Phoenix feather

Phoenix feathers are feathers shed by phoenixes, primarily gathered and used in wandmaking.

Wandlore
This is one of the rarest core types. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn hair or dragon heartstring cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.

Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

Known users
In Ollivanders Wand Shop, the owner Garrick Ollivander, is known to use phoenix feathers as one of his three cores; the others being dragon heartstring and unicorn hair.

Known wands
"It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother... gave you that scar."

- Garrick Ollivander, to Harry Potter



Harry Potter's and Tom Riddle's wand cores came from the same phoenix: Fawkes, who belonged to Albus Dumbledore; these two wands are brothers. Therefore, they have a certain connection and may produce unusual magical effects when forced to duel one another, a phenomenon known as Priori Incantatem. Riddle, better known as Voldemort, kidnapped Ollivander, the wand maker, for information on this situation and how to overcome it. Ollivander told him that a different wand may work against Harry, but Harry destroyed the "borrowed" wand when Lord Voldemort chased him when Harry was being moved.

Before Harry acquiring his holly and phoenix feather wand in 1991, Ollivander had showed another wand of phoenix feather, made of maple for trying to Harry Potter in 1991.

Known donors
The only phoenix known to have donated his feathers to make a wand was Fawkes, Albus Dumbledore's magical bird. He only gave two feathers, one to Harry Potter's wand, and one to Tom Riddle's wand.

There was at least one other phoenix who donated its feather to Ollivander as shown in the maple wand Ollivander showed Harry in 1991. Who this phoenix was and how its feather was attained is unknown.

Other uses
In the 1992-1993 school year, one feather was standing in an ink pot on Albus Dumbledore's desk, indicating that he was using it for writing.

In the 1995-1996 school year, Fawkes left his feathers behind in bursts of flame as messages and warnings for the members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Behind the scenes

 * Harry Potter series author J. K. Rowling, if given the choice, would the core of her own wand to be a phoenix feather, which was the reason why she gave Harry this core.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Pottermore