Time slipped by quietly. As winter withdrew, the wind and snow faded with it, giving way to the warmth of spring.
Beside Hogwarts Castle, the Whomping Willow put out fresh buds, and the nearby Forbidden Forest slowly came back to life. With spring's arrival and everything awakening, magical plants began to change in ways both subtle and obvious.
After class that day, Professor Sprout took Leonard along, gathered the necessary tools, and brought him to prune the Whomping Willow.
"Proper pruning helps the Whomping Willow grow better and can even extend its lifespan," Professor Sprout explained patiently. "Unlike ordinary plants, which are pruned in winter to improve their chances of surviving the cold, magical plants like the Whomping Willow are different."
"Magical plants do have magic of their own, so winter survival isn't really an issue for them," Leonard said.
"That's right," Professor Sprout replied, raising the large shears in her hand. "But in spring, they tend to grow too many branches. Plants with their own awareness grow even more wildly, and that actually works against their long-term survival."
"So today, we'll be pruning the Whomping Willow on campus. While we're at it, we'll collect some of its leaves for Madam Pomfrey. They can be used to brew calming potions."
Professor Sprout explained everything in detail, treating Leonard almost as a true disciple. Their relationship went beyond that of a typical professor and student and was closer to that of master and apprentice.
Leonard helped out in the greenhouses every week, performed excellently in class, and had a firm grasp of the material.
What professor wouldn't like a student like that?
Whomping Willow leaves can be used in potions…
Leonard quietly committed the information to memory as he followed Professor Sprout toward the tree.
"Alright, stop here," Professor Sprout said, holding Leonard back. "This big fellow is extremely irritable. Don't even think about getting close. One careless step and you'll be seriously hurt."
Before she finished speaking, an innocent little bird flew between the branches and was promptly swatted away with a heavy smack.
It really was violent.
Leonard, who had once secretly plucked a Whomping Willow branch himself, nodded solemnly.
Whether the warning applied to him or not, listening first was always the right choice.
Seeing that Leonard made no reckless moves, Professor Sprout was very pleased.
Both magical plants and magical creatures are dangerous. Wizards who work with either must follow the precautions and rules passed down by their predecessors.
That knowledge was recorded through blood and hard-earned experience, allowing later generations to continue their research. These were fields where accumulated experience mattered deeply. In most cases, the older and more seasoned one was, the better.
Those who acted recklessly from the start…
...rarely succeeded or truly excelled. They took shortcuts toward death and never lived long enough to grow old.
Leonard's behavior marked him as a model Herbology apprentice: eager to learn and cautious.
With a satisfied smile, Professor Sprout continued. "Whomping Willows in the wild are extremely dangerous. It usually takes powerful magic or specific potions to calm them. But the one at Hogwarts is special. To make it easier to approach, Professor Dumbledore left it with a weakness."
She led Leonard around to the back of the tree and pointed to a prominent knot on the trunk.
"That's its weak point. Pressing it will stop the Whomping Willow from moving."
As she spoke, Professor Sprout cast a basic spell at the knot.
When the magic struck, Leonard's magical sight showed the Whomping Willow's magic being cut off at that point. The flow of magic throughout its body collapsed in an instant, leaving it completely unresponsive.
Leonard's gaze flickered as he fell into thought.
He remembered the time he had interfered with the magic of Lucius Malfoy and his wife, disrupting their spells and injuring them in the process.
Back then, he had directly manipulated the portion of their magic that was forming, forcing it to flow backward.
That method meant opposing the magical power of two adult wizards at once. Fortunately, they had been using a Stunning Spell rather than something with a massive magical output like an Unforgivable Curse. Otherwise, Leonard might not have been able to control it at all.
The words he'd spoken afterward had been nothing more than a bluff, but it worked. The Malfoy couple had never seen magic that disrupted another person's internal magical flow, so they assumed any spell could be interrupted. That made "Ranrok" seem unfathomably powerful.
In reality, "Ranrok" couldn't do anything like that.
Still, Professor Sprout's method of cutting off the Whomping Willow's magic flow gave Leonard an idea.
Why focus on altering the direction of magic inside someone else's body? He didn't need to control their spellcasting. Wouldn't it be enough to interrupt their spell, or even prevent them from casting at all for a short time?
The reason Professor Sprout could shut down the Whomping Willow's magic so completely was because of that obvious weak point. Ordinary wizards didn't have anything like that. Even under magical sight, a wizard's magic appeared as flowing lines, not distinct points.
Trying to disperse a wizard's magic with a single strike would be extremely difficult.
"Don't just stand there, child. Come here," Professor Sprout said. While Leonard was still thinking, she had already moved behind the Whomping Willow and pressed the knot. "You hold this spot. I'll trim the branches."
"Yes, Professor," Leonard replied, jogging over and bending down to press his hand against the knot.
Professor Sprout began pruning the branches. The task itself wasn't difficult. As long as someone held the Whomping Willow's weak point, there was no danger.
Leonard didn't focus on her movements. Instead, he studied the knot beneath his hand.
...
It looked as though a patch of bark had once been stripped away, and the tree had healed naturally. But during its growth, the magic within had twisted into chaotic knots, creating this weakness.
Simply put, the Whomping Willow's magic had originally formed a complete, continuous cycle. After the weakness appeared, magic flowing from different directions became entangled. Pressing this spot disrupted the entire circulation of magic in the area, leaving the Whomping Willow in its current state, almost like paralysis.
...
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