Although the freshmen all looked bewildered, completely failing to understand the meaning of the principal's strange last sentence.
But they were soon drawn in by the enticing aroma and rushed toward the table full of delicious food.
Last year's upheaval was caused by Draco's sudden Gryffindor, so this year has been relatively peaceful.
Therefore, people pay close attention to Dumbledore's words.
Many students looked at each other, wondering to themselves: Is this really the principal's speech? It sounds rather strange, even like he just rambled on.
It wasn't until Percy solemnly told everyone that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of the century that everyone immediately realized the truth.
The words of a great wizard naturally have profound meaning; perhaps they are subtly guiding them.
For a moment, many people frowned and pondered seriously, as if those few words contained some philosophy of life.
Draco, watching from the side, almost burst out laughing, silently thinking to himself: Sure enough, once someone has absolute power, they can find a great debater to argue about anything.
Hermione looked at the table full of fragrant food, but instead of immediately picking up her knife and fork, she asked Draco earnestly:
"Do you think... there was any deeper meaning behind Dumbledore's words just now?"
"I do have some ideas," Draco nodded.
"Tell me quickly! What do you mean?" Lavender was also looking for some fun.
"Personal opinion, for reference only," Draco stated beforehand.
" Old Dumbledore?" Lavender asked, looking puzzled.
"Yes, Old Dumbledore is Dumbledore," Draco quickly explained, then waved his hand hastily, "Don't interrupt, everyone, don't mind me, I'm about to start rambling..."
"No, I need to start analyzing."
Draco changed his tune.
When everyone heard you say, "I'm going to start talking nonsense," they were all speechless.
"What nonsense! Be serious!" Hermione smacked Draco.
Ron looked at him suspiciously. "You're not really going to make this up, are you?"
"If you dare to talk nonsense, we'll believe you wholeheartedly." As Draco's loyal defender, Lavender naturally couldn't believe everything he said.
Draco coughed twice and said, "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue—it's in-depth analysis, not nonsense."
"They all sound pretty much the same to me anyway," Olivia said.
Draco suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, these four words can be put together to form a sentence."
"What did you say?" Harry pressed.
Draco said with feigned seriousness, "If you're an idiot and a crybaby, you're probably not even worth ashes, and I'll twist your head off."
Upon hearing this, Harry's face immediately darkened, and Hermione covered her eyes with her hands.
"You're really exaggerating!" Ron almost slid off the bench.
Neville was so shocked that he dropped the bread in his hand, feeling an indescribable sense of astonishment: How could the headmaster say such a thing?
Lavender and Parvati were both blushing from trying not to laugh.
Even Olivia, who was standing next to her, was stunned, then burst out laughing.
Draco quickly waved his hands. "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, I wasn't mocking anyone, I was just repeating the four words in sequence."
Harry then realized what was happening, awkwardly scratching his forehead with his index finger, feeling both amused and exasperated.
Hermione sighed and rubbed her forehead before Draco could finish speaking, "I knew you couldn't say anything serious..."
The people around him were all laughing so hard they were doubled over. No one expected that the principal's profound words, which had just been so enigmatic, would turn into insults the next second.
Draco smiled faintly at everyone's reaction. "Don't worry, that was just an appetizer, a joke."
Draco leaned forward, his gaze hardening. "Now—I'm going to begin the real performance."
" Old Dumbledore only has four words in total. If we force an interpretation, they correspond to the four houses. It seems that this Old Dumbledore has high hopes for each house." Draco continued the conversation.
As soon as he finished speaking, several people at the Hufflepuff table not far ahead stopped eating and pricked up their ears to listen.
"What do you mean by that?" Harry turned to ask him.
Draco analyzed slowly and methodically:
"Those who get into Ravenclaw are naturally bright and exceptionally intelligent. Old Dumbledore calling them 'stupid' is a reminder not to get carried away by their intelligence, not to actually make stupid mistakes, and to use their intelligence in the right way."
Everyone blinked; it sounded a bit far-fetched, but also seemed plausible.
"As for crying, that describes us Gryffindor." Draco glanced at the group of people around him.
"He's naturally bold and fearless, but when faced with real trouble, he gets flustered and scared. He's telling us not to be weak, not to shed tears, but to be truly brave."
After he finished speaking, the people around him nodded, gradually taking it in and finding it increasingly reasonable.
Harry's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but answer first:
"That remnant... does it correspond to Slytherin? Quite a few dark wizards have come from there, and the professor was telling them not to become... not to go in other bad directions."
Harry stopped mid-sentence, swallowing back the word "residue".
Hermione nodded slightly and continued with the last one:
"That 'nian' probably refers to the Hufflepuff. They are upright, reliable, and stubborn; perhaps the hope is that while they stay true to themselves, they also know how to be flexible."
After this explanation, a crowd had already gathered around.
The upperclassmen nearby all put down their cutlery, and even the Ravenclaw table had people leaning over to listen, wishing they could just move to the Gryffindor table.
After Draco's explanation, everyone had only one thought in their minds: Headmaster Dumbledore is indeed unfathomable.
Even the usually serious Percy murmured in admission, "... there is some truth to that."
Ron slapped his thigh, almost knocking over his cup in excitement. "It's connected! Everything's connected! A school principal like that is no ordinary person!"
"A few simple words perfectly pinpointed the problems and goals of all four of our colleges!"
For a moment, the entire area around the Gryffindor table was immersed in an atmosphere of "enlightenment".
Draco sighed inwardly: So all that serious analysis I did, and nobody praised me?
" Draco, your explanation of the House just now was absolutely brilliant! I was completely engrossed!"
Lavender still needs to make an appearance.
Draco instantly regained his composure, smiling faintly, "You... have good taste."
He gestured for everyone's attention to return to him:
"Everyone, don't rush to eat. That was just the second hypothesis. Now I have a third conjecture. Would you like to hear it and give it some consideration?"
Everyone around was stunned by these words.
They all stared wide-eyed, their expressions clearly saying:
What did you say? There can be a third way? Are you even normal?
Hermione couldn't resist her curiosity and poked him, asking, "Just how much stuff is in your head...? You're not going to do something reckless like the first one, are you?"
"Absolutely not," Draco said mysteriously. "But after hearing this, you might... find everyone unpleasant."
"Tell me! Tell me now!" Ron perked up instantly at this, throwing his bread aside. "I love hearing this!"
Everyone else was also completely captivated by the curiosity, forgetting all about the meal and the feast.
Everyone craned their necks and stared intently, afraid of missing a single word, as if missing even one word would mean a year of regret.
The liveliest spot in the Great Hall had become --
Draco Malfoy's exclusive analysis of Dumbledore's live press conference.