Chapter 6 - Creating a Whomping Willow
Rowan had always celebrated the twenty second of september with his family. The entire household, staff and all, would get together for that one day and have a feast surpassing anything he had ever seen else where. They would have a bonfire and the youngest member of the community who was old enough to carry the lit fag would have the honor of starting the ceremonial fire. They would then sing, dance, eat and tell stories of harvests long past. It was such a long standing tradition in his family that coming to Hogwarts and the shock of not only the sheer amount of people but the fact that the traditions and holidays he had been brought up on weren't even considered holidays was simply offensive and baffling to him. Rowan didn't say anything though. He was sure his almost friends Severus and Lily knew something was off though and when classes were let out he simply walked out the front doors to the school intent on paying his own homage to bounty that he and his family had received the previous year since it was clear that Hogwarts didn't hold by the same traditions his family did.
He took refuge under the whomping willow. Stupid name for a tree that just had a few charms cast on it to animate it and protect the passageway it was planted over. Even Rowan, as a first year with no real magical training could accomplish what they had. But none of the rest of the students had his unique talents and therefore without the freezing charm that Professor Dumbledore used when he lead Remus Lupin down into the tunnel everyone else would inspire the willow to attempt to bash them without actually being able to hit them. More of those charms that were placed on the willow. It didn't matter that students had been warned against messing with the tree, children would be children and if Dumbledore had two brain cells in his head he would do everything in his power to ensure that nothing harmed the children under his care.
He had been sitting under the whomping willow for several hours when Lily and Severus showed up. It's branches swinging idly around occasionally caressing him. Severus and Lily stood just outside of the range of the willow's branches. Their presence on a day that should have been spent with his family celebrating the change of seasons and the successful collection of the harvest was intrusive and enraged him like little else had ever done. They were standing a ways off from the ends of the willow's branches talking quietly and from their gestures Rowan could guess they were arguing. He'd be willing to bet that Lily was arguing to come join him and Severus was trying to convince her to just leave him alone. He felt a rush of appreciation and fondness for the other boy. He stood up still angry and walked towards them yelling
"Just leave me alone, how hard is that?" Severus he saw looked hurt but Lily, kind sweet gentle Lily got just as pissed as he was and snapped back
"Sorry if we aren't good enough for the great Rowan Broadmoor. Want us to lick your boots now too?" Rowan opened and closed his mouth several times. He wanted to scream at her, that she didn't understand. He wanted to tell her about how he was missing his baby sister and the fact that this was the first Mabon that she was old enough to participate in and would therefore be lighting the bonfire. To tell her that his way of life, the one that had been perfectly fine for every other member of his family was being denied him. He wanted to rant and rave until he was allowed to go home. Instead all he did was close his mouth and press the heels of his palms against his eyes and made a distressed noise in the back of his throat. It wouldn't do any good. He was trapped. In his pain, and anger he never noticed the whomping willow moving about in a wind all of it's own. Nor did he notice when his magic, barely controlled inside of himself at the best of times, started spilling out in clearly visible tendrils. He didn't even notice when his magic exploded out from him and the whomping willow took on a mind and life of it's own, absorbing the magic that was spilling uncontrollably out from him. All he knew then was the darkness of unconsciousness.
Hours later he woke up staring up at the inky black sky, not as clear as the one he was used too, that was further obscured by the whomping willow's leaves and branches as it moved to caress and check on him. He glanced around to see several teachers standing in the distance and Severus and Lily leaned against each other sound asleep. He moved very carefully as he tested his entire body to make sure he wasn't hurt. When nothing complained too loudly he sat up and wondered what had happened. Above him the willow creaked and groaned in a way that almost sounded intelligent to him. Gathering his things he stepped out away from the protection of the tree and was instanting set upon by the professors apparently lying in wait for him. The school nurse Madame Pomfrey started running medical scans as soon as he was in range of her wand making humming noises at the result. His head of house, Professor Sprout and the Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall started spouting questions at him without allowing him time to answer. He felt Lily and Severus come up beside him, and that somehow shocked the professors into quiet. They had apparently not known the other two were still outside. McGonagall took a deep breath and asked
"What were you thinking young man? Were you not informed about how dangerous the Whomping Willow is?" He shrugged and realized from her expression that something more was required of him.
"The willow won't hurt me. The plants are my friends. They understand me." He felt Lily's hand slip into his and Severus gently bump into his shoulder. Silent reminders that they were there for him too. He watched as McGonagall pursed her mouth closed in anger before she said
"Twenty point from Hufflepuff Mr. Broadmoor for endangering yourself and your classmates. You will write a three foot essay about why you didn't heed the warnings you were given about the Whomping Willow." He glared at her then. The willow would never hurt him. Not even with the new awareness he could feel coming from it. Why didn't she understand? His head of house stood in the background wringing her hands for a moment before she asked
"What spell did you use on the Whomping Willow lad? It won't respond to any of the charms we put in place to allow the Hogwarts staff to freeze it in the event of an emergency." Rowan looked at her like she had grown a second head. Charms? He had only learned three of four charms and only the levitation charm worked reliably for him but still he didn't say anything. Unfortunately Lily wasn't about to let the professors just gang up on him. She got right indignant on his behalf and said waspish tone to her voice
"He didn't do any charm. We told you that he was upset and lost control of his magic. We told you that the willow absorbed the magic that came off of Rowan and we told you that the tree changed when he passed out. That it gathered up Rowan and pulled him close to the trunk and violently kept everyone back. Even Professor Dumbledore. Why don't you believe us?" Rowan looked at Lily in awe, he had managed to make the tree change? His magic had broken all the charms that the teachers had placed on the willow to protect the tunnel underneath and turned what was once a safe and nearly docile set of magics into the angry protective force he could feel behind him? Rowan was impressed with himself in spite of the trouble he was in. He saw McGonagall pinch her nose before saying her tone exasperated
"Ms Evans, magic simply does not work like that." Rowan frowned at that and said
"My families magic does work like that though, and has for eight hundred years. We are wild mages and rarely have the ability to use magic like Hogwarts does. Until I came here I've never seen magic used how it's taught here." McGonagall's looked changed from exasperation into contemplation before she said
"I will contact your parents and discuss this with them. Until such time as I have spoken with them the punishment still stands and the essay will be turned in. As for you Ms Evans and you Mr Snape, ten points each for being out of your common rooms and out of doors past curfew. I will escort all three of your to your dormitories and I expect you to stay there. Am I understood?" Rowan nodded and saw Lily and Severus doing the same thing out of the corner of his eye. He had a feeling that they would be having a long talk about all of this later, but for now all was right with their friendship. Rowan let a small smile slide across his face as they followed McGonagall back into the castle.