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Today, Sunday September 25th, marks famous wandmarker Ollivander's birthday, as confirmed by J.K. Rowling on Pottermore. Born Garrick Ollivander, the descendent in a long line of wandmakers and wandcrafters, he showed a great talent in the field from his youth, and took it upon himself to improve the state of wand cores, so much so that he only used three from very strong magical creatures and substances - phoenix feather, dragon heartstring, and unicorn hair.
Ollivander, a half-blood, was Sorted to Ravenclaw house in Hogwarts in his youth. His obsession of wanting to make wands of the finest magical cores extended to his career, where he experimented for years to find the right instruments.
In the
Harry Potter book series, Ollivander was introduced in the first book,
Philosopher's Stone, when giving Harry his holly wood wand with phoenix feather, from Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix - who only gave one other feather for the core of a wand - chosen by Lord Voldemort. Ollivander was seen again in
Goblet of Fire during the weighing of the wands for the Triwizard Tournament, and mentioned early in
Half-Blood Prince as having disappeared, presumably kidnapped under Voldemort's orders.
The rumour held true, as Ollivander was seen again in
Deathly Hallows, captured by Voldemort and locked away in a basement cellar off at Malfoy Manor, where he was tortured by the Dark Lord into getting information about the Elder Wand. With the aid of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dobby the House-elf, Ollivander and Luna Lovegood escaped from Malfoy Manor and were safely brought to Shell Cottage, where the elderly wandmaker recuperated. After recovering from his incarceration, Ollivander left Shell Cottage in better health, and back to his love of wandmaking.
Ollivander was played by actor John Hurt in the first film,
Sorcerer's Stone, and the final installments of
Deathly Hallows.
:loons: Happy Birthday, Ollivander! :party3: 