Read this awhile back. I'm a huge fan of anything Harry...

Read this awhile back.  I'm a huge fan of anything Harry & the Potters do, but I don't know if I agree with them on this:

harryandthepotters:

An addendum to my previous post about Pottermore and product placement. 

Well, I spent all day yesterday goofing off, playing Pottermore, and I don't really see the DeGeorge boys' point, here.

I mean, I understand what they're saying, and I suppose it's possible—anything's possible—but it just seems so cynical.  I just don't really think it's true.  What do *you* think?  Did Dudley Dursley have a Playstation because JK Rowling took a product placement check?

Hey!  If you're one of the lucky Beta-testers on Pottermore (who, like me, got up at the weirdest times of night for a week in order to gain entry and therefore DESERVE to be living it up at Hogwarts right now), add me!  My username is WildElm176.  And you want to hear something funny?  Although I chose that username weeks ago, when I got my wand yesterday, I was assigned an Elm.

Elm

The unfounded belief that only pure-bloods can produce magic from elm wands was undoubtedly started by some elm wand owner seeking to prove his own blood credentials, for I have known perfect matches of elm wands who are Muggle-borns. The truth is that elm wands prefer owners with presence, magical dexterity and a certain native dignity. Of all wand woods, elm, in my experience, produces the fewest accidents, the least foolish errors, and the most elegant charms and spells; these are sophisticated wands, capable of highly advanced magic in the right hands (which, again, makes it highly desirable to those who espouse the pure-blood philosophy).

In case you're wondering, my wand core is Phoenix Feather, and yes, I am a Ravenclaw.  For those of you who aren't in yet, don't despair!  October is coming!  (Imagine me saying that in a Game of Thrones' "Eddard Stark" voice.)

And in the meantime, for another tease…

Phoenix

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon 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.