One of the reasons Snape hates Neville so much was because Neville was so close to being the Chosen One. If he had been the Chosen One, not Harry, Lily would not have died so early. :(
The Elder Wand contains a hair from a thestral, an animal that can only be seen if you have seen death. It makes sense that Rowling made it like that because the Elder Wand leads to many, many deaths.
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