#35 - Magical willow tree

When Monday afternoon's Herbology class arrived, the young wizards were still deeply shocked by the large trees outside the greenhouse.

Ron finally understood what Mune meant by a 'little' magical change.

"Mune, are you sure these are the three saplings you dug up from the Forbidden Forest? Or did a giant plant these big trees?"

Looking at the willow tree whose canopy was already large enough to accommodate seven or eight people, Ron couldn't believe it at all.

He clearly remembered joking around with Harry while carrying the willow branches, which weren't even as thick as his fingers, on the way back a week ago.

"Of course, they just grew a little faster," Mune replied with a relaxed expression and affirmative tone.

Harry also looked in surprise at the holly tree on the other side. He had seen holly trees used as landscaping plants on Privet Drive.

Those were all low, neatly trimmed plants on both sides of the road, while this one outside the greenhouse had grown to over twenty feet, even taller than Uncle Vernon's two-story house.

Hermione, on the other hand, looked at the grapevines covering the greenhouse glass. Only now did she realize where the fruit she ate in the morning came from.

"Are you sure these ripened grapes are edible?"

Hermione looked at Mune with a skeptical gaze.

"Of course, at least I can guarantee nothing will happen for ten days."

Ten days was the time from when Mune first ate the grapes to today, so he dared to say that.

After answering Hermione's question, Mune quickly walked into the greenhouse.

At this time, Professor Sprout had already installed four oil lamps in the greenhouse to replace the sunlight blocked by the grapevines.

"Alright, everyone come in quickly. The sunlight isn't very good today, so it's a good time to study redcap mushrooms."

......

When Herbology class ended, Mune found Professor Sprout and asked about the Whomping Willow.

"Extremely large, with magical properties, and no magical creatures guarding it."

Sprout thought for a moment, muttering softly, "Did Professor Binns start lecturing on the history of ancient magical plants?"

Then she shook her head slightly, feeling it was unlikely.

Professor Binns was not only Hogwarts' only ghost professor, but also the most stubborn professor. He hadn't seemed to have changed the textbooks he used in class for the past hundred years.

Excluding Professor Binns, Sprout turned to look at Mune.

"Mr. Scarlett, the characteristics you mentioned should be from at least five hundred years ago, when Muggles didn't have the habit of indiscriminate logging, so a large number of magical plants survived."

When Sprout said this, she had a look of regret on her face.

In her opinion, not having seen those magical plants was a great regret.

"Five hundred years ago! Are you sure? Professor."

"Of course, it may even be thousands of years ago. Isn't that the record you saw in the library?"

"Uh~, that's right, I saw it in the library. I came to ask you because I didn't know if it was true."

Seeing the professor's suspicious gaze, Mune answered smoothly.

"Well, there's certainly nothing wrong with reading more, but I think you'd better learn the current Herbology well first. After all, those extinct plants won't come back to life for you to study."

"Okay, Professor."

Mune said, packing up his textbooks and leaving the greenhouse.

"This child isn't really going to study those plants that have disappeared, is he!"

Professor Sprout valued Mune very much, a young wizard who showed a talent for Herbology in his first year.

However, Mune's current direction of study made her feel a little uneasy.

......

After leaving the greenhouse, Mune went straight to the library. He found a book called "Ancient Magical Plants" in the Herbology book area.

It recorded many magical plants that had long been extinct, as well as some ordinary magical plants of extremely ancient age. The Whomping Willow clearly belonged to the latter.

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According to my observations, when the age of a magical plant reaches a certain level, especially over a thousand years old, its magical properties will show an explosive increase.

— Beaumont Marjoribanks

-----------------

Mune had seen this person's name on a Chocolate Frog card. He was a great pioneer of Herbology.

The conclusion in the book was the magical knowledge he summarized after going to uninhabited areas and discovering magical plants.

Mune compared the characteristics of magical trees over a thousand years old described in the book, and he found that none of these trees were as magical as the Whomping Willow.

"Could it be that the Whomping Willow is more than a thousand years old?"

After carefully reading the relevant content in the book, Mune decided not to reveal the secret of the Whomping Willow for the time being.

After all, at Hogwarts he was just a student who didn't leave the school gates, and in Xilin he was a half-baked spiritualist who had never been in contact with spellcasters.

Although Mune couldn't estimate the value of the Whomping Willow now, he could guess that the appearance of this magical plant would definitely cause a shock.

Putting the book back on the original bookshelf, Mune left the library and came to the Great Hall for dinner.

He heard Ron's shout as soon as he stepped into the Great Hall door.

"Isn't it delicious! We've had this delicacy before."

Mune initially thought Ron was talking about some delicacy his mother made, but when he walked to the table, he realized he was talking about 'Hagrid's Rock Cakes'.

This food actually appeared on the table. Mune looked up at the other three tables, all of which had this dessert on them.

"Did Ron say that you and Hagrid invented this dish?"

Hermione's voice came from the side, and Mune saw a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"That's right, that's how it is."

After Mune answered, he sat down and served himself a bowl of Hagrid's Rock Cakes.

After tasting it, he found that the aroma of milk had replaced the taste of tea inside, and the aroma was even more mellow.

After getting the answer, Hermione also sat down and ate 'Hagrid's Rock Cakes'. This sweet and smooth taste was very much to her liking.

However, she now felt that Mune's specialties were a bit strange.

Cooking, planting trees, wood carving, slingshots......

Mune was very good at these, but the basic school knowledge that he should have mastered was very weak.

"That's really strange."

Hermione's voice was very small, and it was all drowned out by Ron's voice.

"Mune, you're here, quickly tell Seamus, haven't we had this dessert before."

Looking at Ron, Seamus, and the people around him all looking at him with attention, Mune nodded heavily.

"See, I didn't lie to everyone."

Ron continued to show off his few special experiences. Mune turned to look at Hermione.

"Where's Harry?"

"Wood called him away to train for Quidditch."

Hermione's voice was even softer when she said this. It wasn't that she didn't want to say it loudly, but they had all been warned by Wood.

Harry would be the secret weapon of the Gryffindor team, and no one could reveal it in advance.

Everyone abided by this agreement, and Mune was no exception.

However, Mune didn't think this secret could be kept forever.

There was still more than a month before Gryffindor's first game this year, and when Harry was training on the field as a Seeker, he would inevitably fly very high.

Those older students who wandered around in pairs after class would always discover this not-so-secret secret.

......

Mune didn't stay in the Great Hall for long. Seeing 'Hagrid's Rock Cakes' appear on the table, he planned to visit Hagrid.

While the sun hadn't set yet, Mune came to Hagrid's hut again.

Knock knock knock.

The wooden door opened, revealing Hagrid's big face covered in beard.

"Oh, come in quickly, I just happen to have something to talk to you about."