Chapter 44: Dumbledore Feels Mentally Exhausted

“Oh! My Merlin!”

Hagrid stood dazed on the path, clutching bags of food. He was coming from the grounds, preparing to patrol the school and the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest.

There were always some young wizards who liked to appear in this area.

He enjoyed patrolling the surroundings while snacking.

But today was, without a doubt, the most shocking day since he had become the Keeper of Keys and Grounds!

He saw a massive tree sprite!

And standing beneath the tree monster was a student, who not only hadn't been harmed but was behaving extremely submissively!

“What on earth is this thing?” Hagrid set down the food and tried to approach Chu Yang. However, the Whomping Willow mistook his movement for an attempt to harm Chu Yang and swung back, sending the giant-blooded Hagrid flying!

Hagrid landed directly in a nearby thicket.

Seeing Hagrid get knocked away, Chu Yang cut off his output of magic. He angrily grabbed a branch of the Whomping Willow and snapped, “Stop hitting people every time you move!”

The interruption of magic caused the newly "intelligent" Whomping Willow to feel panic and rage. Instinctively, it used its branches to entwine Chu Yang, forcing him to produce more magic to feed it.

“You only get what I’m willing to give you. If I don't want to give it, you'll just have to wait patiently!” In his past life, what Chu Yang hated most were pets that were well-fed daily but turned on their masters at critical moments.

Whenever he saw a dog guarding its food, Chu Yang would beat it until it understood who the master was!

Taking advantage of the moment Hagrid was stuck in the bushes, Chu Yang tore through the branches wrapped around him, leaped toward the Whomping Willow, and delivered a heavy, powerful [Shark-Scale Straight Punch] directly against its trunk!

*Crack!*

The body of the Whomping Willow shattered like a broken mirror, with countless cracks spiderwebbing out from the imprint of Chu Yang's fist.

The fear of death caused the Whomping Willow's newborn "intelligence" to sense a profound threat. Like an animal, it trembled and prostrated itself on the ground in submission.

Only then did Chu Yang spare its life.

He used his magic to help heal the cracks on its surface—a classic "carrot and stick" approach.

“It’s got quite a bit of strength,” Hagrid groaned as he crawled out of the bushes.

Even with his physique, the blow had left him feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

However, his curiosity about the Whomping Willow caused him to temporarily ignore his physical discomfort as he stumbled toward them.

“Can you make your pet calm down? I mean no harm!” Hagrid shouted toward Chu Yang.

“It’s fine, come over here!” Chu Yang explained. “This is the school's Whomping Willow, not my pet.”

“Whomping Willow?” Hagrid stared dumbfoundedly at the tree, which had swelled to nearly twice its original size, and muttered, “Are you joking with me? This thing can't be a Whomping Willow... it's more like a Murdering Willow...”

Hearing Hagrid's rather unfriendly remark, the Whomping Willow swayed its massive body in protest.

“Oh! Oh! Calm down! Calm down!”

Hagrid raised his hands high in a plea for mercy; he didn't want to get smacked again.

A second later, the Whomping Willow went quiet.

“It can understand me?” Hagrid froze for a moment before a look of pure ecstasy broke across his face. “It’s actually communicating with me! This goes beyond the realm of plants—it’s an animal! A magical creature!”

As a fanatic enthusiast of magical creatures, Hagrid instantly took a liking to this giant tree, magnanimously forgiving its previous attempt to strike him!

*Spanking is affection, and scolding is love—it was just a little way for 'it' to act spoiled with me. It didn't even hurt!* Hagrid thought, grimacing as he pressed his wounds.

He rushed to Chu Yang's side, hugged the tree trunk, and rubbed against it contentedly.

It was pure creep behavior, making Chu Yang's skin crawl.

The Whomping Willow also seemed displeased; it swayed its massive frame and shook itself vigorously, like a dog shaking off fleas, trying to dislodge Hagrid.

Hagrid tumbled and rolled onto the ground, looking up with a wince.

He noticed that Chu Yang was being tightly protected by the branches and was perfectly fine.

“How can it treat us differently?” Hagrid looked at the tree with profound heartache. He had been the one to let go of a grudge, so why hadn't he reaped any benefits?

Under the glow of the setting sun, several figures were approaching.

“Mr. Chu Yang, I am glad to see you are safe, but could you explain why the Whomping Willow I planted with my own hands has turned into this?” Dumbledore, dressed in silver robes, walked forward slowly, followed by Professor McGonagall.

Chu Yang jumped down from the tree and bowed slightly to Dumbledore. “I am not entirely sure of the specific reason, but it should be my magic affecting it, Headmaster Dumbledore.”

“Magic?” Dumbledore seemed to realize something, his expression turning complex. “It seems we still lack a necessary understanding of your magic. We underestimated its influence on plants, especially rare magical plants.”

“When Sprout mentioned your performance at the wand shop, I should have considered this possibility. It was my oversight...”

As he spoke, Dumbledore walked toward the Whomping Willow, his starlit eyes observing its condition intently.

Professor McGonagall and Chu Yang followed quietly behind him.

After a day of constant shocks, the elderly Deputy Headmistress looked physically and mentally exhausted.

Professor McGonagall looked as though she had aged several years.

She didn't have the energy to argue logic with Chu Yang, but she still offered a word of praise: “In a moment of crisis, you left the chance to escape to your classmates and drew the Whomping Willow away by yourself. While somewhat reckless, it is a very noble quality. Therefore, Slytherin receives ten points.”

Dumbledore suddenly turned back with a smile. “I personally give Slytherin another ten points. You did not disappoint me, Mr. Chu Yang.”

Chu Yang shrugged. “Thank you for your generosity, Headmaster and Professor. I think the Slytherin students will be very happy.”

“Yesterday it was the Sorting Hat, and today it is the Whomping Willow. You always manage to surprise me. However, Mr. Chu Yang, I sincerely hope to hear news of you attending classes quietly tomorrow. That is the wish of a centenarian.”

The kindly Dumbledore suddenly turned serious, issuing a warning: “And don't let your classmates sleep on the floor anymore. If this continues, the beds in the second-floor infirmary will soon run out!”

“In just two days, the Slytherin patients alone have made the infirmary overcrowded! Are you trying to paralyze the school hospital?”

Chu Yang shrugged, looking utterly innocent. “I can't make the decision on that. It depends on whether they can behave. After all, I'm not the one picking fights, and you're the one telling me to fight back—unless you get me a single dormitory.”

Dumbledore was momentarily speechless, feeling a profound sense of mental fatigue.

He felt that perhaps he shouldn't have encouraged Chu Yang to go to Slytherin in the first place.

He had originally thought that Chu Yang would use his talent to gradually change Slytherin's perception of Muggles and reshape their self-important pride, but he hadn't expected the boy to use his fists!

Fighting was also a talent, and a simple, violent one at that!

A wizard who solves problems with fists instead of a wand...

He was essentially a melee wizard.