Dumbledore wore a deep purple robe, his white beard hung down to his chest, and half-moon spectacles sat on his nose.
He was looking down at a book in front of him when he heard Herman's footsteps. He looked up, his bright blue eyes peering out from behind his glasses, and a slight smile curved his lips.
" Mr. Horace, please have a seat." Dumbledore gestured to the chair across the table, a hint of apologetic smile in his voice. "I'm so sorry, I've been too busy lately and forgot to have Professor Flitwick tell you the password. Luckily, Madam Derwent came in and told me you were outside, otherwise you would have had to guess the password several more times."
Herman sat down in the chair, put his schoolbag on his lap, and then realized that he hadn't guessed right, but that Dumbledore had opened the door on his own initiative.
Herman looked up at the portrait behind Dumbledore and saw an elegant lady nodding at him. Herman recognized the lady from the portrait in the corridor; she must be the Madam Derwent that Dumbledore had mentioned. Herman quickly smiled and thanked her.
Then he said to Dumbledore, "I thought I was right."
Dumbledore chuckled, "Actually, knowing the password isn't very useful. Only those I approve of can enter, like Professor McGonagall. She can just say 'candy' and get in, even when I'm not at the school."
Okay, so the so-called password setting was just a joke.
That makes sense, just like the Ministry of Magic's appointment of the headmaster later. Ultimately, one must be approved; you can't just enter the room with some kind of password.
Dumbledore put down his book, leaned back in his chair, and looked up at Herman. His gaze lingered on Herman's face for a moment, as if confirming something. Then he picked up a small silver box from the table, opened the lid, and found a row of brown candies inside. He picked one up and put it in his mouth, then pushed the box toward Herman.
"Want one? Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans other candies. But what I like most is that you never know what flavor you'll get before you eat it, just like fate, unpredictable."
Herman glanced at the candies. Although he hadn't tasted any bad ones yet, he wasn't really a child, and he hadn't come here to eat candy. So he shook his head and said, "Thank you, Headmaster, but I won't eat any for now."
Dumbledore didn't insist. He took the box back, picked up another one, and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, his white beard moved up and down with it.
" Professor Flitwick told me a lot about you." He chewed on a candy first, making sure it wasn't something strange, then continued, his tone as gentle as ever, as if he were talking about something that pleased him. "He said your talent is extremely rare, the ability to manipulate objects directly without spells or wands. He also mentioned your outstanding performance in Transfiguration and Charms, and your control over magic far surpasses that of your peers."
Herman nodded, not in a hurry to speak.
Dumbledore continued, "I think you remember the first time we met, oh, you didn't see me then, you were teaching some Muggle who wanted to attack you a lesson in the alley."
He spoke in the same tone as usual, but Herman's back tensed slightly.
"Later I told you that your talent was excellent, but within reasonable limits." Dumbledore's gaze lingered on Herman's face for a moment. "Now it seems that my assessment of you at the time may have been too simplistic."
Herman's heart raced a little, but his expression remained unchanged.
" Professor Flitwick mentioned that you began trying to further refine this talent of yours, but progress has been slow," Dumbledore continued. "According to Professor Flitwick, you've discovered that you can incorporate certain spells into your talent to increase its power and functionality. This is a very clever approach."
Herman felt much less anxious after hearing Dumbledore's words; it seemed they were really just discussing his magical talent.
" Professor Flitwick thinks highly of you." Dumbledore put down the silver box in his hand, interlaced his fingers on the table, and looked at Herman through his glasses with that familiar, gentle smile on his lips. "He believes your talent deserves deeper guidance, which is why I invited you here."
He paused, as if giving Herman time to process what he had just heard.
" Hogwarts ' curriculum is designed for most students, but there are always some young wizards whose talents exceed the scope of the regular curriculum. For such students, I usually spend some extra time talking to them and seeing what I can teach them."
Upon hearing these words, Herman's tension completely eased, and he looked at Dumbledore with a respectful and earnest expression.
"Your innate magical abilities are the focus of my discussion today," Dumbledore said, picking up a silver teacup from the table. He twirled the cup in his hand, the patterns on its surface shimmering in the light. " Professor Flitwick said you're trying to incorporate different spell principles into this ability. He mentioned that you've already grasped the basics of the Levitation Charm and Transfiguration, or rather, that these two spells are the foundation of your talent."
Herman nodded. "Yes, I can control objects to float and Transfiguration at will. The flow of magic when I use them to cast spells is similar to the flow of magic when I cast spells directly using my talent."
Dumbledore put down his teacup and looked at him. "This is a very correct direction. Native magic is essentially your body's natural memory of certain magical pathways. You don't need to deliberately learn it; your body already knows how to proceed."
He raised one hand, palm up, and a silver teaspoon floated up from the table, hovering above his palm, and slowly rotated once.
"Most wizards can only channel magic through spells and wands, but you can invoke magic without a wand. This means you are closer to the essence of magic than ordinary wizards because you have one less intermediary."
The teaspoon landed back on the table with a crisp, soft sound.
"But this also means you need to face a problem earlier than ordinary wizards: how exactly should your magic be used? Ordinary wizards have textbooks to follow, but you don't. You have to forge your own path, or rather, you need to go deeper than other wizards."
Hearing these words, Herman felt that his scattered thoughts had been strung together by Dumbledore's single sentence.
" Professor Flitwick said your spellcasting accuracy in Charms is very high, which is excellent. Accuracy is your greatest strength right now; when your magical power is insufficient, accuracy allows you to do things that others cannot."
Dumbledore's gaze shifted slightly, as if considering his next words. "But you can't rely solely on precision. You need stronger magic, or more diverse methods, to protect yourself when faced with real danger."
Herman looked up at Dumbledore, his deep blue eyes holding something indescribable, like a reminder, or perhaps some deeper consideration.