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In Goblet of Fire, this is the text when Cedric is killed..

From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, 'Kill the spare'

A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: ’Avada Kedavra’

Obviously the cold voice saying “Kill the Spare” is Voldemort’s and Wormtail says ‘Avada Kedavra’.

So this would mean that Wormtail has killed Cedric, but when the wands connect Cedric’s body/echo comes out of Voldemort’s wand.

How is this possible? Am I missing something?

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Sriram Krishnan
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    Nice question. I had never thought of that... Hmmm. – PearsonArtPhoto Jan 10 '12 at 19:02
  • But, just adding a side note, I'm the films,Peter Pettigrew transforms back into a rat at the willow and he left his cloths behind, has the film franchise not ruined this hypothesis? –  Jan 14 '16 at 21:37

4 Answers4

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Wormtail used Voldemort's wand.

From a chat with Rowling:

Rorujin: Did Wormtail used Voldemort's wand to kill Cedric? Is it why Cedric comes out of Voldemort's wand even though was Wormtail who killed him?

JK Rowling replies -> Correct!

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NorbyTheGeek
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Once Voldemort is resurrected, he commands Wormtail to "robe [Voldemort]" and then Voldemort pulls his wand out of the pocket of his robes.

Wormtail used Voldemort's wand to kill Cedric (we do know that it was Wormtail who salvaged Voldemort's wand from the ruins of the Potters' home following Voldemort's attack on the Potters) and then placed the wand back in Voldemort's robes pocket.

In Deathly Hallows Ollivander says he was forced to make a wand for Peter Pettigrew. This suggests that Wormtail hadn't had a wand of his own in quite a long time. I mean, he didn't haul Voldemort's wand around in his teeth like a dog would with a bone for thirteen years. If Peter had Voldemort's wand in his possession when he transformed into Wormtail the night he framed Sirius Black, when he changed into a rat, I suppose everything he was carrying with him as a human was transformed as well in some way, and kept safe. It seems that witches and wizards keep their clothes on while transformed, because they don't resume their human form naked. I think it must be a characteristic of that particular kind of transfiguration.

My $0.02, anyway.

Slytherincess
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    Yea makes sense.. Funny thing is if this is true then for 2 years wormtail didn't have a wand.. Wonder why.. Also he didn't haul his wand around but he had to keep Voldemorts wand somewhere.. – Sriram Krishnan Jan 10 '12 at 18:00
  • Wormtail did not have a wand until Voldemort forced Ollivander to make him a new one, soon after he was kidnapped. Therefore he had to use Voldemort's during the rebirth. – morganpdx Mar 13 '12 at 17:50
  • @morganpdx -- That's basically what I said. :) – Slytherincess Mar 14 '12 at 01:13
  • @Slytherincess Oops. Right. I missed that last paragraph apparently ;) – morganpdx Mar 19 '12 at 19:23
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    "He didn't haul it around with him while he was Scabbers". Is there evidence towards that? An animagus keeps their clothes when they transfigure themselves don't they? Its likely that they keep the things that are in their pockets too. – NominSim Nov 22 '12 at 23:36
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    J.K. Rowling has said that Peter salvaged Voldemort's wand from the wreckage of the Potters' house and took it to Voldemort. There is no time frame given - did he salvage the wand in 1981 or in 1993? What I meant by my comment is that I don't believe Scabbers carried around Voldemort's wand for thirteen years with his teeth, like a dog would carry a bone. If it was in his pocket when he transformed into a rat, then sure, it's possible. I don't see why not. Hope this helps to clarify. – Slytherincess Nov 23 '12 at 05:02
  • Whether Animagi can carry a wand in their animal form might be worth its own question. – b_jonas Nov 23 '12 at 11:50
  • @b_jonas -- It definitely might be worth its own question because I don't think a witch or wizard can transform into an Animagus without a wand (like they can't Apparate or Disapparate without a wand), which, I think, would mean they would need to be in possession of a wand to transform back from an Animagus to a human. Another thing is that according to Wizarding law, only humans a wand, so what does that mean for the witch or wizard who is in their Animagus form? :) – Slytherincess Nov 23 '12 at 12:06
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    If Wormtail had Voldemort's wand on him as Scabbers, why would he have needed Lupin's(? - don't remember exactly) wand to turn back into Scabbers after the scene in the Whomping Willow? – chama Nov 23 '12 at 14:45
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    @chama - That's such a great point. I checked and, yes, it's Lupin's wand that Peter uses to transform back into Wormtail/Scabbers. It could be that Peter did not have Voldemort's wand on him as Scabbers. I've always wondered where he might have stashed the wand while he was waiting for Voldemort to return. :) – Slytherincess Nov 23 '12 at 16:27
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    @Slytherincess: Sirius could transform back and forth in the Azkaban cell, and Wormtail has transformed to a rat without a wand to escape Sirius and others taking them up to Hogwarts, so I don't think Animagi need a wand to transform. – b_jonas Nov 23 '12 at 19:59
  • @b_jonas - But then why did Peter need to use Lupin's wand to transform in PoA? Frankly, at this point I'm totally confused. Your point about Azkaban is an excellent one. :) – Slytherincess Nov 23 '12 at 23:27
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    @Slytherincess I remembered that point about Azkaban over the weekend. I actually just reread PoA, and realized that Peter used Lupin's wand to attack Ron (he was out cold for the rest of the action) and maybe Sirius as well. So he didn't need the wand to transform, but rather to escape. – chama Nov 26 '12 at 14:27
  • I have now asked http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/27597/can-an-animagus-retain-their-wand-in-animal-form – b_jonas Dec 04 '12 at 19:51
3

This is possible as this was done with Voldemort's wand and Priori Incatatem shows the last spells cast by the wand in question.

I know the movies aren't always considered canon but they do provide a good visual of this showing Wormtail using Voldemort's wand.

Kevin
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Chcuk
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I believe it was a mistake made by Rowling. There is another one which I think has since been corrected. When Priori Incantatem occurs in the GoF, and James Potter comes out before Lily (Lily died last so it should have been the other way round)

As for Rowling originally intending that Wormtail used Voldemort's wand I highly doubt it. Because in the final book Voldemort takes Lucius Malfoy's wand and scoff's at the idea that Malfoy expected Voldemort to part with his wand in exchange.

It seems she just justified her mistake. That's my opinion.

Joshua1729
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  • It was not a mistake. Wormtail did not have a wand with him until Voldemort and Co. forced Olivander to make a wand for Wormtail in Deathly Hallows. It's possible that Voldemort had to give Wormatail his wand since he was trying to regain his body back and was in a survival situation. In Malfoy's situation, Voldemort has regained his body and full strength and was looking a wand for something more than survival. – Sandun Apr 12 '21 at 08:58