- ""People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it."
- — Remus Lupin[src]
The Willow defending itself violently.
The Whomping Willow of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry grounds is a very valuable, very violent tree which was planted in a solitary location on the school property. Whomping Willows attack anyone and anything that comes within range of its branches. There are two known ways to immobilize the particular Whomping Willow placed at Hogwarts: pressing a particular knot at the base of the tree or using the "Immobulus" spell.
It was planted around the year 1971, the same year that Remus Lupin began attending Hogwarts. It was placed so to disguise the opening of a secret passage leading from Hogwarts to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. This allowed Lupin to travel unnoticed to and from the Shrieking Shack, where he was able to undergo his transformation as a werewolf in privacy. This was kept a secret from everyone but Hogwarts staff and Lupin's three closest friends, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. In time Severus Snape also discovered its purpose.
The Flying Ford Anglia crashes onto the Willow.
In 1992, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley accidentally crashed a Flying Ford Anglia into the tree, seriously damaging it. The tree violently defended itself and nearly killed both boys.
In 1993, Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 broomstick was destroyed when it fell from the air into the Whomping Willow's branches.
Behind the scenes
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Whomping Willow is located in the Training Grounds, whereas in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the tree is on a hill, far from the castle. The cause of this change is probably the new location of Rubeus Hagrid's hut.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows