======Whomping Willow======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Magical]] [[Flora]]
  * **Location:** [[Hogwarts]] Grounds
  * **Owner/Residents:** [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]
  * **Key Features:** A highly aggressive, sentient tree that attacks any object or person within range of its branches. It possesses a secret mechanism for pacification.
=====Description and History=====
The **Whomping Willow** is a very large, valuable, and uniquely violent species of magical tree located on the grounds of [[Hogwarts]]. Its branches function as limbs and will thrash and "whomp" at any perceived threat that approaches its trunk. The tree's violent behavior is its primary defense mechanism and a deliberate feature intended to guard a secret.
The tree was planted on the [[Hogwarts]] grounds circa 1971, the same year that the [[werewolf]] [[Remus Lupin]] began his education at the school. [[Albus Dumbledore]] had the tree placed directly over the entrance to a secret tunnel leading from [[Hogwarts]] to the [[Shrieking Shack]] in the nearby village of [[Hogsmeade]]. This was done to provide [[Lupin]] with a secure and secluded location for his monthly transformations, protecting him and other students from harm. Each month, [[Madam Pomfrey]] would escort [[Lupin]] to the tree.
Despite its violent nature, the [[Whomping Willow]] can be temporarily immobilized. A small, specific knot at the base of its trunk, when pressed with a long stick or branch, causes the entire tree to freeze, allowing safe passage into the tunnel beneath its roots.
=====Role in the Story=====
The [[Whomping Willow]] plays a significant role in several key events throughout the series.
  * In //[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]//, [[Harry Potter]] and [[Ron Weasley]] crash the flying [[Ford Anglia]] into the tree upon their late arrival to [[Hogwarts]]. The tree retaliates, severely damaging the car, breaking [[Ron]]'s [[wand]], and ejecting the two boys and their luggage. The incident earns them detention and leads [[Professor Sprout]] to bandage the tree's injuries.
  * In //[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]//, the tree is central to the plot. After being mistaken for the [[Grim]], [[Sirius Black]] in his Animagus dog form drags [[Ron Weasley]] into the secret passage beneath the tree, breaking [[Ron]]'s leg in the process. [[Crookshanks]], having befriended [[Sirius]], knew how to press the knot to immobilize the tree, allowing [[Harry]] and [[Hermione Granger]] to follow. It is within the [[Shrieking Shack]] at the end of this passage that the truth about [[Sirius Black]], [[Peter Pettigrew]], and [[Remus Lupin]]'s past is revealed. [[Lupin]] explains the tree's origin and purpose to the trio.
  * In //[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]//, [[Harry]], [[Ron]], and [[Hermione]] use the secret passage under the [[Whomping Willow]] to enter the [[Shrieking Shack]] during the [[Battle of Hogwarts]]. They do so in order to reach [[Lord Voldemort]], who is using the shack as his temporary headquarters. From the tunnel's entrance, they witness [[Voldemort]] murder [[Severus Snape]].
=====Known Areas Within=====
  * **Secret Passage:** The primary reason for the tree's existence is to guard a long, earthen tunnel. This passage begins in a hollow beneath the tree's roots and emerges through a trapdoor in the floor of the [[Shrieking Shack]].
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * J.K. Rowling revealed that the [[Whomping Willow]] was planted to protect [[Remus Lupin]], noting that it was part of a larger effort by [[Dumbledore]] to make the school inclusive and safe for a student with lycanthropy. (Pottermore)
  * In the film adaptation of //[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]//, the tree is depicted as significantly more active and malevolent in its attempts to attack the trio. It captures not only [[Ron]] (who is dragged by [[Sirius]]) but also grabs [[Hermione]] and flings both her and [[Harry]] around before they can enter the passage. This is a departure from the book, where only [[Ron]] is seized by [[Sirius]]. (film)
  * Students at [[Hogwarts]] apparently used to try and touch the trunk of the tree as a dare. One student, Davey Gudgeon, nearly lost an eye attempting it.