What is canon? Options

[agrippa]

I don't have a canon answer for that, but I've a theory or two.

1. Could Mr. Olivander be helping the Order?
2. We've seen that wands of other wizards will work for other people. Barty Crouch uses Harry's (and, presumably, Mad-Eye Moody's). Wormtail uses Voldemort's. Sirius uses Snape's. If people can use the wands of others - even of their enemies - then why can't someone just pick up a wand for Sirius in Diagon alley? It might not be the "perfect" wand for him, but it might work pretty well.

[StarWalker]

Other possibilities include:

1. He didn't turn his wand in when he was 'captured'. Certainly he must have had it when he accosted Peter, but all I remember about him being caught was that he was standing in the middle of the street laughing. He conceivably could have hidden it by then.

2. Dumbledore may have been keeping it, and returned it to him after he and Buckbeak 'escaped'. After all, he states that he was keeping in contact with Sirius. It certainly would be in his character to retain something like that.

R/
Clyde

[evlpez]

Here's another possibility:

It's never been said anywhere that the wand Sirius used when he was captured was his first or only wand. Once he was back in his childhood home, it's possible that he had access to another wand that chose him. I know he left home before James & Lily were killed, but in a big old Dark home like Grimmauld Place, I'm sure he probably had hiding spots for special things.

It's a stretch, but possible.

[cherabela]

2. We've seen that wands of other wizards will work for other people. Barty Crouch uses Harry's (and, presumably, Mad-Eye Moody's). Wormtail uses Voldemort's. Sirius uses Snape's. If people can use the wands of others - even of their enemies - then why can't someone just pick up a wand for Sirius in Diagon alley? It might not be the "perfect" wand for him, but it might work pretty well.

This stirred a thought. In PS, Mr. Ollivanders had said that it's the wand which chooses the wizard, and that it will not have the same results with any other witch or wizard, if I remember correctly. I see it, that one might not be able to use the wand, because it would cause totally different results if a spell is cast. But, if, as shown, a wizard can use another's wand, and it produces the desired effects, why not just go in the shop, and choose any wand?


I've got a question on canon in general. I've never been able to keep straight to the way it is defined, probably because I have never really understood it. I have read the Lexicon part where canon is mentioned, and it says that only what JK wrote or said is canon. Therefore, whatever we write here, can be said not be canon right? If you have an idea, and you use it in a story, it might be true to character, but not to canon. Or am I mixing things up?

[McGonagall's Cat]

"In charater" is a very goodway to think of canon.

You're right in saying that anything we write here is not canon, simply because JKR is the only one who can write Harry Potter canon - and to my knowledge she's not writing with us.

HOWEVER... what we mean about writing "in canon" is that it has to fit with what she writes.
Cho can not have blonde hair.
Tom Riddle can not suddenly become a misunderstood good guy.
Swearing is limited to phrases such as "Bloody hell" and "Merlin's Beard".
Snape can't act like Gilderoy.
And so on.

Canon is whatever JKR wrote.

We can play with and distort storylines, but not do anything that contradicts what JKR writes if the mission states "in canon".

[zymurgy]

Canon big iron thing.
Go boom!
Then Forum gone.

.... in response to the Sirius' wand thing. I'm quite sure his wand was broken upon incarceration. If they snape a kid's wand when he's expelled, then they'll definately break a felon's. I'm assuming he grabbed a wand while escaping. After all he was 'sited' several times, perhaps one of these he nicked a wizard's wand, one that worked 'so-so' for him.
According to Olivander one "will never get AS GOOD a result with another wizard's wand. It's probably like riding somebody elses Horse. It's still a horse, and you can still ride it, but that persons horse won't know you as well as your own horse, and probably will be a bit slower at obeying your lead; can probably go at different speads than your horse, get tired faster than your horse... you get the idea. Not that I've ever had a horse. Same thing with a bicycle.
So, you have Sirius, using whoever's wand, getting mediocre results, and THAT'S why he was bested by his cousin, and had an experience which some people believe to be equal to death.
If he still had his wand, then none of that would ever have happened.

[cherabela]

We can play with and distort storylines, but not do anything that contradicts what JKR writes if the mission states "in canon".

Hmm....I do try to keep with that, but for some reason, I never manage to. I also have problems with keeping in character at times, so it might be due to that.

I guess the only way to improve is to continue writing fanfiction, and try master the complicated branches of it. I'll start writing more in the Canon threads. That should help no?

[zymurgy]

There's also those hard to place fics, where something totally outrageous and uncanon happens, but everybody stays in character in spite of it.

[cherabela]

With that idea in my mind, I think I should go over my submissions to see where I have gone wrong. That should do it. Thanks guys!