"Puppets essentially still belong to the first type I described, because once they're no longer under my control, they can only perform repetitive, mechanical actions."
Scott continued.
"The only difference is that, compared with this sparrow, a puppet's movements have one additional basis for making decisions: time."
His gaze returned to the dancing puppets.
"In my theory, only 'works' with a certain degree of independent movement belong to the second type. These Transfiguration 'works' wouldn't need a wizard to control them constantly, which would make them much more practical."
He added with some frustration, "Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out the trick to making them."
As he spoke, he looked at Dumbledore, waiting for his assessment.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "You put that very well, Scott."
He pointed to the sparrow Fred was holding.
"I can tell that you have a very solid grasp of the fundamentals of Transfiguration."
"I've been working on that all along." Scott wasn't modest. "I think this foundational knowledge is very important. It determines how far I'll be able to go in the future."
Dumbledore looked at him approvingly. "You're right. To be honest, I've never met a young wizard like you. The other children are always eager to pursue spells that seem more powerful."
He winked at the three boys. "But I want you to understand this: a wizard's strength doesn't depend solely on the spells he knows, and a wizard's greatness isn't achieved through powerful magic alone."
Scott and the twins all nodded as they listened.
Dumbledore didn't seem to mind whether they understood what he meant. He turned the conversation back to Transfiguration.
"Transfiguration is also one of my strongest branches of magic. When your Professor McGonagall was a student, I was her Transfiguration professor." He spoke as if reminiscing about the