Wand Length:  10 1/3 inches
Wand Flexibility:  supple, almost sturdy
Wand Wood:  Apple Wood
Wand Core:  Kneazle Whisker

When I finally got my wand, I never imagined that there were that many implications made by the choice of wood and core. In fact, I never even realised that these components may actually give some hint with respect to which areas of magic I might excel at and what kind of person I am. Analysing the components of my wand may actually give me some new information about myself, as well as confirm what I already know. Moreover, it would be marvellous to see if there is any area that I might have a talent for!

Firstly about the wood of my wand: it is made from an Apple tree. I never thought that this might hint at some information about myself, I rather imagined that it was some coincidence based on the fact that I planted an apple tree as a little girl. I am still very fond of this tree, my tree, and just thought that the connection was formed on that. I would have never thought it possible that anymore information could be taken from a simple piece of Apple wood. But here we are. On Pottermore, further information on wands made from Apple wood states,

Applewood wands are not made in great numbers. They are powerful and
best suited to an owner of high aims and ideals, as this wood mixes
poorly with Dark magic. It is said that the possessor of an apple wand
will be well-loved and long-lived, and I have often noticed that
customers of great personal charm find their perfect match in an
applewood wand. An unusual ability to converse with other magical beings
in their native tongues is often found among apple wand owners, who
include the celebrated author of Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to
Their Language and Customs, Dylan Marwood. (1)

I can easily admit to being able to learn languages quite easily, at least when it comes to non-magical languages. I have never tried to learn a magical language yet, but the prospect is amazing. Just to think that there are creatures I have never even known of a couple of months ago! And to be able to interact with them, to talk to them... Simply amazing! Even though I haven't heard of a language class for the higher years yet, except for Ancient Runes, I really hope that there is at least a club, or a book, or any information!

Additionally, this information states that the owner of an Applewood wand is most likely to have high aims and ideals. I cannot actually talk about my ideals without being biased, so I'll leave that open. However it is true that I have very high aims, maybe even too high aims sometimes. Even though it sounds a little stupid, I must admit that I was slightly sad when I missed an Outstanding in an assignment and only received an Exceeds. When I was little, I already started to do everything to the best of my abilities, not willing to miss a single chance. Now that I know that I'm able to do magic, this is even more important to me - you only get one chance at Hogwarts. One! And I cannot afford to fail it. And I definitely do not want to have to do anything with the Dark Arts! Looking at the history of the past war, it is frightening how much misery was caused by the use of Dark Magic. Hopefully I will never have to experience anything alike.

What really surprised me was that those with an apple wand are said to be well-loved, with great personal charm and long-lived. Living for a long time definitely sounds great, but I would have never described myself as having great personal charm. I know that I am a rather shy person and I cannot imagine that this counts as personal charm. But maybe something will develop as I grow older, allowing me to come out of my shell. One can hope, right?

The core in my wand is not an Ollivander core, as my wand is not an Ollivander wand. Reports that wands with other cores are inferiour to those of Phoenix feather, unicorn tail hair or dragon heart string are rather worrisome for me. These wands did not give me the slightest of reactions, but my wand did. I really hope that I won't be judged on my core, and won't be perceived as inferiour due to it. To me, it's the best core imaginable: Kneazle whiskers.

Found most commonly in the hands of Ravenclaws, Kneazle Whiskers channel the Kneazle's ability to sense the intentions of others into a wand that is excellent for Divinations and defensive magic. (2)

With regards to my persona, especially the first point is certainly true. I am told that I am a rather sensitive person and that I am rather good at perceiving other people's moods. While not understanding how exactly it works, I am often able to tell whether a person is just acting a certain way or sincere in their intentions. This is quite handy when being lied to, or when people just try to exploit me to do their work for them. I'm not sure whether this ability is innate or whether I actually got it due to experiences, but it is most handy now.

It is really interesting that Kneazle Whiskers are a typical Ravenclaw core. When getting the wand, I did already know about the different houses, I read about them in Hogwarts, A History. But I would have never been sure that I would make Ravenclaw - I was dreaming of it, sure, but I was expecting to go anywhere but Gryffindor, I don't have that much courage. But I work hard for my goals, and I am certainly ambitious. Just not brave. But here we go.

With respect to the magic that my wand is supposed to be best at, I must admit that I am rather surprised. I definitely understand defensive magic, I mostly act defensively in a conflict situation. Divinations however sounds rather vague to me, and I love to have my facts straight and to receive real, unambiguous results. I cannot actually see (haha) how I would come to like and be good at Divinations, but I'll definitely keep it in mind for next year's electives!

About the flexibility of my wand Ollivander said that it was supple, almost sturdy. While influenced by the material, it is also an indicator of the caster's willingness to change. Being almost sturdy, but supple, my wand is in the middle of this scale, though slightly on the rigid side. This is an aspect that I can easily understand, I am willing to change if there is a reasonable explanation for it. If not, I'm rather set in my way, not willing to experiment too much or only for the sake of experimenting. That just isn't me. What is most interesting however is the connection to how quick it is possible to cast or to learn spells, and the influence of the wand's flexibility on the spells' strength. (3) As my wand is almost sturdy, it won't be too easy to actually learn spells and I will probably never be the one to cast most quickly. However, my spells will be rather powerful, which is certainly helpful to ensure lasting effects.

With a length of 10 1/3 inches, my wand is rather unremarkable in that aspect. Although I am a rather tall person, the attributes that are connected with long wands do not fit my personality.

Longer wands might suit taller wizards, but they tend to be drawn to
bigger personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of
magic. Neater wands favour more elegant and refined spell-casting. (4)

Even though spacious magic is rather impressive, I cannot imagine that it will ever become my style of casting. Being rather quiet, I like fading in the background, so to speak, and could not imagine to take place in something too flashy. This is why I imagine that I'll rather be drawn to more refined spell-casting, but only experience will show that.

Sources

• (1) http://pottermore.wikia.com/wiki/Apple
• (2) http://www.magicalalley.com/#!product/prd14/1700832945/kneazle-whisker
• (3) http://pottermoreschosenfew.weebly.com/wandlore.html
• (4) http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Wand