A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 244 I am Groot!

Four figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the dense forbidden forest.

Apart from William, the other three were all dizzy and staggered slightly.

"Are you alright?" William asked. "It takes time to get used to this feeling."

"I'm fine." Cedric rubbed his ears, feeling as if they had reluctantly left the carriage.

"I still prefer Floo Powder and Portable Keys to Apparition."

"The first time is always uncomfortable," Fred patted Cedric on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it, bro."

"Where are we now?" George looked around. "The Forbidden Forest?"

William nodded. "Yes, this way."

The three of them quickly crossed the Forbidden Forest and ran towards Hagrid's cabin.

As we approached the edge of the forbidden forest, an angry bark came from afar.

Hagrid shouted, "Back off, Toothpick, go back now! I'm going to the station to pick up students, don't follow me."

You're too ugly, nowhere near as good-looking as Lou Williams. You'll scare the students.

Ya Ya let out a mournful howl, seemingly very dissatisfied with this assessment.

"Stop yelling," Hagrid cautioned. "Keep an eye on our house. A while ago, someone crushed Luwei's little house, and I still haven't found that guy!"

They could attack our house at any moment, be careful!

William coughed awkwardly. It seemed he would have to remind Hermione when he got back not to let anything slip to Hagrid.

The four hid behind a tree and waited until Hagrid was far away before they went around the cabin and headed towards the Willow.

The Whomping Willow is not far from the greenhouse, and some distance from Hagrid's hut; this area is also one of the forbidden zones of Hogwarts.

"Cedric, are you sure you want to go to that dangerous place?" Fred asked as they walked.

"That tree is really dangerous!"

"That's right, last time we tried to get into the secret passage under the tree, we almost got hung up and beaten by that tree," George said.

That's how the "beating willows" are; they have a violent temper, and anything that bumps into them will be severely beaten by the willow branches.

"Is there any solution?" William asked. "Weren't you trying to get information out of Professor Sprout?"

"Don't be so harsh! What do you mean by 'setup'?" Cedric laughed.

"I was simply discussing herbalism with Professor Sprout, and I happened to be interested in the weaknesses of the Whomping Willow."

"So you asked, 'How do we deal with that 'hitting willow'?"

"Of course, I'm our dean's favorite student," Cedric said proudly.

"Just press the knot on the trunk of the willow tree that was hit, and it will immediately stop moving."

"Is it that simple?" George asked doubtfully.

"Yes, otherwise why would I be so bold as to bring you here to break off branches of the Mandarin Duck?"

"Well, I have a question," William asked. "If you break a branch, will the Whomping Willow revive from its stagnation?"

"Um... well... I'm not quite sure." Cedric scratched his head; he had forgotten to ask.

William sighed. Making a magic wand is really difficult.

No wonder Ollivander uses only unicorn tail hair and phoenix tail feathers for most of his wands... because they're safe.

Monsters like the Basilisk can kill you instantly if you accidentally make eye contact with them.

The "hitting willow" is also very dangerous.

Of course, the Whomping Willow is a great wand material.

According to Cedric, wands made of willow wood rarely possess healing powers.

Besides its beautiful appearance, the willow wand is also well-suited for casting advanced silent spells.

However, willow wands typically choose wizards with great potential, rather than those who are arrogant.

The Ollivander family has a motto: "Willow is best suited for those with great ambitions."

As the most prized type of willow, the "beating willow" is even more valuable.

Its horns make a perfect combination with those of the basilisk.

Soon, the four arrived near the "Hit-and-Hit Willow," which remained motionless and appeared to pose no threat whatsoever.

Fred dropped a stone.

As if provoked, the willow tree shook violently, its branches trembling and its trunk convulsing like a vicious dog, preventing them from advancing any further.

"Who will press the knot?" William asked a crucial question.

The three of them naturally looked at William.

"It must be you. Can't you use Animagus?" Cedric said.

Fred and George nodded.

"But my eagle is very big." William shrugged. Although he was fast, he could still be hit by the dense branches.

"How about Sniff? Let it do it!" William suggested.

Fred nodded and pulled out his big treasure again.

George pointed to the knots on the tree and made the Niffler run over.

However, it stood with its hands on its hips, arrogantly declaring its refusal.

"Next time for sure!" Cedric urged.

Sniff glanced disdainfully at the four people, then lay down on the ground, its paws flailing wildly.

He's always getting something for free, not even giving out Galleons, and he expects me to work for free?

Working is impossible, absolutely impossible in this lifetime!

William sighed and tossed a Galleon at him with disdain.

Sniff quickly put it in its pocket and rushed forward. It darted and weaved among the branches, its movements agile and nimble.

Then, it ran to the willow tree and put its front paws on a knot on the trunk.

Suddenly, the tree seemed to turn into marble and stopped moving; all the leaves were still.

Within seconds, William and his three companions reached the tree trunk.

Fred lowered his head and looked into a hole, below which was a very low tunnel.

"Where is the exit of this tunnel?" Cedric asked curiously.

"I don't know... This passage is marked on the Marauder's Map, but it disappears at the edge of the map. It should end at Hogsmeade Village, but we don't know exactly where the exit is," George said.

William wasn't interested in the secret passage; instead, he stared at the Willow Tree.

More accurately, it is the creature that lives on the willow tree.

—The tree protector hunchback!

The Bowtruckle is a magical creature about the size of a palm.

They have long, sharp fingers on both hands, brown eyes, and an appearance that makes them look like they are made of bark and twigs, making them easy to camouflage.

Bowtruckles become guardians of the trees they inhabit, and the wood from these trees is often suitable for making wands.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal to find the humped tree guarding the willow.

The Bowtruckle is usually gentle, but it can become very aggressive if anything threatens the safety of the tree or itself.

To take leaves or wood from the tree protected by the Bowtruckle, the wizard needs to give them some burrowing beetles or fairy eggs.

William didn't have either of those things with him, but he did have a potion made from fairy eggs.

He opened the bottle cap, and grinned at several Bowtruckles that were shorter than wands, saying, "Come on, learn from me."

"I am Groot!"

These Bowtruckles really do look like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

William decided to kidnap a few of them.

……

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(Thanks to "Fengling Shiwu" for the donation)

(End of this chapter)