Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

Time flew by and it was the weekend.

These past few days, John has finally settled into life at Hogwarts.

I attend two or three classes a day, and have free time to arrange the rest of the time. Overall, it's quite fulfilling.

I slept in late today, which is rare for a weekend.

But they didn't actually stay up very late, because it was their first weekend at Hogwarts, and they couldn't waste it.

Before today, John and his three companions had agreed to work together to explore the castle and unlock new maps.

But before they could explore the castle, there was one more thing they needed to do.

That means going to the owl hut outside the castle first to send a letter to your family.

It wasn't until nine o'clock that John and his two companions slowly emerged from their Ravenclaw dormitory.

On days when I don't have to go to class, I feel much more relaxed.

When they arrived at the Great Hall of the People, they found that there were only a handful of people there, the fewest they had ever seen.

The most eye-catching spot was at their Eagle School table, where Titus sat alone, constantly showing off his breakfast.

Breakfast was long over by then, but their Hufflepuff dorms were right next to the kitchen, so they could just go in and order their house-elves to make whatever they wanted to eat.

Titus was overjoyed by this and would tell them every now and then what he had sneaked into the kitchen to eat last night.

"Woo! Woo woo woo woo!" Titus heard the noise, looked up and saw John and the others had arrived. He quickly waved for them to sit down and eat together.

But with a loaf of toast in his mouth, he couldn't utter a second word, just mumbled for a long time.

This breakfast was prepared by the house-elves before he left, knowing that John and the others hadn't eaten breakfast.

"Good brother, I knew I was right about you, you even know to prepare breakfast for us."

Ryan chuckled, immediately understanding what Titus meant, and sat down to eat breakfast.

Following the badger cub guarantees food; it's not just a saying.

Since things have come to this, let's eat first.

......

Owl huts, as the name suggests, are owl huts.

It was built outside the castle, on a small hillside near the Forbidden Forest, and you have to climb a mountain path to get there.

Hundreds of owls are kept here, some by students and some for the school's use.

Owls are one of the main means by which schools contact the outside world.

There are no telephones at Hogwarts; Muggle electronic devices are not allowed at Hogwarts.

Or rather, the entire wizarding world is banning the misuse of Muggle products.

The Ministry of Magic even has a dedicated department to manage this matter.

Today, besides unlocking the new map, they also came to the Owl Hut to send a letter home to let their families know they are safe.

John had completely forgotten to send a letter to his family, since he had never written a letter in either his past or present life, except for his homework.

However, seeing Ryan and the others' letters reminded me that I needed to let my parents know I was safe.

So I wrote a few words in great detail.

I am fine, no worries.

After mailing the letter, the group stood on the tower of the owl hut, overlooking the surrounding scenery.

To the right lies a vast forest, the Forbidden Forest. Outside the Forbidden Forest sits a small hut, Hagrid's Hut, the guardian of the Forbidden Forest.

Legend has it that the Forbidden Forest is home to many magical creatures, including some dangerous dark magic creatures, and even a centaur tribe.

However, according to senior student Neville, many students have gone in, but magical creatures are not as easy to encounter as they imagined. More often than not, it is just an ordinary forest.

To the left is Hogwarts Castle. Looking at the castle from a high vantage point, one can always feel its mysterious charm, which is captivating.

Below the castle lies the Black Lake, where, according to legend, magical creatures such as mermaids and fish spirits also live.

"Look, that's a 'beating willow' tree. My dad said that the tree is older than us and was planted by the principal himself."

Titus suddenly pointed to the thick tree between the castle and the Forbidden Forest, whose branches were also thick and swayed like human hands.

"My dad said that the tree would attack any creature that got close, so it was called the 'Hit-Man Willow,' and the school also forbade students from getting close to the tree."

"Why would the school keep such a dangerous tree here?"

Ryan said with some doubt.

"Who knows? The principal must have his reasons for doing this."

"Perhaps it could grow legs to drive away invaders?"

"I think it should be a plant-based catapult, which pulls out boulders from the ground or conjures them up and throws them high into the air to crush the enemy."

The group took turns speculating.

"...Uh, I'm wondering if it's used to protect some kind of secret passage?"

At this point, John said somewhat uncertainly.

"What do you mean?" The group looked at John with confusion.

John pointed to the Whomping Willow in the distance, and everyone looked over.

Although they were some distance away, they all saw a dark figure emerge from under the roots of the willow tree and dart towards the wooden bridge corridor leading to the castle.

The movements don't feel like human movements; they're more like the crawling and running of an animal.

There was a moment of silence, then someone suddenly spoke up.

"...Shall we go take a look?"

"Let's go." ×3

The others nodded in unison.

After saying that, they hurriedly left the owl hut and headed towards the Willow Tree.

The more something is associated with words like "forbidden" or "secret," the more it arouses people's curiosity.

As for the dark figure, they didn't think much of it. What kind of monsters and demons didn't Hogwarts have?

They arrived at the front of the Willow Tree.

However, they stood about ten meters away from the Willow Tree and watched.

They tried to find out where the dark figure came from and whether there really was a secret passage here.

"Do you see that protruding tree root behind that tree? Although we can't see that side, I think that might be the location of the secret passage."

Ryan leaned against the nearby cliff and pointed behind the "Hit-the-Man Willow" as he spoke.

Because the location of the "Hit-and-Pierce Willow" was on the edge of a small cliff, with a protruding mountain cliff on one side and a precipice on the other, they could only peek at the "Hit-and-Pierce Willow" from one direction and could not observe it from around it.

The group looked over and indeed there was a tree root that protruded strangely, like a small archway.

To get a better look, they couldn't resist taking a few steps forward.

However, before the group could get any closer, the enormous, man-beating willow tree suddenly shook, and a thick branch swung down at them without warning.

"Buhou!"

The group noticed Liu's unusual behavior, but by the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.

The next moment, bang!!

Dust flew everywhere.

Fortunately, just before the branch fell, John spread his arms and tackled Titus and the other two to the ground, narrowly avoiding the powerful blow.

But branches still lashed at them, causing them pain as if they were being whipped dozens of times at once.

However, they paid no heed to the pain, because after the Willow Tree withdrew the branch, it raised it high again, as if to smash it.

John quickly scrambled off Titus's stomach, dragging and pulling him up, and led Ryan and Ethan out of the Willow's attack range.

The group ran for several dozen meters before collapsing on the grass, panting heavily.