So my theory/hypothesis about the elder wand loyalty started from the scene where Grindelwald (disguised as Graves) was caught by Newt and Tina (with the help of swooping evil), and also when I saw Albus’ remark on the ownership of the elder wand.
Elder wand is crucial in FB and also, its ownership… We know that FB started with Grindelwald owning the elder wand, and eventually with Dumbledore. Is it simply that 1945 duel which caused the change in ownership, or was there more that happened?
Winning over someone changes the loyalty of the elder wand, therefore I was quite worried (?) when Newtina captured Grindelwald in 1926 in New York, would that change its loyalty, and would it come back? Originally, I was thinking of Newt, for he was the one with the swooping evil and stopped Grindelwald… until I saw the comments in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Moreover,
Dumbledore’s words on the subject are open to interpretation: ‘No witch has ever claimed to own the Elder Wand. Make of that what you will.’
—-This line was from the HP/WW/PM official website…
No witch claim to own it is not the same as no witch ever owned it… and there is another line that seems like Albus is trying to hint people to think otherwise.
But if some witch has had the elder wand, who would it be? If it’s some well-known history easily accessible to everyone, I wouldn’t think Albus would write in that way… It seems like he is guessing, he has some sort of hypothesis.
And Tina might be the one, Newt stopped Grindelwald, but he didn’t do things to the wand? While Tina casted accio… on the wand itself…
(Thinking a bit more, known changing ownership of the elder wand: Gellert stole the wand, and stunned Gregorovitch, Draco Malfoy disarmed Albus, Harry took away Draco Malfoy, they are all something going on about the wand…)
And also another reason for me to think of the duel and the ownership of the elder wand,
Albus said to Harry “Not what he could do to me magically. I knew that we were evenly matched, perhaps that I was a shade more skillful. It was the truth I feared.”
Evenly matched… a shade more skillful…
If Dumbledore won the duel with Grindelwald using elder wand and owning the elder wand before the duel, I wouldn’t think that would be evenly matched? Or ‘a shade more skillful’?
Originally my idea was that Grindelwald some how used his own wand, but I was struggling to find a reason, Grindelwald must want to win, right? No reason not to… Or perhaps he figured out there was problems with his ownership of the elder wand?
But even then it would be Dumbledore is INDEED more skillful, than ‘perhaps a shade more skillful’? (But it can also be that Albus is being modest here).
So I’m guessing that either:
Grindelwald used the elder wand (at the time of the duel in Albus’ ownership) and Albus won;
Or Grindelwald figured out the elder wand was a bit wired (he guessed that it was not in his ownership) and decided to use his own wand at first, probably he will draw out elder wand when he sees himself not about to win (since elder wand is more powerful, and he is betting that it doesn’t belong to Albus… but it does) and he lost.
Sometime ago I was telling this (not so developed yet) to some fans and some said that it would be similar to the HP, then JKR would be repeating…
But… that’s from readers’/audiences’ point of view. For the characters, it would be Albus experienced such a thing, realized it, therefore decided to arrange the change of ownership in HP. He is learning from his past and applying it towards the defeat of Voldemort.
Probably he was curious why Gellert lost even faster with elder wand? It is not logical as elder wand is more powerful, so the explanation would be that he owns the elder wand… but why? And he started to examine what had happened from 1926 to 1945, and realized how the ownership eventually changed to himself. And also, Tina might have been an owner, so therefore that comment of Tales of Beedle the Bard.
So far I’m guessing something like: Gellert —- Newt/Tina —- Yusuf (after this I’m not too sure) —- Credence —- Albus
But there can be more characters that come into play (I mean there are just so many people that the story left out…), and so it was not obvious at all that Albus is the owner of the elder wand at the time of the duel even if Gellert realized something was going wrong
Appleginny 