Introduction

History of the Wand

• In ancient Greece and Egypt,
  witches and wizards were held in high esteem. Magic was used to protect
  many ancient tombs,

• The first instances of
  dedicated wand making lies with the Ollivander family, who have been
  making wands since 382 BC.
• While wands of various design had been
  crafted before this, the Ollivander family is one of the first, and
  certainly the longest, to have practiced the craft.
• Before there was a standard practice and
  process for wand-crafting, there was always a fear that a wand might fail
  at a critical moment, or worse, explode.

• Beginning around 1000 AD, the
  Wizarding World has already partially separated from the Muggles, and for
  approximately 400 years is ruled by the Council of Warlocks.
• Witches and Wizards are
  persecuted throughout the 1600s with such instances as the witch burnings,
  though these prove ineffective thanks to Flame-Freezing Charms.
• Problems culminate in the
  introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689.
• This international law
  completes the separation of the two worlds. Each government becomes
  responsible for hiding all evidence of magical activity, including the
  magical flora and fauna (plants and animals) of the Wizarding World.
• While the law was signed in
  1689, it took a further three years before it was officially established
  by all governments internationally, though it was still in effect in the
  meantime.

• Anyone under the age of 17
  falls within the guidelines of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction
  of Underage Sorcery established in 1875. Basically, no student is allowed
  to practice magic outside of school.
• Magic not always easy to
  control
• Primitive tools like
  crystals, crude wands made of little more than a hippogriff wing feather
  wrapped around a stick, and metal rods all allowed some to exert a level
  of control over their magic. Instead of randomly causing something to
  vanish when they were angry, they could instead make it happen by using
  their focusing item.
• Eventually, the most effective of foci,
  the modern wand, was created.
• A wooden shaft containing a
  core from a powerful magical creature, the wand allows us to focus and
  channel our power to achieve the desired result.
• Witches and wizards could
  spend less time worrying that their wand would explode and more time
  experimenting with different spells and gestures.

The Wand Lighting Charm

• simple spell will allow you
  to illuminate the tip of your wand

• Don't focus too hard or the
  tip of your wand will turn a scarlet.

• Too little charge and it will
  be a pearly white.
• Aim for a nice light yellow,
  which indicates sufficient effort.