Hagrid

What’s the deal with Hagrid’s umbrella?

We all know Rebeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, has a pink flowery umbrella with which he is able to perform at least some level of magic. Hagrid never finished Hogwarts, being expelled in his third year, so he’s not a qualified wizard and he doesn’t own a wand. Or does he?

Let’s dive into the story of Hagrid to discuss his pink umbrella.

Hogwarts

When Rubeus was in his third year, he was expelled for owning giant arachnid Aragog, who supposedly killed a girl named Myrtle. She, of course, became Moaning Myrtle, the gloomy ghost in the girls bathroom. Her death was not on Aragog at all, but rather on the Basilisk, dwelling in the Chamber of Secrets. Because Hagrid was basically an orphan, Albus Dumbledore made sure the kind young half-giant could stay at Hogwarts as gamekeeper. Hagrid couldn’t go and buy a new wand, because mr. Ollivander knows every wand he ever sold, and he also knew that Hagrid’s was broken in half. They even talked about it in The Philosopher’s Stone. But how can he perform magic with the umbrella then?

Theory

The theory goes that the elder wand comes in to play here. Rubeus got expelled in 1943 when Voldemort, or rather Tom Riddle, was still at school. The real villain at that point was Gellert Grindelwald, who owned the unbeatable elder wand. Somewhere along the line Dumbledore duelled with him and won the battle, thereby claiming the elder wand for himself. Hagrid would have been only 17 at the time, but we know he was in the first Order of the Phoenix. We also know the elder wand is capable of repairing wands that are supposed to be beyond repair; Harry managed it at the end of The Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore was professor of transfiguration at the time, so what if he mended Hagid’s wand with his new elder wand and transfigured it to an umbrella?

Backstory

Hagrid’s wand was said to be 16 inches, which is 40,64cm. Wands are usually between 9 and 14 inches long, although longer or shorter ones do find their way to owners occasionally. Being a half-giant would merit an exceptionally long wand, wouldn’t it? Imagine a wand of 40 cm with an umbrellahandle attached to it, and there you go. The umbrella ís the wand, just disguised so Hagrid doesn’t get in trouble. We might even get to see how this came to be in one of the Fantastic Beasts And How To Find Them-movies. Jude Law has been cast as a younger Dumbledore and we have already seen Grindelwald in the first movie, so the big duel will probably take place on screen. We know Dumbledore trusts Hagrid with his life… What if he already did during the First Wizarding War…

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