While reading Why wasn’t the Whomping Willow passage guarded? I started wondering, how did Lupin get to the Shack? I think it was described that Peter need to disable it as a rat for the rest of Marauders but Lupin would be too big both in his human and werewolf form.
asked Feb 23, 2018 at 1:54
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2 Answers
Someone could have poked the knot with a long stick.
Sirius had told Snape that he could get in the Whomping Willow by poking the knot with a long stick.
“Sirius thought it would be – er – amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree-trunk with a long stick, and he’d be able to get in after me.”
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 18 (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs)
Presumably that’s how Lupin got in as well, either by doing it himself or having someone else (like Madam Pomfrey or Dumbledore) press it for him. It’s not certain that this is how Lupin got in since there may be other ways to press the knot without getting hit by the Whomping Willow, but this is at least one known way to do it.
Lupin went in human - he transformed in the Shrieking Shack.
Lupin never went in or out of the tunnel while he was in werewolf form. He only went through when he was in human form. He went through the tunnel to get to the Shrieking Shack before he transformed so he’d be safely away from people, then he only came back to Hogwarts when it was no longer a full moon and he’d turned back into a human.
“Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous.”
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 18 (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs)
He spent the entire time he was transformed into a werewolf in the Shrieking Shack (or roaming around with Sirius, James, and Peter). If he was in werewolf form, he wouldn’t be taking the tunnel anyway, so it didn’t matter that he wouldn’t fit through then.
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4The comment about poking with a long stick applies to the prank pulled on Snape, but that doesn't mean Lupin went in that way. There are any number of spells that can be used to "press" something, e.g. levitating a rock onto it, applying a tiny amount of force to "push" it, etc.– DariMCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 3:37
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@DariM Thanks, I’ve edited my answer! I’m not sure if a spell would work to press the knot - it may, but it’s also possible it can’t be “activated” without physically touching it.– ObsidiaCommented Feb 23, 2018 at 3:47
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I was wondering too until I read on in the final chapter of the book; It answers the question in The Prisoner of Azkaban when Harry and Hermione go back and time and watch Lupin and then Snape that used a stick to prod the knot.
