Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Magic/Whomping Willow
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Whomping Willow | |
|---|---|
| Type | Plant |
| Features | Motile tree with bad temper |
| First Appearance | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Whomping WIllow is a large tree located on the Hogwarts grounds. It seems to be unique, it is certainly very rare; it can move its limbs, and does so with great speed and violence when it feels threatened.
[edit] Extended Description
The Whomping Willow destroys the flying car in which Harry and Ron arrive at Hogwarts in their second year; in Harry's third year, it destroys his Nimbus 2000 broom, and turns out to be planted specifically to guard the entrance to a secret passage. The Whomping Willow was actually brought to Hogwarts when Professor Lupin was a student at school. The tree hid a secret tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade so that whenever it was full moon, Lupin could hide there and not hurt any of his fellow students. This particular specimen can be temporarily stilled by pressing a specific knot at its base; this is the technique used by Lupin (and others) to enter the secret tunnel that it conceals.
[edit] Analysis
There is a technique of tree-trimming much practiced in England and places following the English model, where major branches of a tree are cut quite short and repeatedly. This results in a tree with stubby branches and large round growths on the ends of its branches. These, looking like knuckles on the ends of the branches, could easily inspire the idea of a tree that acts as if it has fists.
