Dumbledore stood at the edge of the coast, sunlight spilling over his silver-white long hair, a gentle breeze brushing by. Fox perched quietly on his shoulder. His gaze fell upon the two children before him.
A girl named Xiao Ya, and a boy named Odin. When he heard the name "Odin," a faint, barely perceptible flash of realization crossed his eyes.
No one knew what Dumbledore was thinking.
Nor did anyone know what he understood.
Of course.
At this moment, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest White Wizard of later generations, seemed to suddenly change his prior judgment due to realizations of his own. Dumbledore's blue eyes flickered behind his half-moon glasses, and a slight, contemplative smile appeared on his lips.
"Do you want to learn magic?"
He looked down at the boy named Odin, his voice suddenly becoming light and cheerful.
"Really? Can I really learn magic and become a wizard like Ian?" Odin's eyes widened with joy he could hardly contain.
Upon hearing this.
Dumbledore nodded, his mouth bearing that characteristic benevolent and mysterious smile: "Yes, I think... there might be differences, but you may truly become a wizard."
At this moment, his tone was quite intriguing. The little boy Odin's silver-gray eyes lit up instantly, completely forgetting that moments ago the old man had said he had no magic power.
Xiao Ya eagerly grabbed the corner of Dumbledore's robe.
"What about me? What about me?"
She was naturally curious about the mysterious power Ian had demonstrated earlier, but unlike Odin, she simply wanted to fly straight into the sky like Ian.
"Of course, you can try too," the old man said gently, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes, "I've been a teacher for half a century, and I always liked inquisitive children."
This indeed was true.
Few people knew.
At least at Hogwarts, few people knew that Professor Albus Dumbledore's teaching career was actually quite lengthy, it's just that everyone had grown accustomed to his time as headmaster.
Xiao Ya burst into a radiant smile, her eyes sparkling: "So what is magic like? Is it like Ian said, can it let you fly and defeat giant dragons?"
Odin immediately nodded in agreement: "Yeah, yeah, Ian said, wizards are the most powerful beings, they can summon storms, wield flames, and even revive the dead!"
Indeed.
About the Wizarding World.
The two children were also very curious.
"In this respect, Ian himself may not realize, reviving the dead, even using Dark Arts, isn't something every wizard can achieve."
Dumbledore smiled faintly upon hearing this, not immediately correcting them, but slowly sat on a smooth rock.
He conjured two comfortable wicker chairs and a small round table, on which was placed a plate of candies that transformed shapes on their own, and gestured for the two children to sit down.
"Wow! There's food too!"
"Magic! This is magic! I love magic!" The two children immediately sat around the chairs in front of the beach, faces lifted in anticipation of this stranger's introduction.
"First," he sat across from them, lightly tapping his wand on the table, "Can anyone tell me, what do you think magic is?"
Xiao Ya bit her finger and thought for a moment: "Is it... the power to make things fly?"
"It's the power to defeat giant dragons!" Odin couldn't wait to shout, waving his wooden stick, "Ian said, the most powerful wizard can summon Ultraman Tiga."
Though he didn't know what Ultraman Tiga was, it didn't stop the little boy from feeling its awe-inspiring greatness, mainly because Ian's tone at the time had truly touched his heart.
Dumbledore chuckled lightly, his eyes behind the lenses joyfully squinting: "Both answers are wonderful. Magic certainly can allow one to do these things, but it goes far beyond." He took off his glasses and wiped them, exposing fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, "Magic is an energy that exists around us, as natural as the wind, sunlight, and moonlight."
"Magic," Dumbledore slowly spoke, his voice gentle as a spring breeze, "is not the miracles you imagine. It's a way of understanding the world, a language resonating with nature."
Leading little ones who don't understand magic into the Magic World was something Dumbledore had much experience in, after all, Hogwarts yearly admitted quite a few students from Muggle families.
Especially at the beginning of the century, in times lacking literary works and film, the knowledge of magic within Muggle World little wizards wasn't much more than in this era.
Xiao Ya blinked: "Language?"
"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, "Just like you speak, but woven with thoughts, emotions, and willpower. Behind every spell is ancient knowledge and power."
Odin curiously asked: "Then how do you learn it? Do you have to remember lots of words first?"
"Memory is indeed important," Dumbledore smiled, "but understanding is even more vital. For example, the spell Fluorescent Flickering means to illuminate the light. If you simply chant the words mechanically, without a true desire to see the light, it won't activate."
Xiao Ya frowned in thought for a while: "So, is magic actually turning thoughts into reality?"
"Very close," Dumbledore approvingly looked at her, "Magic is a dialogue between the heart and the world. When your heart is firm enough, your desires are clear enough, the world will respond to you."