defeated. You can't just defeat Harry, then go hunting for the Elder Wand. – Valorum May 18 '16 at 09:52
  • @Mario Plantosar "...all it takes is to disarm it's owner". Um, yes, which most people would consider winning the fight. Your opponent is left unarmed and you're pointing something considerably more powerful than a gun at them. – DavidS May 18 '16 at 09:56
  • @DavidS I can agree with that, you do have some valid points, but I still believe there is a chance (even though it might be little) to get to the wand after being disarmed. If it does happen, I guess it's too late. If disarming made the wand switch owners it would probably misbehave after that disarming the same way it did for Voldemort because he was not it's true owner. – Mario Plantosar May 18 '16 at 10:07
  • If disarming your opponent makes you master of their wand, then aren't Harry, Ron, and Hermione all the masters of Snape's wand, following the events in the Shrieking Shack toward the end of Book 3? – Paul L May 18 '16 at 12:31
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    @PaulL I don't think that wand ownership rules like this apply to "regular" wands. Regular wands choose their owner and tend to be more loyal to their owners, so disarming an opponent doesn't make his wand your's. I've read somewhere about characteristics of wands depending on it's core, so for example a wand with phoenix feather core is very loyal to it's owner and won't work properly if someone steals it, while wands with dragon heartstring core are thirsty for power and they will work good if a powerful wizard steals it from someone. – Mario Plantosar May 18 '16 at 12:54

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