Harry Potter and the Elder Wand: How do Simple Changes in Plots Shape who we Become?

By: A. Hemnani

The Harry Potter series, written by J.K Rowling, includes seven books and a play script. Like all stories, it follows a certain timeline, but have you ever thought about what would happen if one part of the plot changed?

In the 7th book, after Harry defeats Voldemort, he destroys the elder wand, the most powerful wand known to the wizarding world, so that it would not get in the wrong hands again. Harry demolishing the wand is one of the main events in the book. Now, let’s go through what could have happened to the storyline if this event had never taken place.

After Harrys victory in defeating Voldemort, Harry and his trio reunite and together decide to break the elder wand so that it would not give birth to any new threats, who, with that wand's unique and tremendous power, could put everyone in grave danger. In the book, it is clear that Harry won the battle between good and evil by defeating Voldemort.

After concluding the 7th book, JK Rowling wrote a play script that takes place 30 years in the future. The characters in this book are all of the children from the original characters we know studied at Hogwarts. In the book, (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) Harry’s youngest son Albus Severus Potter and Draco’s son Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy are featured as the main characters, though I will not delve into further details so not to spoil the book any further for anyone who has not read it. But, I will describe a possible outcome if the elder wand had never been broken in the previous book.

As you might already know, the Dark Lord had many followers who would have remained loyal to him even after the epic duel. His followers would want to redeem him for what had happened. At the end of the fight, Harry got hold of the wand, later deciding to snap it so that it could no longer be used for evil. If Harry had not made that call and chosen to deter the wand, it could have ended up in one of the former “death eaters” (Voldemort's followers) hands.

If a death eater was in control of such power, there would be no stopping him from retrieving the dark lord's ultimate goal. This event could then spiral out of control and become something completely unimaginable where the wrong wins over the right.

But, besides changing the outcome of the series, why is this important?

From a young age books and movies have always led us to believe that good always triumphs over evil, just like in the Harry Potter saga. This moral is similar in many of the other books read from a very young age. Having constant exposure to books like “The Boy who Cried Wolf” or “Little Red Riding Hood” that had strong lessons in them had an impact on us since we were children. 

If these stories, that shaped us, had different endings, where good did not always win over evil, it is possible that we would act differently. This is because if we were brought up with different morals, our perspective on certain things would change. That is why even the smallest details in the books we read played an immense role in paving the way to who we are today.