"Old and Valuable" Whomping Willow - But Why?

[davewitley]

No: HPFGUIDX 109571

Brenda wrote:

> Apologies for lack of exact quotation, but when Snape is lecturing 
> them about damaging the Whomping Willow, he describes it as "old 
and 
> valuable".  Also Harry's description has it "ancient tree".
> 
> But why?

I can't speak about the age (see Duffy Poo's post) but surely it is 
valuable because Harry has damaged it?  Snape wants to magnify the 
seriousness of what Harry and Ron have done, so suddenly the tree 
is 'very valuable'.  If it had been Draco who had smashed into it, 
no doubt Snape would have stressed the resilience of the tree 
instead.

Its magical qualities may make it valuable, too, as we don't know 
how easy they are to grow.

David