 Wowza!
The Whomping Willow's enthusiastic response nearly made him flinch, but Levi managed to keep himself in place as he saw icicles hit his arms, chest and shoulders. But with the invisibility armor still in place, they bounced back and shattered, landing at his feet. Though it was true that one of the smallest, sharpest bits managed to sting his bottom lip, and when the boy tentatively licked it, he tasted the warm, cooper-y flavour of blood.
It could have been worse.
Some of the chunk that landed elsewhere thumped against something nearby that drew his attention at once. Chancing a look at the tree, Levi headed over to the new discovery and noted it was cauldron. More interesting than the cauldron itself, however, was the note that lay within, which he was quick to retrieve. Levi grabbed the note with one hand and dragged the cauldron with the other, back to his previous and safe spot by the large stone.
He'd previously been asking for instructions and he'd received them, funnily enough. As dangerous as the instructions were, the note carried them and well--it still was not a dementor, so that was--fine. Finding the path beneath the Whomping Willow was not the sixth year's idea of a picnic but it was still okay. Bruises, a concussion, and broken bones were painful choices but better than a body without a soul, after all.
Levi moved to set the cauldron on a workstation nearby that he could have sworn wasn't there before but suddenly very much was. Not dwelling on it was difficult but there were more pressing matters at hand; understanding, for one, was slowly making its way to him. A cauldron, a workstation and what appeared to be potion ingredients were hanging off the tree, and it became clear to him that a potion had to be brewed. He supposed that he could easily just head straight for the passage; but disregarding what was clearly a sign for him to get to brewing would be unacceptable, and would probably cost him points.
There was a very slim chance he could get a hold of the ingredients, however, as long as the branches kept moving. Not only could they potentially be destroyed by the violent trashing, armor or not he would get caught and hurt by the branches as well. The invisible armor was only temporary and he could already feel it begin dull around his calves and lower back. Getting the Willow stop moving was the goal, but if he could ensure nothing--or no one, namely himself--could be hurt too badly if that wasn't achieved, then he'd work around it.
"Spongify," He cast at the tree's branches and fortified it by sending cushioning charms its way, too. But the only way to get the old tree to still itself was by finding the nod near its base. And it wasn't like he could just waltz in with his pretty face and carefully examine the whole base until he found what he was looking for. An invisible shield, cushioning charms and softening charms would hopefully keep fractured ribs at bay, but the violence and speed in which the branches moved would keep him from getting close.
He took a step forward, then paused. Levi supposed launching stones at the base's general direction with a levitation charm ought to eventually do the trick; but that would be time consuming and would cost him energy and focus he needed for more important matters. In fact, so long as the tree wasn't fast with its thumping, he could probably zig zag his way to its base and work as fast as he could to find the small nod.
So.
The softening and cushioned charms hopefully had worked, but the tree still needed to be slowed down and he needed to be fast. It was a gamble, sure, and he fully expected to be knocked down on his backside even if it worked, but as long as it wasn't anything brutal or that would incapacitate him--
He pointed his wand at the tree and declared, "Arresto momentum."
__________________  |