Movies - Mr Ollivander

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	Movies - Mr Ollivander

Mr Ollivander (first name unrevealed) is a fictional character in the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling. He is a purveyor of magical wands. Mr Ollivander is played by John Hurt in the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Mr Ollivander runs Ollivanders, a prestigious shop which sells magical wands in Diagon Alley. He has appeared only as a minor character in the series so far, with little revealed about himself and his past. While it is mentioned that there are other businesses which manufacture and sell wands in Britain, they have never been mentioned by name, or frequented by the characters; Ollivanders' craftsmanship and reputation seems to outshine all competition. It is the traditional outlet for new Hogwarts students - and apparently most of the wizarding world in Britain - to obtain their wands. Despite the popularity of his wares, and the implied length of time that he has been in business (Mr Ollivander sold Harry's parents and even the would-be Lord Voldemort their first wands as well), Mr Ollivander claims to remember each and every wand he has sold, and to whom. So far, all evidence seems to support his claim.

Olivander's involvement so far

Mr Ollivander only appears in two of the novels thus far, although numerous references are made to Olivanders throughout the series.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In Book One, Mr Ollivander assists a young Harry Potter in selecting his first wand (July 31, 1991, Harry's 11th Birthday) - or more accurately according to him, finding a wand that would select Harry. Finding Harry a particularly difficult customer to match, Mr Ollivander finally selects a wand containing a feather from a phoenix (later revealed to be Albus Dumbledore's companion Fawkes) which is perfectly suited to Harry. Mr Ollivander seems very thoughtful that the two should be matched, revealing that there is only one other wand he has ever made which contains a feather from that phoenix, and that wand now belongs to none other than Lord Voldemort. Mr Ollivander tells an uneasy Harry that he believes the world can expect "great things" from him.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

Mr Ollivander's second appearance, in Book Four, was as an official during the preliminary ceremonies of the Triwizard Tournament, where he appeared as an expert judge for the Weighing of the Wands (November 13, 1994). As a specialist in magical wands, it was his task to evaluate the suitability of the wands of the contestants. His close attention and seeming hesitancy over Harry's wand again makes Harry Potter nervous.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In Book Six, it is mentioned that Ollivanders has closed, and that Mr Ollivander himself is missing. It is unknown whether he has gone into hiding, or been kidnapped (possibly by Death Eaters). This is, of course, distressing to the wizarding world who must rely on other - less reliable - competitors of Ollivanders to supply wands. Neville Longbottom claims to have bought one of the last wands Mr Ollivander sold prior to his disappearance.

Fandom Speculation

It has been speculated by fans that Mr Ollivander may have been kidnapped by Lord Voldemort to fashion a new wand for him. As Harry and Lord Voldemort have wands with similar composition (each has a tail feathers of Fawkes as its magical core) Lord Voldemort cannot use his current wand against Harry without risking the Priori Incantatem effect. It has also been suggested that, because rearranging the letters in the name "ollivander" yields, "an evil lord," Ollivander went with the death eaters willingly and actually serves Lord Voldemort. The name Ollivander is also an anagram, so if you rearrange the letters, the text will turn into "Ronald lives", or "Ronald's evil".

Name

His name is possibly a fusion of the Greek name "Evander" ("good man") with "olive"; the tree tied in Greek myth to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Hermes's wand, the caduceus, may have been made of olive wood. Otherwise, it may be a variation of the sound of the words "all" and "wand".

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