Chapter 43: Am I a Druid?

"Professor! The Whomping Willow hasn't calmed down at all—it's getting even more violent! It looks like it's about to pull itself right out of the ground!"

At the sound of the shout, everyone turned to look at the Whomping Willow, only to see the tree violently twisting its trunk, desperately trying to tear itself free from the earth!

"What on earth is going on?" Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in disbelief. While the Whomping Willow was a magical plant, that didn't mean it could move around like a living creature; for the past twenty years, it had remained firmly rooted in the soil.

The roots of the Whomping Willow ran deep underground, and if it were completely uprooted, the root system alone would measure nearly twice the length of its trunk.

"Goodness, that's got serious Treant vibes!" Chu Yang exclaimed in admiration, fully intending to stand back and appreciate the willow's mighty display a little longer, before Hermione and Harry grabbed him by either arm and hoisted him up to start running.

Ron and Neville forged the path ahead.

The two of them were like a pair of frantic guardians, shrieking at the top of their lungs while flailing wildly to clear a path through the crowd.

Everyone was fleeing in a panic. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch drew their wands, standing resolutely between the terrified students and the Whomping Willow, preparing to incinerate the tree that had accompanied Hogwarts for so many years.

The roots of the Whomping Willow continually burst through the earth, tearing apart the verdant lawn and leaving spiderweb-like fractures across the once-level ground.

The next second, like a patient suffering from severe lower-body paralysis, the Whomping Willow toppled straight forward, crashing down onto the ground with a thunderous roar as a cloud of dust billowed into the air!

Seeing this, the students halted their retreat and looked back.

Professor McGonagall let out a long breath, her body still trembling slightly, yet she attempted to maintain her composure with a dry quip. "You see? That is the consequence of trying to run before you've even learned to walk. Aside from making a fool of yourself and falling flat on your face, nothing good comes of it!"

True to her role as Deputy Headmistress, she was finding time to lecture students even at a moment like this!

"Aaaaah!"

The students shrieked in terror once more!

Professor McGonagall spun around, only to discover that the fallen Whomping Willow had not lost its vitality at all—instead, it was scuttling across the ground like a giant spider!

Its thick, branch-like roots functioned just like eight arachnid legs, lifting its massive trunk high into the air as it advanced at terrifying speed.

In the blink of an eye, the Whomping Willow bypassed Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch, charging straight toward the students with the savage fury of an enraged bull.

Professor McGonagall whipped out her wand and waved it, casting a sweeping Fire-Spell in an attempt to incinerate the tree, but the willow's movement speed far exceeded her expectations, and the flames only managed to singe a few stray branches.

"Wait a second." Chu Yang shook off Harry and Hermione's grip, sensing that something very peculiar was going on with the Whomping Willow.

The creature was unmistakably charging in his direction, though it remained unclear whether it was targeting him or Harry.

"Chu Yang, hurry up and run!" Hermione urged anxiously, tugging at Chu Yang's sleeve.

Chu Yang explained, "No! Harry and I need to split up from the rest of you. That Whomping Willow is coming straight for us!"

Hermione turned around and saw that the willow was indeed hurtling directly toward them.

"What are you standing there for? Get on your broom and fly the other way! Don't head toward the crowd!" Chu Yang thrust his flying broomstick into Harry's hands. He didn't need one; at his natural speed, the Whomping Willow wouldn't catch him even if it chased him for a lifetime.

If Chu Yang were completely by himself, he wouldn't need to run at all. Whether through Wood Release or sheer physical prowess, he could easily take down the Whomping Willow.

However, out in the open before everyone, Chu Yang could not afford to use such extraordinary powers. Otherwise, Ministry of Magic officials would arrive by tomorrow to cart him off for experimentation or throw him straight into Azkaban.

"I really should have kept my wand with me. Why does Charms class have to be tomorrow?!" If he had a wand as a cover, he could at least channel a fraction of his Wood Release techniques. He felt a twinge of regret and silently vowed to break this bad habit.

Having finished his internal complaints, Chu Yang broke into a sprint!

"Chu Yang, what about you?!" Harry wanted to grab him back, but the moment slipped past before he could react; gritting his teeth, he swung his leg over the broom and shot up into the air.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have waited for you guys here!" A furious Hermione turned and bolted, her short legs pumping like clockwork.

After running only a short distance, Hermione noticed a strange lack of noise behind her. Instead of feeling relieved, her heart plummeted, because it meant Chu Yang had been entirely right.

When she glanced back, the Whomping Willow had indeed altered its course, pursuing Chu Yang alone!

"Hermione, its target is Chu Yang!"

Hovering high in the air, Harry was consumed by overwhelming regret!

It was his refusal to listen to advice, his reckless pursuit of the Golden Snitch right over this spot, that had triggered the tree's rampage!

More importantly, Chu Yang had given him his own flying broomstick!

If anything were to happen to Chu Yang, Harry knew he would carry the guilt for the rest of his life.

To ensure the safety of the other students, Chu Yang deliberately led the Whomping Willow toward the direction of the Forbidden Forest, a secluded area devoid of people—it was the only direction he could possibly run.

The towering bulk of the Whomping Willow plowed through the earth like a massive cultivator, leaving every inch of ground it crossed utterly devastated, a barren wasteland of shattered earth.

After running this way for a while, until no more figures of students could be seen behind them.

Chu Yang, long since tired of the chase, came to an abrupt halt, clenched his fists, and spun around with the intention of punching the tree into submission.

To Chu Yang's utter astonishment, the moment he stopped running, the Whomping Willow screeched to a halt as well, sliding forward on its momentum right up to where he stood.

Then it grew completely docile, abandoning all frantic movements as its leafy branches slowly draped around Chu Yang like a protective canopy, swaying gently in the breeze. Was it... acting spoiled?

Chu Yang stared with a bewildered expression at the colossal entity towering before him...

What sort of bizarre development was this?

Seeing that Chu Yang showed no reaction, the Whomping Willow tentatively extended a thick branch toward him, rubbing it affectionately against the back of his hand.

"Could it be...?"

Chu Yang's eyes widened. He reached out, grabbed one of the branches, and channeled his magic into it.

The dense magical energy, rich with powerful natural life force, surged into the colossal trunk of the Whomping Willow, causing every single branch on its body to quiver with instant ecstasy.

"It really did chase me down because of my magic!" Chu Yang realized. It must have been the stray magic leaking from his body while he was flying that had exerted some unknown influence on the tree.

Judging by its behavior, the influence was overwhelmingly beneficial; while the Whomping Willow had always possessed a degree of animalistic instinct beyond ordinary plants, it now seemed to be developing a much higher level of intelligence.

Influenced by this special magic, it was actively evolving in the direction of a true "living being"!

"At this rate, am I going to turn into a Druid?" Chu Yang was dumbfounded. This was a path he had never anticipated taking.

The Whomping Willow, however, was oblivious to such existential thoughts. It continued to nudge affectionately against Chu Yang, behaving precisely like a household pet trying to cozy up to its master in hopes of receiving a treat.

The kid was hungry, so it wanted a little more magic to snack on!

Driven by the dual influence of his soul and constitution, Chu Yang's magical reserves were already absurdly vast. Being quite generous in this regard, he rampantly increased his output of magical energy.

A brilliant green radiance, symbolizing pure life, began to emanate from the entire body of the Whomping Willow, and even its leaves started shedding glowing green specks akin to fireflies.

The Whomping Willow began to grow visibly before his eyes, stretching upward from the height of a three-story building, surpassing five stories, and still continuing to climb.

As dusk approached, the Whomping Willow was bathed in the warm, golden-red glow of the setting sun, intertwining with the emerald aura of vitality like an ancient deity in the midst of a grand awakening.