When Char opened the package from Professor Sprout and saw the branch of the Whomping Willow, his eyes lit up instantly.
He had been fascinated by this magical plant ever since reading the original Harry Potter novels in his previous life.
Back in the second book, the Whomping Willow had completely wrecked the Weasley family's flying car. Even Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 broom, which came factory-enchanted with protective spells designed to endure Quidditch collisions, had been snapped by its ferocious branches.
That alone testified to how powerful and rare the Whomping Willow was. As far as Char knew, there was only one such tree in the entire magical world.
In the original books, whenever a branch of the Whomping Willow was damaged, Professor Sprout would carefully bandage it—like tending to a wounded friend.
He hadn't expected her to send him a branch of this legendary tree, meticulously preserved in a slender bottle as his Christmas gift.
Char took a deep breath. Then he noticed a thick letter tucked beneath the bottle. Curious, he opened it and began to read Professor Sprout's handwritten message.
"What you see now is a branch of the Whomping Willow.
The Whomping Willow is an ancient, rare, and powerful magical plant.
When Hogwarts was first founded, Ms. Helga Hufflepuff discovered a dying Whomping Willow. She cultivated it within the special environment of Hogwarts.
That successful cultivation has since been regarded as a milestone achievement in Herbology—comparable in impact to Nicolas Flamel's creation of the Philosopher's Stone in Alchemy.
The Whomping Willow has since become a lasting subject in Herbological studies.
At the Herbology Conference a century ago, twenty-three 'Century Problems' were identified—unresolved mysteries in the field.
One of these is the Whomping Willow Branch-Cutting Problem.
This has been my life's work. My modest progress includes preserving its branches successfully, as you now see.
But Char, the full mystery is still beyond my reach. I may never solve it in my lifetime.
But in you, Char, I see hope.
You have walked the path of a Herbologist, and I now pass on this branch, which carries the weight of my life's research and passion.
Your future achievements will surely surpass mine.
—Your Aunt, Professor Pomona Sprout"
Char stared at the letter, his emotions swirling in complexity.
The Whomping Willow branch in his hand—carefully sealed and preserved—felt light physically. But emotionally, it weighed on him like stone.
After a long silence, Char gently put away the bottle. Then, his gaze drifted to the branch again.
Suddenly, system information appeared before his eyes. But the details were obscured—filled with blurry text and question marks.
It meant his understanding of the Whomping Willow wasn't yet advanced enough to access its potential rewards.
Still, Char had a gut feeling that this was going to be extraordinary—perhaps even more so than the Elber Tree he had previously planted.
His heartbeat quickened at the thought.
Then he noticed that Professor Sprout had included a list of reference books with her letter, helpfully categorized into overviews and advanced studies.
There was still half a day before he was due to return to the Sprout family estate. And he had no intention of wasting it.
"I'll go to the library and borrow these books. Maybe I can unlock the Willow's reward data."
With determination, Char set off toward the library.
The castle was unusually quiet. Most students were still fast asleep after last night's holiday revelry.
Only Filch, the caretaker, was awake, grumbling and scrubbing firework stains off the stone pillars with a long-handled brush.
Just as Char arrived on the library floor, something strange caught his eye.
A stack of books—tall and teetering—was moving on its own?
Had one of the enchanted books broken free?
A second later, Char understood. The books weren't moving by magic. Someone was under them.
Char rushed forward just as the pile began to tilt dangerously. He steadied it with both hands.
A sigh of relief followed, and the person underneath emerged, slightly red-faced.
"Thank you—thank you so much! I thought I could carry them all myself, but the weight of knowledge proved... well, too heavy," said Hermione, still catching her breath.
When she looked up and saw Char, her words caught in her throat. Her cheeks turned crimson.
After a brief silence, she said, "I'm sorry, Char. There are some things I really need to tell you."
Char just shrugged. "Hmm?"
"It's alright, Hermione. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Without waiting, Char turned and walked into the library.
He wasn't the type to hold grudges like a child. But it was obvious Hermione had come on Christmas morning to dig into something important.
Probably Nicolas Flamel, just like in the original storyline.
It seemed the trio was getting closer to the truth behind the Philosopher's Stone. After all, Harry had just discovered the Mirror of Erised during the holidays.
Char suspected that Dumbledore had arranged all this.
He had no intention of getting entangled with the main story right now. All he wanted was a peaceful Christmas.
Behind him, Hermione bit her lip. Then she asked, as if making a difficult decision:
"Char, I want to ask you something. Have you ever heard the name Nicolas Flamel?"
"This might be connected to a huge secret."
Char's expression froze for a second.
He cursed internally but immediately responded with practiced calm and a confused look.
"Nicolas Flamel? Who's that? Never heard of him. Is he a Herbologist or something? If you don't know, Hermione, then no one probably does."
Then he hurried into the library.
Hermione hesitated. She wanted to follow and question him further but stopped when she noticed Madam Pince watching her with disapproval.
She remembered her earlier commotion at the door and sighed.
"It makes sense," she thought. "Even I didn't know who Flamel was until recently. How could Char?"
With that, she turned back toward her stack of books.
Meanwhile, Char finally relaxed. At last—some peace.
Aside from Hermione, no one else was likely to visit the library on Christmas morning.
He could now fully focus on what mattered.
Char unfolded Professor Sprout's reference list. She had helpfully marked overview texts versus deep technical research.
For now, Char didn't need to study cultivation techniques. He only needed enough context to understand the rewards hidden behind the system blur.
So, he selected only the overview-type books. Even then, the stack was immense—nearly half his height.
Reading all of them cover to cover would take weeks.
But Char had long developed his own reading method: start with the prefaces, then skim the table of contents.
This method could quickly yield essential information—more than enough for his immediate purpose.
Soon, the soft rustling of turning pages filled the quiet library.
From morning till afternoon, Char read preface after preface—nearly a hundred pages in total.
Gradually, a clear picture of the Whomping Willow formed in his mind.
It was far older than Hogwarts.
Some magical plant historians even theorized that the Whomping Willow species had existed in the magical world for over ten thousand years.
Its branches possessed unparalleled reaction speed—faster than even the quickest Quidditch Seeker.
Most notably, it held deeply ingrained combat instincts.
And most importantly, its branches contained ancient magic—far older and more potent than most modern spells.
That ancient magic explained why most protection spells failed to resist the Whomping Willow's strikes.
Char's eyes fell on the Whomping Willow branch again.
This time, the system information was no longer blurry.
His breath hitched as the text slowly clarified:
[You have obtained a Whomping Willow branch.]
[Successfully propagating or grafting the Whomping Willow branch will grant rewards:]
Increased Combat Intuition (Diamond-tier)
Increased Reaction Speed (Diamond-tier)
Increased Magic Intensity (Diamond-tier)
Brilliant beams of light flickered around the system text, momentarily dazzling his eyes.
"Diamond-tier?!"
"Just by successfully propagating or grafting it—I don't even need to grow it to maturity?!"
His heart thundered in his chest.
But what if he did grow it to maturity?
As if answering his thoughts, new information flashed:
[Cultivate the Whomping Willow to maturity to receive:]
Combat Intuition (Epic-tier)
Reaction Speed (Epic-tier)
Magic Intensity (Epic-tier)
Ancient Magic Comprehension (Platinum-tier)
Char's hands trembled slightly.
"Platinum-tier… comprehension of ancient magic?"
His thoughts raced. The potential here… it was limitless.
And now, the real journey—of growing the Whomping Willow—was about to begin.
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