Chapter 320: Selection of Professors
The Quill of Acceptance seemed to accept everything, recording all people detected with magical power into the Book of Admittance.
But the Book of Admittance was far more strict. It directly erased all names of those exceeding the enrollment age and then reclassified them, ranking them by the time of their enrollment.
The first page recorded was the roster of new students enrolling in September 2961.
Besides young wizards from within the territory, there were also elf children, Dúnedain, and skin-changers recorded together, totaling nearly a hundred people.
Speaking of the Dúnedain, this descendant race of the Númenóreans not only lived long lives with lifespans three times that of ordinary humans, but also possessed magical power.
Like Aragorn, adopted by Elrond, whose ancestor was Elrond's twin brother Elros, carried elf blood in his veins and possessed extraordinary magical power.
When Aragorn turned twenty in 2951, Elrond informed him of his identity and handed over the two heirlooms of the Arnor royal house—the Ring of Barahir and the Sword of Narsil.
By Elrond's request, Kael also personally crafted a wand belonging to Aragorn.
Moreover, Aragorn attended Kael and Arwen's betrothal and wedding ceremonies.
After becoming an adult, Aragorn left Rivendell and returned to the northern Dúnedain settlements, formally assuming the position of chieftain. At the same time, he began wandering Middle-earth as a ranger, adventuring in various places.
The northern Dúnedain under Aragorn's command lived in the Eriador region, conducting themselves secretively with no fixed abode, and were called wanderers by other humans.
As remnants of the Arnor Kingdom, the northern Dúnedain had always taken it upon themselves to guard the old kingdom's lands, secretly maintaining peace and tranquility in the Eriador region.
However, since Kael established his forces at Weathertop, the Eriador region, especially areas near Weathertop, had been blessed with peace. Dark forces like orcs no longer dared to intrude here.
As a result, the northern Dúnedain gradually became even more discreet and low-key in Eriador.
And after the birth of the wizarding group and the establishment of the Ministry of Magic, the Aurors, using Weathertop as their base, even more systematically swept and cleared all destabilizing factors in the surrounding areas, especially dark creatures.
From the north at the Northern Barrow-downs, south to the Southern Barrow-downs, west to the Weathertop mountains, east to the Last Bridge, all became patrolling areas for the Aurors.
Whenever orcs, trolls, wargs, or other dark creatures appeared, they were completely exterminated without mercy.
Even the Troll Shaws received sweeping by wizard Aurors. The trolls were either killed or scattered in flight, hiding deep in the mountains, not daring to venture down anymore.
Especially among these Aurors, some were villagers whom Kael had personally rescued from trolls' clutches, so they harbored bone-deep hatred for these creatures. Whenever encountered, they killed immediately.
The trolls in the Trollshaws met their doom. Except for some fortunate enough to escape into deep mountain caves, nearly all were completely annihilated.
The once-terrifying Trollshaws fell silent.
Never again came news of trolls running onto the East-West Road to abduct passing travelers.
The road from Weathertop to Rivendell was now unobstructed.
With wizard Aurors guarding Eriador, the Dúnedain felt they had no use here; thus, they gathered south of the Trollshaws, at a river bend between the Bruinen and the Mitheithel, and took up residence there.
From the Book of Admittance, Kael saw several recorded Dúnedain children's information, with addresses at the Angle.
The Quill of Acceptance and the Book of Admittance were complete, and the student roster had been established.
Kael now began considering the selection of teachers.
The current time was now midsummer 2961, with only a few months until the first opening of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The immediate priority was finding all the teachers before the school opened.
Like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in another world, Kael prepared to offer the same curriculum.
First-year courses included Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Herbology, and Flying class.
This meant needing at least eight professors to teach the students.
And this was only the first-year mandatory courses. After the third year, students would have the option to take additional elective courses, including Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Alchemy.
Even more professors would be needed.
But there was no rush with those. First, he would gather first-year professors, then gradually consider recruiting other teachers later.
For the Potions professor, Kael directly selected Allensis, who had the best potion expertise.
For the other subjects, Kael planned to publicly recruit, selecting from the graduates of the original Magic Crash Course.
For History of Magic, Kael planned to use history books compiled by the elves, teaching students about Middle-earth's history from the ancient Age of the Two Trees, the First Age, the Second Age, to the present Third Age.
Those most familiar with such history were none other than the elves, an immortal race.
So Kael planned to invite an elf as the History of Magic Professor.
After deciding, Kael posted a recruitment notice directly.
Upon hearing that the lord was recruiting professors for various subjects, wizards from Hogsmeade, Bree, and Isengard suddenly became excited, enthusiastically and actively applying.
Even Bree Mayor Butch, Hogsmeade Mayor Luke, and Dunlending chieftain Bróg chose to apply.
After multiple rounds of examinations and selections, by early July, eight course professors emerged.
Steward Edward, defeating numerous competitors, became the Professor of Transfiguration.
Luke resigned from his position as Hogsmeade mayor to become the Charms Professor.
Dunlending chieftain Bróg became the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.
Allensis, with the best potion expertise, became the Potions Professor.
The Herbology Professor position was taken by Margles, a witch responsible for tending Kael's gardens and herb garden.
The Astronomy Professor position was unexpectedly claimed by Dúnedain Alfarin.
Kael was extremely surprised by this. He hadn't expected Alfarin, this Dúnedain, would apply for the Astronomy Professor position and actually succeed.
Alfarin held considerable status among the northern Dúnedain. When exploring the Lonely Mountain, Kael had met him at the Prancing Pony and had traded with him using the barrow-wight sword obtained from the Barrow-downs, exchanging it for many living herb plants.
Moreover, Alfarin also had magical talent. After the wand shop opened in Diagon Alley, he came to obtain a wand belonging to him, and purchased magical books from the magic bookstore in Diagon Alley for self-study.
After learning and mastering the limited basic spells in the magical books, he began traveling between Hogsmeade and Bree, visiting and seeking magical knowledge from the first batch of graduates from the Magic Crash Course.
Through sheer determination with self-study and exploration, he elevated his magical level beyond most Magic Crash Course students.
Combined with his existing astronomical knowledge, he directly defeated numerous competitors, earning Kael's appreciation and securing the position of Astronomy Professor.
The History of Magic Professor position was originally planned by Kael to be filled by an elderly elf from Rivendell.
But Arwen volunteered, asking Kael for the History of Magic Professor position.
Kael looked at Arwen's belly, slightly swollen after a year of pregnancy, and was inclined to refuse. But seeing Arwen's hopeful eyes, he found himself in a dilemma.
Finally, Galadriel spoke up, persuading Kael to agree, saying she would help Arwen teach the class.
Only then did Kael relent and agree.
As for the Flying teacher, Kael originally planned to find someone with decent flying skills.
But unexpectedly, Gandalf appeared at the castle riding a flying broomstick.
"Gandalf, do you truly wish to apply for the Professor position?" Kael asked, surprised.