Is The Whomping Willow In Hogwarts Legacy?
The Whomping Willow is perhaps the most dangerous plant in the Harry Potter and Hogwarts Legacy universe. If you've been a fan of the monstrous tree ever since Harry and Ron crash-landed the Ford Anglia into it, stick around. We'll let you know if you can find the iconic leafed beast in Hogwarts Legacy.
- Plants like the Venemous Tentacula can be a useful combat tool in Hogwarts Legacy. Check out our guide to the Venemous Tentacula for more details on the acid spraying plant.
Is The Whomping Willow In Hogwarts Legacy?
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There are many set pieces in Hogwarts Legacy that are a nice nod to the original Harry Potter franchise such as Peeves the poltergeist (who unfortunately never made it into the final cut of the films), the Room of Requirement, the one-eyed witch passage to Honeydukes, the prefect's bathroom where Harry took the golden egg from the Triwizard tournament, just to name a few.
There's even a quest to 'Follow the Butterflies', a humorous call-back to Ron's horror at following the spiders in the Forbidden Forest during the Chamber of Secrets film.
Unfortunately, there is no Whomping Willow in Hogwarts Legacy among the many other connections and references throughout the game.
Hogwarts Legacy pre-dates Harry Potter by 100 years or so, taking place in the late 1800s. As such, this was before The Whomping Willow was originally planted in 1971.
This is a great shame as we would have loved to explore the secret passageway underneath the willow into the Shrieking Shack, but alas, this is one Harry Potter easter egg unlikely to show up in future Hogwarts Legacy sequels.
What Is The Whomping Willow?
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The Whomping Willow is an extremely valuable and dangerous plant. The Willow's branches act as arms which will lash out at anyone foolish enough to get close enough. After a student lost an eye playing too close to the tree, students were banned from getting near it on the Hogwarts school grounds.
The Willow was planted in 1971 – the year Remus Lupin attended Hogwarts. The Whomping Willow was planted to disguise the passageway into the Shrieking Shack, a building in Hogsmeade where Lupin would go during his transformation nights.
The Shrieking Shack earnt its name and haunted reputation from the sounds of Lupin's howls as he transformed into a werewolf each month.
The Whomping Willow has a curious feature. There is a knot by the base of its trunk which when pressed, would immobilise the tree and allow passage into its base. Peter Pettigrew would transform into a rat and press the knot to allow the rest of the marauders in.
The tree also played a titular role in the feud between James Potter and Severus Snape when Sirius told Snape how to get past the tree and ambushed him with a fully transformed Lupin. James then saved Snape's life, earning him a lifetime of hate towards the life debt.
- Plants like the Mandrake can be a useful combat tool in Hogwarts Legacy to stun enemies. Check out our guide to Mandrake locations in Hogwarts Legacy for more details.
