For the first time they met, Dumbledore tempered all ease, regarding Elena sitting directly in front of him with earnestness.
At this moment, the silver-haired young girl, embarrassed by her prior slip of the tongue, wore a bashful expression on her face, clumsily fumbling and appearing awkward, eliciting a silent chuckle inadvertently.
However...
Dumbledore's gaze lingered upon the girl's lake-blue, beautiful eyes. Besides a hint of regret and nervousness, they held a purity akin to untouched autumn waters.
Whether it was Fawkes the phoenix, the portraits on the walls, or the slowly restoring magical furnishings, they didn't elicit any particular fascination in her eyes. Her emotional shifts stemmed more from the events than the world around her.
Finally understanding Professor McGonagall and the subtle dissonance in facing Elena, Dumbledore realized she was remarkably composed.
As a child from the non-magical world, Elena seemed to lack any reverence or fear towards the unknown magical realm. Even with prior knowledge of the wizarding world, firsthand experience differed substantially.
"I'm curious..." Dumbledore pushed his half-moon spectacles up his nose, speaking slowly. "If I'm not mistaken, this should be your first encounter with a phoenix. Aren't you afraid of its flames and the sudden appearances and disappearances of magic?"
"Afraid? Why should I be?" The silver-haired young girl glanced at Fawkes, tilting her head in puzzlement. "Flames are merely a natural phenomenon emitting light and heat. Precisely speaking, isn't combustion just a heat-producing reaction between combustible materials and oxidants? As for spatial transference..."
Pausing, Elena recollected the scene of Fawkes vanishing and reappearing, hesitatingly adding, "The sound produced during such an occurrence resembles the bursting of compressed air due to vacuum. I guess this might be closer to short-distance curvature jumps? But, it's truly beautiful."
Oxidants? Heat-producing reactions? Vacuum? Curvature jumps?
Hearing Elena's response, Dumbledore found himself even more perplexed. If not for the girl's earnest expression, he might have thought she suddenly spoke an incomprehensible, esoteric language.
"So, is this how Muggles perceive magic now?"
After a moment of silence, Dumbledore rubbed his brow once more, rephrasing his question. "Professor Dumbledore, you might have misconstrued things a bit. It's not about how we perceive magic; this is merely a fundamental cognitive process. Unlike wizards, whose understanding of the world resembles inherited stories, the non-magical world tries to grasp the essence of the world bit by bit through meticulous fields like chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and more..."
Perhaps people from the medieval era would have been astonished and bewildered by spontaneously arising flames, considering turning water into wine a miracle, limited by their cognitive and conceptual constraints.
Superstition and religion clouded their vision, leading them to perceive wizards as devilish or divine messengers rather than equal beings.
The oldest and most intense human emotion is fear, rooted in the unknown. Magic, an inexplicable unknown beyond human common sense, had undoubtedly been the most robust barrier between the non-magical and magical realms.
However, times have changed.
Modern science bestows upon humanity not just knowledge but a way of perceiving the unknown.
With the advancement of human science, the scope covered by "common sense" has expanded, allowing reasonable conjectures and explanations for most unknown phenomena.
For instance, when a modern person witnesses someone conjuring flames out of thin air on the street, they're more likely to perceive it as an artistic performance, applauding with admiration while curiously speculating on the method behind it.
In Elena's view, magic is merely an undetected energy source. While she might not fully comprehend it based on her past learning, with a few temporary black box theories added, without delving into the internal structure and relationships of magic, analyzing it based on its input-output features isn't challenging.
Observing the silver-haired girl speaking confidently, Dumbledore suddenly realized that Elena's level of understanding of the magical phenomena before her wasn't hindered by her knowledge of the wizarding world.
More precisely, she used a Muggle mindset to a certain extent to explain magical occurrences in her mind. Though possibly inaccurate, it was enough to dispel her fear and reverence for unknown magic.
In a trance, Dumbledore seemed to see a shadow of the same confident white-haired man in Elena.
He appeared to have returned to decades ago, during a conversation that only he knew about when he imprisoned Gellert Grindelwald in the highest tower of Nurmengard - Grindelwald's "prophecy."
...
1945, the top floor of Nurmengard's tower.
Defeated in the duel, Grindelwald didn't display the hysteria and despair one might expect.
He maintained his composed and elegant demeanor, calmly gazing at Dumbledore standing before him, as though it were merely a chat between friends rather than a final farewell before eternal confinement.
"You can imprison me, Albus, but you cannot confine the spread of thoughts."
"I admit I underestimated the Muggles' potential, yet this precisely illustrates that they might be more formidable than the prophecy I envisioned."
"Wizards have missed the best opportunity to take center stage. I'd rather see Muggles, driven by fear and the unknown, lose their rationality like enraged little beasts, instead of waiting for them to, after careful consideration, launch a dignified war against us, similar to how we treat all intelligent magical species."
"My revolution failed, and you're not someone who can change the wizarding world. But I believe that with your strength, you're capable of safeguarding the entire magical community."
"However, someday, there will emerge a young person who profoundly comprehends the merits and demerits of both worlds, not inclined to power, possessing the potential comparable to yours and mine, likely to influence and guide the discourse of both the magical and non-magical worlds."
"When they appear, ensure they stand by our side, and in your way, try to influence and teach them as much as possible. Enable them to assist in the harmonious collision and fusion of the two worlds, allowing the wizarding civilization to proudly continue in this world."
"We both know I didn't yield to your power willingly and confine myself in this tower."
"But for... a greater good! (For The Greater Good!)"
"Promise me! Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!"
"..."
Dumbledore raised his head, Grindelwald's image reflected in his eyes.
"I will, if everything happens as you say."
...