Chapter 243:

In the dense Forbidden Forest, four figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Aside from William, the other three were slightly dizzy, staggering a little.

"Are you all right?" William asked. "You'll get used to this feeling eventually."

"I'm fine," Cedric said, rubbing his ears, which seemed reluctant to part ways with the train. "But I still prefer Floo Powder or Portkeys over Apparition."

"It's your first time; it's always uncomfortable," Fred said, patting Cedric on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it, mate."

"Where are we now?" George asked, scanning their surroundings. "The Forbidden Forest?"

William nodded. "Yes. Follow me this way."

The four of them quickly navigated through the forest, heading toward Hagrid's hut.

As they neared the edge of the forest, an angry bark echoed in the distance.

"Back off, Fang! Get back to the house! I need to head to the station to pick up the students, and you're not coming along!" Hagrid's voice boomed. "You're too ugly—you'd scare the students worse than Fluffy ever could!"

Fang let out a mournful whine, clearly displeased with Hagrid's assessment.

"Stop whining," Hagrid scolded. "Keep an eye on the house. Someone smashed Fluffy's little shed not long ago, and I still haven't found out who did it! They might come back to attack again. Watch the house, got it?"

William coughed awkwardly, realizing he'd need to remind Hermione not to let anything slip in front of Hagrid.

The four of them hid behind a tree until Hagrid's footsteps faded into the distance. Then, they circled around the hut and headed toward the Whomping Willow.

The Whomping Willow wasn't far from the greenhouses but was a good distance from Hagrid's hut. It was also considered one of Hogwarts' restricted areas.

"Cedric, are you sure you want to mess with that tree?" Fred asked as they walked.

"That thing is seriously dangerous!"

"Yeah, last time we tried to get into the secret passage under it, we almost got beaten to a pulp," George added.

The Whomping Willow was notoriously aggressive. Its branches lashed out at anything that touched it, delivering merciless blows.

"Do we have a plan for dealing with it?" William asked. "You've been pestering Professor Sprout about it, haven't you?"

"Don't make it sound so bad! Pestering, really?" Cedric chuckled. "I was simply discussing Herbology with Professor Sprout and happened to express an interest in the Whomping Willow's weaknesses."

"So, did you find out how to deal with it?"

"Of course! I'm her favorite student," Cedric said proudly. "You just need to press the knot on its trunk. That'll freeze it instantly."

"That simple?" George asked skeptically.

"Yep! Why else would I dare suggest we collect some of its branches?"

"Wait, I have a question," William interjected. "If we break a branch, will it wake up from its frozen state?"

"Uh… I'm not sure," Cedric scratched hios head, "I forgot to ask."

William sighed. Crafting a wand was proving to be no easy task.

No wonder Ollivander stuck to safer materials like unicorn tail hair or phoenix feathers. It was for safety reasons.

Something like a basilisk could kill you with a mere glance. The Whomping Willow was dangerous in its own way, too.

That said, the Whomping Willow's wood was an excellent material for wand-making. According to Cedric, willow wood had unique healing properties and was ideal for casting advanced nonverbal spells. 

However, willow wands often chose wizards with great potential rather than those who were overly self-assured.

The Ollivander family had a saying: "Willow wood favors the ambitious."

As the pinnacle of willow trees, the Whomping Willow was especially precious. Combined with a basilisk fang, it could make a wand of unparalleled quality.

The group soon reached the Whomping Willow. The tree stood still, seemingly harmless.

Fred tossed a rock toward it.

The Whomping Willow sprang to life, its branches thrashing wildly, its trunk writhing like an enraged beast, barring their way.

"So… who's going to press the knot?" William asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

The other three naturally turned to William.

"Obviously you," Cedric said. "You can use your Animagus form, can't you?"

Fred and George nodded in agreement.

"But my sea eagle form is huge," William argued. "I'm fast, but I'd still get hit by those branches."

"What about the Niffler? Let it do it!" William suggested.

Fred nodded and pulled out his precious Niffler again.

George pointed to the knot on the tree trunk, signaling the Niffler to go for it.

But the Niffler stood with its paws on its hips, refusing arrogantly.

"Next time for sure!" Cedric urged.

The Niffler cast the four of them a disdainful glance, then lay down on the ground, its paws wiggling lazily. It clearly had no intention of working for free.

Exasperated, William tossed a Galleon its way.

The Niffler eagerly pocketed the coin and dashed forward. It darted nimbly between the thrashing branches, its movements agile.

Reaching the Whomping Willow's trunk, the Niffler placed its paw on the knot.

Instantly, the tree froze, its branches falling still as if turned to stone. Even the leaves stopped rustling.

Within seconds, the group approached the tree trunk.

Fred bent down to peer into a small hole. "There's a narrow tunnel down here."

"Where does it lead?" Cedric asked curiously.

"No idea… The Marauder's Map marks this passage, but it disappears off the edge. It probably ends in Hogsmeade, but I'm not sure where exactly," George replied.

William, however, wasn't interested in the tunnel. His eyes were fixed on something living on the Whomping Willow.

Bowtruckles.

These hand-sized magical creatures had long, sharp fingers and brown eyes. They resembled a mix of tree bark and twigs, making them excellent at blending in.

Bowtruckles served as guardians for the trees they lived on, and such trees were often ideal for wand-making.

Finding Bowtruckles on the Whomping Willow was no surprise.

Although Bowtruckles were usually mild-tempered, they could become fiercely aggressive if their tree or themselves were threatened. To harvest wood or leaves from a tree guarded by Bowtruckles, wizards needed to offer them woodlice or fairy eggs.

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

Opening the bottle, he grinned at the Bowtruckles, who were shorter than most wands. "Come on, repeat after me."

"I am Groot!"

The Bowtruckles stared at him curiously. They really did look like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.

William had already decided.

He was going to abduct a few.