What happens if a wand chooses a wizard who cannot afford it?

Question

In Harry Potter with the recent question (How much do wands cost?), we know how much a wand costs which is 7 gold galleons. What if the young wizard family can't afford that? Like the Weasleys were always poor, that seems like a big push for them to be able to afford that much for each child's wand.

What exactly do you think is the problem caused by a wand choosing a wizard that doesn't actually buy it (for whatever reason)? — Anthony Grist, Jan 11 '19 at 15:48
Then they can't afford it. A Porsche chose me, but I ended up not getting one — Valorum, Jan 11 '19 at 15:49
Purely conjecture, but I would think wizards would be careful to not try out wands they can't afford, because surely that would be a "you break it, you bought it" situation. If a wand chooses a person as an owner, it is now irrevocably altered such that any other person who wants the wand would have to defeat the person the wand originally chose. — Kai, Jan 11 '19 at 16:04
@Kai Is there any actual evidence that a wand can never choose another wizard after choosing one, and can therefore only switch allegiance by the person it chose being defeated? — Anthony Grist, Jan 11 '19 at 16:41
As I said, purely conjecture. I'm unaware of anything stating that explicitly. — Kai, Jan 11 '19 at 16:43
@Kai Harry is having wands randomly shoved at him by Ollivander, and isn't told the cost until purchase. — Skooba, Jan 11 '19 at 16:56
Sure, but a poor wizard could easily tell him that he's looking for one no more than some price before they start trying wands. — Kai, Jan 11 '19 at 17:02
If you're really going to assume that all wands cost 7 galleons (a premise I disagree with), then a shopper is unlikely to even try to buy a wand if they don't have that much to spend. — RDFozz, Jan 11 '19 at 17:37
Probably not the answer you're looking for, but: An interesting plotline begins. — aschepler, Jan 12 '19 at 00:59
It seems to me we may have some interesting clues to this in the trevails of the Elder Wand, which has been known to switch loyalties a lot. — T.E.D., Jan 12 '19 at 01:06
are you referring to what happens to the wand or what happens to the wizard? i've flagged this as unclear until updated. — ava, Nov 10 '21 at 18:39

score 28 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 09:31

They’d likely get a secondhand wand.

Though it’s not what most wizards would consider optimal, and it wouldn’t be quite as good to cast spells with as a new wand that chose them, wizards who can’t afford to buy a wand that chose them could buy or otherwise get a secondhand wand instead.

“Most witches and wizards prefer a wand that has “chosen” them to any kind of secondhand wand, precisely because the latter is likely to have learned habits from its previous owner that might not be compatible with the new user’s style of magic.”
_{^{- The Tales of Beedle the Bard}}

Hogwarts students are required to have a wand, but they’re not required to have a new wand. Instead of a wand that chose him, Ron got Charlie’s old wand, so the Weasleys didn’t have to buy him a new one.

“You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I’ve got Bill’s old robes, Charlie’s old wand and Percy’s old rat.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 6 (The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters)}}

Neville had his father’s wand when he was going to Hogwarts.

“Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly towards the door. ‘My gran’s going do kill be,’ said Neville thickly, blood spattering from his nose as he spoke, ‘dat was by dad’s old wand.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 35 (Beyond the Veil)}}

Hogwarts students don’t have to buy new wands.

I gave you a +1 because the answer was pretty nice to read (as usual), but I wonder if OP didn't mean to say: "what happen about the wand that chose the guy who can't get it". Then again, I wonder if I should flag the question as unclear. — Clockwork, Jan 11 '19 at 20:28
@Clockwork Thanks, I’m glad you like my answer! :) Maybe that’s what OP meant - I interpreted it as being about what the wizard and their family would do if they couldn’t afford the wand that chose them, rather than about what happens to the wand itself, but I don’t know for sure what OP intended to ask. — Obsidia, Jan 11 '19 at 20:36

score 21 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 11 '19 at 15:46

21

Hogwarts covers the cost for those who can't afford the necessary school supplies. From Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Chapter 12 Silver and Opals Dumbledore's first meeting with Tom Riddle.

“Yes, sir,” said Riddle again. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking; his face remained quite blank as he put the little cache of stolen objects back into the cardboard box. When he had finished, he turned to Dumbledore and said baldly, “I haven’t got any money.”

“That is easily remedied,” said Dumbledore, drawing a leather money-pouch from his pocket. “There is a fund at Hogwarts for those who require assistance to buy books and robes.

answered Jan 11 '19 at 15:46

Legion600

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Seems like a bit of a leap from "books and robes" to necessary school supplies considering there is probably a large price difference from those two to a wand. – TheLethalCarrot Jan 11 '19 at 15:47
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@TheLethalCarrot If the wizarding world is anything like the Muggle one, textbooks probably cost more than a wand does. – Anthony Grist Jan 11 '19 at 15:51
@AnthonyGrist But on the same level a school like Hogwarts probably has a set of textbooks they keep in store for students to borrow and return when they don't need them, for example: the potions book. The same can be applied to robes potentially but I doubt it would apply to wands. – TheLethalCarrot Jan 11 '19 at 15:53
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@TheLethalCarrot They might. However, Dumbledore doesn't say that Hogwarts has a store of second-hand/loan books and robes, he says that Hogwarts has a fund to help students buy books and robes. It might be a stretch to expand that to all school supplies, but I don't think relative cost is a good argument against that being the case. – Anthony Grist Jan 11 '19 at 15:58
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A wand is masterfully crafted by a leading wandmaker. Books are mass produced by a press. – Neo Darwin Jan 11 '19 at 16:00
@AnthonyGrist Oh sure but evidence also shows that they do have a store of some textbooks, i.e. the previously mentioned potions book. – TheLethalCarrot Jan 11 '19 at 16:01
@NeoDarwin Muggle textbooks are mass produced and cost hundreds of dollars. Wizarding textbooks are produced on a much smaller scale, and likely would cost even more. – Acccumulation Jan 11 '19 at 16:23
I'm doubtful on this one... Ron has to take a hand-me-down wand from Charlie for his first wand. If Hogwarts would buy the wands, this shouldn't have been an issue. – Skooba Jan 11 '19 at 16:43
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@Acccumulation - Wizard textbooks should be cheaper than Muggle actually imo- there are duplication spells, it isn't food so much of the material could be created magically, etc.... – NKCampbell Jan 11 '19 at 17:04
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@Skooba The Weasleys being too proud to ask for assistance isn't out of character at all. They may also not qualify, depending on how much Arthur earns; he's probably not paid badly at all, but having seven children means you're stretching that a long way. – Anthony Grist Jan 11 '19 at 17:06
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@NKCampbell The cost of textbooks is not in manufacture, it's in writing it in the first place. The fewer copies that are made, the fewer books that that cost can be spread among, and thus the higher the cost. – Acccumulation Jan 11 '19 at 17:14
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@Acccumulation - seems like most of the wizard textbooks (barring Lockhart's) were written in the early 20th century or earlier. By the mid 90's the cost of writing should have been long deferred and you are only paying for manufacturing and inventory. And - how many Hogwarts students cycle through each year for 100 years? That's a good chunk of books :) – NKCampbell Jan 11 '19 at 21:06
The Weasleys are not of "those who require assistance" - frugal is not poor. It's not the wand (before it's broken); Ron just sucks. – Mazura Jan 12 '19 at 00:21
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@TheLethalCarrot According to Half-Blood Prince the cost of the Advanced Potion Making textbook is nine galleons. – Legion600 Jan 12 '19 at 06:18
@AnthonyGrist: Thanks to Chamber of Secrets we know that textbooks in the wizarding world are as much a racket as they are in the Muggle world, in that the DADA teacher profited directly from the choice of text for his class. – EvilSnack Jan 20 '19 at 21:16

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 27 '20 at 01:00

Well in the Wesley case Ron used one of the eldest boys' wand/family wand. It was said that when bill and charlie were older and gotten a job they bought their own wand. It is said that the boys in school shared several items. Using a family wand wasn't too uncommon either because Nevil used his dad's wand for the first few years.

What happens if a wand chooses a wizard who cannot afford it?

3 Answers3

They’d likely get a secondhand wand.