From: isleofcapri@gmail.com   
      
   On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 15:28:53 -0500, Stu wrote:   
      
   > On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 11:21:20 -0800 (PST), Rats wrote:   
   >   
   >> The Elder wand is supposed to be a wand that cannot lose in duels yet   
   >> Dumbledore beat Grindewald in a duel to win the elder wand off him.   
   >> How could this be?   
   >   
   > But the Elder Wand isn't unbeatable. Dumbledore explains at King's   
   > Cross that the legends that grew up around the Deathly Hallows was   
   > normal for such powerful magical objects. He also explains that they   
   > were not Death's own Hallows, but merely created by the three   
   > brothers. Yes, the Elder Wand was a very powerful wand, but it wasn't   
   > ever unbeatable. If it were Dumbledore couldn't have won it from   
   > Grindelwald and Draco couldn't have won it from Dumbledore.   
   >   
   > Also, Dumbledore wasn't dying from having drunk the potion. We know   
   > that it wasn't poison. Kreacher had recovered after drinking it.   
      
   According to Dumbledore the potion wasn't meant to kill. He told Harry   
   before he drank the potion that Voldemort that would want to keep the   
   drinker alive so he could find out how they had found out about the   
   horcruxes in the first place.   
      
   Draco didn't beat Dumbledore cos he was more powerful, it was because   
   Dumbledore couldn't defend himself because he was putting the   
   body-bind on Harry.   
      
   WRT the Elder wand's allegiance. According to Ollivander "where a   
   wand has been won, it's allegiance will change" and "the conquered   
   wand will usually bend it's will to it's new master". So according to   
   wand lore, a wand changes allegiance after it's been won. It doesn't   
   decide it's allegiance during the fight or duel based on which wizard   
   is more powerful, and stop working for it's owner if it decides his   
   opponent is more powerful.   
      
   The elder wand was just a wand. It was more powerful than most maybe,   
   but still just a wand, created by a wizard. The wand Dumbledore would   
   have used in his duel with Grindelwald was also just a wand, created   
   by a wizard.   
      
   The Peverell brother who created the elder wand probably wasn't a   
   wand maker like Ollivander or Gregorovitch. They were professionals   
   who studied wand lore and the properties of the wood and the cores   
   that would be most effective etc. The wizard that made Dumbledore's   
   wand probably was a professional. And the wand Dumbledore would have   
   bought off him probably would have been pretty powerful too.   
      
   So I see no reason why Dumbledore wouldn't just beat Grindelwald with   
   superior skill and a pretty good wand of his own.   
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