During the sky fight at the beginning of Deathly Hallows, Voldemort (using Lucius Malfoy’s wand) tries to shoot a Killing curse at Harry, and the following happens…

My question to the all knowing men and women of the DLP forum is basically, what in the name of ever loving crap was that spell?

Do we ever find out in canon? And if not, has anyone ever read a FanFic which used it, gave it an Incantation, or took a stab at quantifying the thing in some fashion?

…

I’m asking because aside from a Silver shield spell used by Voldemort in Ootp, and a Binding spell used by Dumbledore during the same fight, the only cool and/or dangerous magic I can recall from canon is Fiendfyre.

So; “a spurt of golden fire.” Is there any consensus?

 

It was magic.

 

Sounds like it was something along the lines of the Priori Incantatem; golden fire could easily be the beam that connected the two wands in the Goblet of Fire, but since Voldemort was using someone else's wand there wasn't a battle of wills, just the wand breaking. Of course that brings its own problems, since how the hell can Priori Incantatem happen when it's not between two brother wands?

And of course there's the fact that Harry's arm moved on its own. I put it down to yet another Deus Ex Machina from Rowling for that, though.

 

Well, this is Incompetent!Canon!Harry being manhandled by his own wand... nothing to write home about imho.

 

Pottermore mentions that wands with a phoenix feather core sometimes act on their own. It's not really canon, but it's the only explanation that I can think of (and makes any sense). IIRC they have to learn magic from somewhere (or something like that, who the fuck really cares about Pottermore), so I guess it somehow copied Voldemort's wand's knowledge during the priori incantatem. Doesn't really matter, though, since it's just a random deus ex machina.

 

There are many possible explanations for that "spurt of golden fire". Perhaps it's something like this: Harry dominated and defeated Voldemort in the tug of war when their wands connected. Now we know that wands are not merely physical objects, but rather semi-sentient in some fashion. When Harry defeated Voldemort in the Priori Incantatem, perhaps his Holly wand "owned" Voldemort and as a consequence whenever they come into future conflict it spits random golden fires of pwnage until Voldemort came back with his new and improved Elder Wand (even though he wasn't its master), which is obviously more powerful than Harry's own wand.

Or something. I'm talking out of my ass here.

 

Actually, who knows what would've happened if the Holly-and-Phoenix wasn't broken - it mighve've beaten the Elder Wand, too.

And then there's the completely stacked deck scenario, if Harry had his wand AND ownership of the Elder Wand...

 

Yes, who the fuck really cares about canon?

 

Taure does.

(a better use for post 777 I have not seen. 7 is a very powerful, magical number after all)

 

Harry's wand recognised Voldemort as the owner of its brother. The brother wand link wouldn't let one of them kill the other. So to save Harry the Holly wand copied a piece of magic that Voldemort's wand had performed at some point. Hence the golden fire. Make up an incantation if you want one.

Does that make sense?

The Holly wand wasn't capable of killing Voldemort, just as Voldemort's yew wand wasn't capable of killing Harry. The brother wand link had to be broken in order for one of them to defeat the other. If Harry had his pheonix feather wand it would have just been a draw like it had been every other time they met.

I'm pretty sure that's how it worked.

 

Is there a list someone where all the new Pottermore...uh, "facts" are all in one place?

I know a few, like with Cokeworth...

I do hope that they're not as a stupid as the whole "SLYTHERIN MERLIN!" thing, though.

 

We're told the reason in Chapter Thirty-Five of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Take from it what you will.

I'd also say there is other cool and/or dangerous magic in canon. I'm partially fond of the Blasting Curse, Confringo, myself. Awesome name, awesome incantation and a big boom. What's not to love? Expulso is cool, too. I tend to have Harry spam both a bit more than I should in my stories.

 

Bullshit. If that were the case, WHY did Harry's holly wand not act to protect him in the Atrium of the MoM at the end of the OotP?? Voldemort had Harry way more dead to rights then that at any other time, and Harry's wand did exactly jack shit to help him or protect him. Not so much as a "hey man, you might wanna move your ass 'cause that motherfucker's gonna KILL you."


So no, that's not how it works, or if it *is*, it's yet another gaping plot hole.

 

Gaping holes are JKR's specialty.

Err, gaping plot holes. Right.

 

Hmm, maybe because Voldemort didn't actually cast a spell at Harry?

 

Or because Voldemort had the yew and phoenix wand in his hand, rather than Lucius Malfoy's poor little stick?

 

@Portus Voldemort only cast one spell at Harry which Dumbledore blocked using the statue. It's impossible to speculate what would have happened if the spell had reached Harry. The only other thing that Voldemort did was the attempted possession which failed miserably. Really Harry was in a much worse position in the graveyard. But as I said neither of them were able to defeat the other until Harry's wand was broken.

 

Wow, okay this question got a stronger response than I was expecting, and it also opened up a whole can of worms which I didn’t expect to have to deal with.

First off; I acknowledge Ashaya, Aekiel, and NoxedSalvation, when they say “it was Deux Ex Machina stupid.” I accept this and am moving on (after a small *eye roll* at canon for disappointing me once again.)

Nogan; “[Holly and Phoenix] somehow copied Voldemort's wand's knowledge during the priori incantatem”
Bill Door; “So to save Harry the Holly wand copied a piece of magic that Voldemort's wand had performed at some point.”

@Portus & Oruma’s comments; Yeah, I think you’re both spot on actually (I’ll explain below.) Anyway, had Harry (at the end of Ootp) taken a stab at Voldemort during the fight with Dumbledore, it would have been like “ROAR!” and Voldemort would have probably died again. … How weird is THAT!
Also “gaping plot hole” is gross and makes me want a shower.

...

Right, so I went back to my copy of DH at Glimmervoid’s suggestion and re-read the whole (rage inducing) King’s Cross scene and I believe this is what’s supposed to have happened…

Because of a “two-fold connection” between Harry and Voldemort, (Blood Protection Guardian in both their veins & Scar Horcrux soul sharing) the two had “wrapped [their] destinies together more securely than ever two wizards were joined in history.”

Okay so far?

Then Priori Incantatem went into effect at the Graveyard, where Harry proceeded to bitch slap Voldemort across the chops, thereby making his Holly wand a “Top” and the Yew wand a “Bottom,” to swipe some terminology from the S&M community.

Urg fine, at this point why not?

“[Harry’s] wand imbibed some of the power and qualities of Voldemort’s wand that night, which is to say that it contained a little of Voldemort himself.” Then during the sky fight, “[The] wand recognized [Voldemort] when he pursued [Harry]… and it regurgitated some of [Voldemort’s] own magic against him, magic much more powerful than anything Lucius’s wand had ever performed.”

...

WTF? No seriously, what the fuck, that’s like, that’s, the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

*Sigh* I’m over it.

Back to my original question, it seems as though the “spurt of golden fire,” was just some super powerful (but never fully defined) spell which Voldemort had cast at some point in the distant past, and Harry really did have a superpowerful!wand which should have given him a massive edge in the War, had Hermione not accidently snapped it.

Is this right?

And if so, does anyone have any problem with me just giving it a name?

 

Harry's wand was only super powerful against Voldemort. Since the only time they met, after his wand was snapped, Harry killed Voldemort it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

No ones going to complain if you give it a name, although it would be just as easy to make up a new piece of magic.

 

...

For some reason, LoS, you strike me as being more feminine than masculine.

Maybe it's your avatar/posting style (such as the '*eye roll*')?

You sure you're not sporting two airbags and a spare tyre?