Wandless Magic

Gryffindors were famous for meddling, but Remus Lupin volunteering to help Pomona deal with the mad Whomping Willow struck her as a little too enthusiastic. Besides, sending a first-year student to deal with the Whomping Willow was far too risky. Yet after he showed off a little, Pomona's concerns vanished.

"You can use wandless magic?!" Though Lupin had only made a feather float, Pomona could not help but marvel. Wandless and nonverbal magic were highly advanced skills; the vast majority of wizards could never manage them in their entire lives. Yet Lupin was only eleven. No wonder a genius like him was in such poor health, and Dumbledore had still allowed him to attend Hogwarts.

"Every gain comes with a loss," Lupin said with a smile. "I saw you use wandless magic today too."

"That was because I was busy throwing rocks and didn't have a spare hand to hold my wand." Pomona sat on Lupin's bed, idly flipping through the old book. She felt that her behavior back then must have looked foolish and crude.

"Don't talk about yourself like that, Martin. After that tree calmed down, do you remember what you did? You touched it with your hand, and then it started to settle down."

"I think that was because the medicine started working."

"Don't be so pessimistic. You should have more confidence." Lupin sat on the bed opposite hers. "Why don't you try wandless magic too?"

"Forget wandless magic. Even with a wand, I can't make a feather fly." Pomona spoke dejectedly. In fact, Professor Flitwick believed that none of this year's Hufflepuff first-years were currently capable of casting spells. Before Halloween, their main lesson was practicing how to wave their wands.

Lupin did not know what to do.

Though he was mature for his age, he was still an eleven-year-old boy. Nevertheless, Pomona remembered his suggestion. Maybe she could try it when she had the chance.

"Do you have any more of that medicine?" Lupin asked after a long silence. "Maybe we can give it some more."

"It doesn't work at night. It can draw magic from other sources. Though the Whomping Willow is a magical plant, it is still a piece of wood. While drawing in magic, it also absorbed the power of sunlight, so it thought it was an ordinary tree."

"How did you think of that?"

"Have you ever listened to Muggle radio? Ordinary plants also undergo photosynthesis. During the day, they absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and store starch. At night, they break down starch, absorb oxygen, and release carbon dioxide. It's no different from deadly nightshade. And just like animals, magical plants share certain traits with animals. As long as you make those plants forget their animal nature, they will return to their original plant nature. The Whomping Willow will be as safe as an ordinary willow tree."

"Oh, sorry," Lupin said helplessly. "What is photosynthesis?"

"When you have time, ask one of your Muggle classmates." Pomona spoke impatiently. "Right now, we should think about how to deal with that mad tree."

"Maybe you could think about it another way," Lupin said thoughtfully. "Why not treat it like a potted plant?"

Pomona stopped flipping through the book.

"Are you mad?"

"While you were washing up just now, I looked through that book. Honestly, it's no different from my mother's books on how to grow potted plants." Lupin shrugged indifferently. "It's just a tree, isn't it?"

It sounded crazy, but it was not a bad solution. Pomona began to think seriously.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Why not start with the environment? Every species has its own living environment. For example, I can adapt to the atmosphere in Gryffindor, but if I were sorted into another House, I would not be as comfortable. Plants and animals are the same; they have their own environments. I may not know as much as you do, but I at least know that a cactus in the desert and an orchid in a tropical rainforest definitely need to be raised differently."

Pomona thought for a moment and began leafing through the book. Ordinary willows generally grew beside rivers. They liked sunlight and moist soil, and the Whomping Willow was no different. Hogwarts Castle was an environment meant for people to live in. Aside from Slytherin, most people preferred dry surroundings. If it were a person, living in an uncomfortable environment would also make them irritable and restless. Pomona did not know whether this method would work, but having an idea was better than having none.

"Come on, Lupin. Let's go take a look."

"Okay!" Lupin jumped up and followed Pomona out of the dormitory.

By the time they returned to the Whomping Willow, class was already over. Caretaker Pringle had circled the tree with a rope and put up a "Keep Away" sign on the grass. Honestly, it was a bit unnecessary. Every student hurried past the tree, as though afraid that one careless move might anger it.

"It's clay." Pomona lifted the turf. Clay had poor ventilation and lacked the nutrients plants needed to grow. It was difficult for plants to take root in such soil, which was why few plants grew there.

Willows were suited to sandy soil, especially drought willows. If planted in clay or waterlogged ground, their roots easily rotted, and they eventually withered and died. Planting the Whomping Willow in a place like this was like pushing a person into the sea and telling them, "Figure out how to survive yourself." Whoever planted the Whomping Willow had practically driven it to its death. No wonder the tree had gone mad.

"We need to change the soil here." Pomona patted the dirt from her hands. "And water it regularly. We'll observe it for a while. If there are no problems, it should be fine."

"Change the soil? How?" Lupin looked up at the Whomping Willow. It was already a huge tree.

"I need to find some wolfsbane seeds. Do you know where to get them?"

Lupin's whole body went stiff. Only after a moment did he say, "There should be some in the Potions classroom."

He was taking potion. Pomona understood, but pretended to be clueless. "That place is full of Slytherins. Maybe I should ask the Herbology professor."

Lupin looked at Pomona suspiciously. "If you know, why ask me?"

Pomona answered him with a foolish grin.

Most Hufflepuffs were very attached to home, yet they also loved traveling. It was just that Headmaster Dorian Grubbly-Plank had apparently been traveling for too long, to the point that many of the duties he was supposed to handle had been taken over by others.

At present, Hufflepuff's acting Head of House was his daughter, Wilhelmina. It was said that she had nearly gone to St Mungo's, but ultimately returned to Hogwarts as the resident healer while also serving as the grounds' "veterinarian."

Hogwarts had many neighbors, and Centaurs could fall ill too. In most people's eyes, they were a group of hot-tempered, combative savages with immense pride. In truth, they also had healers. These powerful magical creatures were very familiar with the plants and animals in the Forbidden Forest, but they did not value medicine as highly as humans did. To them, when a life reached its natural end, it would naturally end. Humans, on the other hand, would do everything possible to prolong life.

The feeling of loss was too painful to accept. In the Tale of the Three Brothers, the second brother used the Resurrection Stone to revive the woman he loved. But the revived woman was filled only with despair. She was driven mad by torment, and after losing her for the second time, the second brother no longer had any desire to live. Thus, Death took him away.

Centaurs did not understand humanity's obsession with life and death. It was not easy to deal with them and maintain peaceful coexistence. They were close relatives of Unicorns, and some people claimed that drinking Unicorn blood could grant immortality. For a time, wizards and Centaurs had gotten along quite badly. On the first day of school, everyone had things to do, and no Quidditch fool would break his own arm, so the school healer had come to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to treat the creatures within.

She had a pipe clenched between her teeth, was filthy all over, and looked utterly unkempt. The half-giant Hagrid was assisting her, lifting a young Centaur with an injured hoof so she could apply medicine. At the sight before her, Pomona felt her girlish dreams shatter into pieces.

Even if she was not as elegant and exquisitely groomed as a Slytherin, she should at least have dressed properly like Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall. Why was Hufflepuff's acting Head of House like this?

No man would ever fancy her. Wilhelmina was only in her twenties—was she not worried about marriage at all?