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The Whomping Willow is a valuable, and extremely violent, sentient magical tree. It has stood on the Hogwarts grounds since 1971, surviving several battles, a collision from a flying Ford Anglia, and thousands of reckless daredevil students. The violent flailing of its limbs serve a well-known purpose in protecting the hidden pathway beneath its roots, and though this passageway to the Shrieking Shack has fallen into disrepair, finding a way to touch the trick knot on the tree's trunk will still calm its movements. For a moment, anyway.
Students are reminded to maintain a safe and respectful distance from this tree, no matter how curious or reckless brave you're feeling. The Whomping Willow will not hesitate to attack anyone who comes within reach of its branches. Violent, magical trees are not exactly known for being easygoing, and nor are irritated groundskeepers happening upon children taking unnecessary risks. You have been warned.
It was a great day to be the Whomping Willow. The weather in September was warm and sunny, that's why. Since 1971 it had experienced many days like this yet it never got tired of them. The Willow’s vast trunk heaved and fell as though it were sighing in contentment at the peace. There was one currently attempting to poke and prod it.
Unless you counted the minuscule bird perched on one of its branches, pecking away. How irksome. Without hesitation the Willow flicked another branch at the creature.
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Zephyr stood many, many, many meters from the Whomping Willow, observing the magical tree. Just how close did you need to be before the willow started whomping? This was something he wondered about. He didn't want to actually get hit by the tree, but it seemed like a good idea to know the actual limit before that happened, y'know?
Listening to the tap, tap, tap of a bird pecking the tree, his eyes watching the willow, he took a couple of careful, slow steps forward until- a branch flicked and the tapping abruptly stopped.
Uh...hope that bird was okay. Maybe... um, was it time for him to back up already?
__________________
if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
Zephyr stood many, many, many meters from the Whomping Willow, observing the magical tree. Just how close did you need to be before the willow started whomping? This was something he wondered about. He didn't want to actually get hit by the tree, but it seemed like a good idea to know the actual limit before that happened, y'know?
Listening to the tap, tap, tap of a bird pecking the tree, his eyes watching the willow, he took a couple of careful, slow steps forward until- a branch flicked and the tapping abruptly stopped.
Uh...hope that bird was okay. Maybe... um, was it time for him to back up already?
Grounds. Jasper headed out to orientate himself on the school grounds after classes. Good awareness of where important things, buildings and areas were located seemed like something that would aid him in his daily school life. Glorious was the word that came to mind when Jasper first let his eyes rest upon the magnificent magical tree known as the Whomping Willow. Grand, and lethal was how a new peer had decribed the tree to him and had of course peeked this boys curiousity, because how could a tree be deadly?
Going closer to the magical tree Jasper first saw the other boy about his age with eagle robes he thought was called Zephyr or something similar, and then the small bird pecking at the tree. Gold glinted in the trees branches, and next second one of the branches flicked at the bird. Ground control, letting his gaze drop to search the ground for any sight of the bird Jasper wondered with worry how the bird had fared as he walked up to stand next to Zepher. Turning to the other boy Jasper asked worriedly "Hi, do you think the bird got away unscathed?"
Zephyr stood many, many, many meters from the Whomping Willow, observing the magical tree. Just how close did you need to be before the willow started whomping? This was something he wondered about. He didn't want to actually get hit by the tree, but it seemed like a good idea to know the actual limit before that happened, y'know?
Listening to the tap, tap, tap of a bird pecking the tree, his eyes watching the willow, he took a couple of careful, slow steps forward until- a branch flicked and the tapping abruptly stopped.
Uh...hope that bird was okay. Maybe... um, was it time for him to back up already?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch
Grounds. Jasper headed out to orientate himself on the school grounds after classes. Good awareness of where important things, buildings and areas were located seemed like something that would aid him in his daily school life. Glorious was the word that came to mind when Jasper first let his eyes rest upon the magnificent magical tree known as the Whomping Willow. Grand, and lethal was how a new peer had decribed the tree to him and had of course peeked this boys curiousity, because how could a tree be deadly?
Going closer to the magical tree Jasper first saw the other boy about his age with eagle robes he thought was called Zephyr or something similar, and then the small bird pecking at the tree. Gold glinted in the trees branches, and next second one of the branches flicked at the bird. Ground control, letting his gaze drop to search the ground for any sight of the bird Jasper wondered with worry how the bird had fared as he walked up to stand next to Zepher. Turning to the other boy Jasper asked worriedly "Hi, do you think the bird got away unscathed?"
It was always wise to stand at a distance from the Willow. It really enjoyed flicking random lengthy branches at times and this could pose a problem to any poor unfortunate soul who stood too close. They could potentially find themselves sailing through the air or sitting rather suddenly on their behind. There was no predicting what could happen.
The ancient tree sensed the presence of humans. It didn’t care if they were within distance of a branch. But as if on cue with the question asked about the bird the feathered creature fluttered to the ground. It landed with a soft thud nearby and did not move further.
Was either student brave enough to see if it needed help?
♥s her SS family | Wifey is MINE | Naughty Niffler | ❄ Bookish & Cat-Approved ❄ | Soodley ♥
Rory had heard all about the Whomping Willow, so she knew better to get anywhere too close to it. But she was curious as to what the two other students who were gathered nearby were looking at.
It was only when she reached them that she noticed the poor little bird on the ground. It must have been on one of the branches and... well. "What should we do?" Rory was hoping that the poor thing was alive. And it was taking a lot for her to not approach the bird herself.
It was always wise to stand at a distance from the Willow. It really enjoyed flicking random lengthy branches at times and this could pose a problem to any poor unfortunate soul who stood too close. They could potentially find themselves sailing through the air or sitting rather suddenly on their behind. There was no predicting what could happen.
The ancient tree sensed the presence of humans. It didn’t care if they were within distance of a branch. But as if on cue with the question asked about the bird the feathered creature fluttered to the ground. It landed with a soft thud nearby and did not move further.
Was either student brave enough to see if it needed help?
Quote:
Originally Posted by WhittyBitty
Rory had heard all about the Whomping Willow, so she knew better to get anywhere too close to it. But she was curious as to what the two other students who were gathered nearby were looking at.
It was only when she reached them that she noticed the poor little bird on the ground. It must have been on one of the branches and... well. "What should we do?" Rory was hoping that the poor thing was alive. And it was taking a lot for her to not approach the bird herself.
Jasper looked on in silence as the small bird he had just mentioned fluttered to the ground beneath the whomping willow landing with a soft thud and then not moving a wing. His immediate impulse was to dive to rescue the bird that was clearly injured if not dead, but he knew that that was most unwise. The whoming willow had showed it's dangerous branches. Jasper was about to turn to his housemate to make a plan of action when a girl showed up next to them out of nowhere, and demanded to know what they should do.
"Er, Hi um I'm Jasper! Who are you?" He spluttered out in sudden shyness to the girl before taking a quick breath to focus and steady himself. Gesturing to the bird he asked the other two echoing the girls question. "What should we do to resuce the bird? Any ideas? Are either of you good at the levitation charm? If so then maybe we can lift the bird to us together from a safe distance. The tree doesn't seem like it likes anyone coming too close." Which was what the bird had done, and it hadn't exactly resulted in a good outcome.
♥s her SS family | Wifey is MINE | Naughty Niffler | ❄ Bookish & Cat-Approved ❄ | Soodley ♥
Whoops!
Rory was so focused on the bird that she hadn't even thought to introduce herself to the two boys. "Hi, Jasper! I'm Aurora. But you can call me Rory." She gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to the issue at hand.
"I can try to use the Levitation Charm." She bit her lip. Normally she was rather confident in her spell-casting ability. But she was feeling a little nervous right now. She had to make sure that she didn't do anything that may end up getting that poor bird badly injured.
Taking her wand out, she pointed it at the bird and performed Wingardium Leviosa. She tried her best, but she wasn't really sure how well it would work.
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
No branches were swinging his way, so Zephyr had decided that this spot was still okay. And then Jasper, one of his dormmates, joined him, and he must've also noticed the silence of the bird since he asked about it. "I hope so," Zeph said uncertainly.
But then certainty was attained because the bird suddenly landed on the ground, much closer to the Whomping Willow than they were.
Oh. Hmm....
And then an older girl joined them, also asking about the bird. What could they do? A good question for sure.
Zephyr did consider taking his chances by just running in to grab the bird. He could probably dodge the tree's swinging branches. But then again, he thought, that might just cause more injury to the bird, even if he was fine. So he threw that idea out.
Oh, wait, introductions?? "Oh, uh, I'm Zephyr," he added with a brief smile, before turning his attention back to the bird. Now what to do?
Levitation Charm? "That's a good idea, Jasper!" he said. And it seemed the most reasonable and probably the safest for everyone involved. Zephyr felt pretty good about his levitation charm casting, but it also made sense to let Aurora try it first since she was a little bit older and probably had even more practice with it.
So he watched to see if her charm was successful - also trying to keep an eye on the tree, just in case it started moving again.
__________________
if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
An excellent question asked by the third student. What should you do? There were many possibilities. Best act quickly. The little bird was stirring feebly. It was clear it was much too dazed to do anything more. If you wanted to save the creature, you needed to act quickly. The Willow was sure to notice the stirring in a short time. The branches were swaying from left to right as though it was performing a calming dance.
The Levitation Charm was a great idea. It was simply that one of the swaying branches of the Whomping Willow got in the spell’s way. The light that raced towards the bird was intercepted by it. This made the branch momentarily lift into the air. The act certainly confused the Willow. The result? The branches continued to sway in all directions as a defense mechanism to fight off any danger.
Uh oh.
The bird still desperately needed your help. Try again, youngsters!
♥s her SS family | Wifey is MINE | Naughty Niffler | ❄ Bookish & Cat-Approved ❄ | Soodley ♥
A small smile was sent towards Zephyr, and if they weren’t dealing with such a serious situation Aurora would have been more than happy to chat with him and Jasper.
As her spell failed, Aurora was disappointed. Though she had done a good job casting it, the spell had hit the tree and not the bird. The poor thing was running out of time. It needed to be rescued and taken to Professor Paton quickly.
She thought about how the Willow had gotten confused by the spell. ”If we distract it enough, the levitation charm can be tried on the bird again.” That was the only solution she could think of.
So Zephyr and Rory were the names of his bird saving companions. Watching their levitation spells fail Jasper eyed how the branches of the whomping willow swayed in all directions thoughtfully. The bird now at least moved feebly on the ground, clearly injured but alive.
Hearing Rory's idea Jasper glanced over at Zephyr before suggesting since they needed to act quickly. "Then two of us should cast levitation spells to keep the tree distracted, and occupied while one of us sprints and dives for the bird? Who feels brave enough to do that?" If none of the others wanted to then Jasper supposed he had to do it but he wasn't exactly known for being fast or agile more clumsy and two footed.
Baguette | there is no D in my name | TRAITORclaw | Queenie of Narnia
Well, that was a bummer.
Zephyr had thought for sure Rory's spell would work, but the Whomping Willow was clever. Or...just very reactive. Was the tree sentient enough to be considered clever? Did it actually think? What would a tree think about?
Er, questions to ponder another time, probably.
It WAS notable that the spell seemed to affect the willow in some way though. So distracting it with a bunch of spells fired at it sounded like a great idea! And then using the Levitation Charm on the bird or even running and grabbing it would be easier to accomplish.
"I can grab the bird," he offered. So long as the Whomping Willow was sufficiently distracted and he didn't have to dodge all the branches, Zephyr was confident he could do it. Quidditch reflexes would come in handy! Which did make him wish he had his broom on him - then saving the bird would be even easier. But he could run fast too, so it would be fine even without the broom hopefully.
__________________
if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
♥s her SS family | Wifey is MINE | Naughty Niffler | ❄ Bookish & Cat-Approved ❄ | Soodley ♥
Aurora was glad that they were up to her plan. It seemed like the best option to her. And she didn't want to do anything that would hurt or damage the tree. It was a part of nature and it was also doing what it was meant to do. She knew all about why the tree had been planted there in the first place.
Her eyes widened when both boys suggested one of them going and grabbing the bird themselves. "I don't know... It still seems risky to me. Even distracted, if it senses a person close by it could attack. And we have to be careful with how we handle the bird. It might get hurt even more if it's grabbed in a hurry." And that was the last thing that they wanted. "If the tree is distracted enough, the bird can be carefully levitated with no more harm being done." The idea of someone getting close to the tree made her nervous.
The Willow was over whatever trick had just been played on it. It was still however aware of the presence of the young humans. As they were not bothering it at the moment, it left them be. The ancient tree was in no particular mood to be exceptionally violent today anyhow.
Being around for many, many years the Willow wasn’t exactly sentient but it did have enough instincts to sense the presence of humans, creatures and anything else around it. How it dealt with intruders into its sacred space was the only way it knew: to blindly attack with sturdy branches.
The Whomping Willow gave another sway before coming to a complete halt. It looked utterly innocent as it just basked there in the sun’s glorious rays. Perhaps it was the perfect time for the students to act.
The Whomping Willow 
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