บท 18: 18
I sat in my new office at Hogwarts, wearily reading the Gremlins' reports on the rebuilding, construction and overhaul of Hogwarts. The dungeons, in particular, needed repairing. And the goblins had already begun work in this area, which sometimes caused the castle to shake. The goblins explained that there were places that could not be penetrated with picks and had to be blasted. But every precaution had been taken to ensure that nothing and no one would be harmed.
I just nodded, occasionally massaging my temples and the bridge of my nose.
And now a fiery elf stood at my desk and handed me two trays: reports and lunch.
As I placed the reports in the stacks, which stood a good metre high (all three of them), I began to devour the food, nodding to the elf for a report.
- My lord, several representatives of the magical people have arrived. They wish to become the new professors of Hogwarts University. Mostly for the Faculties of Dark and Light," the elf added at my raised eyebrow. - Dark and Light were put in separate waiting rooms. There was no problem, everyone is cultured and understands that you have a lot to do. True, the Dark Elf was about to burst into your office and shout something about the wretched man's duty to see the Drow woman immediately. But she was stopped at the door by an Elemental of Light. She was healing her burns in the drawing room. She has been given all the tools she needs to do so.
I raised my eyebrows again, chewing the tender chunks of pork under a complex marinade, munching on buckwheat. And washing down the occasional ruby berry juice.
- The Dark Elemental lost twenty galleons to the Light One and was very displeased with the Drow's behaviour,' I chuckled. - One hundred galleons have been added to your account. You've won the bet on who will try to break into your office first, and the bet that the demon representative will prove to be the most cultured of the Dark Ones.
I nodded contentedly, sipping the last of my juice and leaning back in my chair, adjusting the pile of cushions under my heel. I had put them there on purpose, as I was still too small for the chair.
- Invite the light ones and the dark ones one by one. And yes, let them determine the former by this method of mine. Then the victorious dark ones and the victorious light ones must decide between themselves which of them will enter my office first. The method is the same.
- Accepted, my lord. It shall be done, my lord.
As the departing fire elf completed the task at hand, I looked around my study. Thirty square metres, the walls covered with golden wallpaper, the lower part with mahogany panels. Above my head hung a beautiful crystal chandelier, with a glowing ball of magical light between the crystals, reflecting off the crystal and flooding the office with an even and pleasant light. There were pictures on the walls: the sea storm, forests, the sky with passing clouds and many other things. And just behind me I can feel a huge painting of myself standing at the heart. The paintings are all alive and many of them look more like portal windows than paintings.
I was sitting at a massive oak table with a wide top, so I had to move some things and reports around with a special poker. Unfortunately, I was still too small for this office. Below me was a massive upholstered chair. I sat on it, and if I didn't, only the top of my head would stick out from behind the desk. And that wasn't even certain.
There was a slightly less impressive visitor's chair in front of the table.
I looked around, poured myself some more berry juice and waited for the first applicants. The door opened gently and a handsome, red-haired, greasy-haired man in an elegant three-piece suit entered the office. In his hand he held a cane with a headpiece made of the golden head of the Hound of Hell, its eyes glittering with rubies.
The man, who looked about thirty, walked over to the table and, bowing politely to me, sat down in the chair offered. And his black eyes, with a vertical red pupil, stared at me. I calmly took a glass and sipped my juice, then put it down on the table and continued to be silent.
- Hello, Lord Rector. My name is... let it be Alastor. I represent Vulcan. Of the House of Devils. Clan of Nightmares. I'm five and a half thousand years old, and I'm not bad at Darkness, Space, Witchcraft, Chaos. I'd like to apply for a teaching position at Darnm. I swear to make no contracts with students and to obey you, Lord Rector.
- Hm..." he stretched and looked at the seemingly young man. - And you are not at all embarrassed by the fact that I am only twelve?
- Not at all," the devil smiled slightly with the tips of his lips. - Appearances are only appearances. It means nothing to the long-lived. Not looking like a ragamuffin is what counts," he grimaced. - You smell of... great power. Greatness, I dare say. And your magic source... it glows like an Archmage's. It has a tremendous power. And the beings that serve you are not as simple as you might think. And your way of deciding who to invite into the room first is a bit of a surprise to me. Without offending anyone, you have suggested that we play a game: Rock-paper-scissors, and honestly decide who goes into your office and in what order. Clever.
- Why make it difficult? - I shrugged. - So which subject would you like to take up?
- Chaos magic. Although I would also excel in the other disciplines I mentioned.
- All right," I nodded and pushed the black form in front of me, in front of the line teacher of Chaos, I wrote Alastor of the Devil's kind. Still, I admit that only demons of this class are ideally suited to know and teach this cunning school of magic.
- Leave and discuss your accommodations with the nearest fire elf.
- Good day," the devil tilted his head, got up and left the room. As soon as the door behind him closed, the golden-haired head of a young-looking girl peered shyly into the room.
- May I? she asked shyly and I nodded with a smile. She opened the door wide and entered, her golden wings tucked neatly and compactly behind her. An angel or something! The blonde was wearing a simple white sundress, tied with a silk cord. Barefoot. With golden curls down to her waist.
She made her way to a chair and sat down on its edge, staring at me. I sipped nonchalantly from my juice glass, though to be honest I could hardly resist the urge to hug the girl, so petite and sweet she looked. But the modest girl's wings were golden, which meant she was an archangel. And one must be careful with such creatures.
- M-my name is Ramiela. I am an archangel of light... Hope... I want to teach on Drago... Light, order... Healing... Astrology, Astronomy, Esotericism... Here... please?
Man, I could barely keep my head from hitting the table. The cuteness of this girl, with her unchildish strength, was just beyond the realms of the imaginable and the unthinkable!
- Hello, so what exactly do you want to teach?
- Healing..." she muttered under her snub nose.
- Are you sure you're up to it? With your natural shyness and silence? - I murmured doubtfully.
- I can do it," she replied loudly and clearly. And what a voice! In a word, an archangel!
- Well then, I'm appointing you teacher of healing and order. Drago. On probation, because you're a little insecure and quiet. If you do well with your students, you can take the position permanently.
- Thank-you! - The girl jumped up happily and literally disappeared from the office. Yes... well, as they say, let's see if she can do it...
Next, I was visited by the real-life Supreme Leader, whose voice made my blood run cold. He claimed the faculty of necromancy and death magic. I couldn't refuse such a specialist. He could really teach me a lot.
Then I had more angels, demons, elemental mages from other worlds, and there was even an Archmage! It was he who surprised me.
After a knock, the door opened and a red-haired man with unusual eyes came in. Green, with a strange pattern. He was dressed in hiking trousers, boots, a white shirt and a cloak with an Ent clasp. In his hands he held a staff with a rainbow stone at the base, which could be used as a spear. Crouching, he looked at me and smiled.
- My name is Archibald of Efon. I come from a far world. A world traveller. Archmage of nature, elements, space, necromancy, demonologist. I know many schools of magic. But I aspire to Elemental. Faculty of Drago or Darnm, whatever. Why did a whole Archimage decide to become a teacher? Probably because I'm not good at teaching. I know the theory perfectly, but not much experience.
When I looked at that guy, I saw the seal on him. The seal of the shard. The Shard is weak, so he doesn't know himself, and his memory hasn't come back yet. But Archimage... only a fool with a capital letter would miss such a teacher, even though he has no experience in teaching.
- You're hired. I'll assign you to the Darn, since you have knowledge of the Dark Arts. In addition to the Elements, I offer you the position of Demonologist.
- I will do it. Thank you," and with a smile the man left the office.
Many creatures and mages have passed by me during the day. How on earth did they know? Especially those who came from other worlds for this job!
When night fell and I stopped taking applications, I crawled out of my chair, ate my dinner, had a shower, got into bed and fell asleep immediately. I was as tired as I don't know who...
The next day was marked by the bravest of the Drow walking into my office. She immediately told me that she wanted to teach dueling. But only to girls, because she didn't want to get her hands dirty with men's garbage.
With a snap of his fingers, he summoned the Elemental of Space to his office and asked that she be taken to the archery range, pitted against the Devil, and made to prove that she was really good at dueling.
The indignant girl disappeared, only to return half an hour later, literally crawling down the wall. She reeked of soot, sweat and dust. Some of her hair was also burnt.
- You still don't understand where you've come to? - I looked up at her. - This is the University of Magic. And this is where you can get a teaching job. But I will not tolerate rudeness, priorities and chauvinism with racism in my domain. Remember that, and come back when you've thought about your behaviour. Or don't come at all. All the best...
I also had to accept many more before the teaching posts were full and I stopped accepting applicants.
With that settled, Flitwick in human form walked into the office, waving his cane and smiling, and sat down in a chair.
- How are you doing here?
- I can't see..." he muttered, yawned and poured himself a cup of strong coffee.
- No coffee for children," the guard held up a finger.
- Children can only sleep five hours? - I was annoyed.
- Ha. Then why did you start all this? - the half goblin grinned, taking the cup of tea from the elf's tray.
- Me?! I wanted to help the castle! And now I've done it! Now the castle has appointed me warden and asked me to do a lot of work! What do I want?!
- If you've helped, you should, my lord," the professor smiled from under his cup. - By the way, a lot has been done. The companies have been revived, the staff recruited, the plans developed. It has not yet broken even, but the Goblin Gringots calculate that it will more than pay for itself in six months, when the first projects are released to the public. There are a lot of technical problems, but we're working on those as well. Your blueprints have come in very handy.
- Jesus... let's not talk about business, shall we? - I was indignant and put my head in my hands.
- You started it, now you have to clean it up!
- I want to die...
- They won't," the pest laughed.
Retreat
On the first day of the castle's rebuilding, the drawing rooms, dining room and main hall were completed in literally an hour. The students were then able to return to the castle and their rooms, marvelling at the splendour of the transformed school.
The rooms had been fitted out with private bathrooms, furniture and facilities. Beautiful crystal chandeliers cast a magical light over the corridors and halls. And many students looked on with admiration.
But the next day brought a greater shock. As in the Castle Hall corridor, new changes manifested themselves. And they were startling.
The four familiar faculties remained, but the subjects had changed. Gryffindor was now the Faculty of Martial Arts, Slytherin the Faculty of True Dark and Black Magic. Hufflepuff turned out to be the Faculty of Natural Magic and much more. Ravenclaw turned out to be the true Faculty of Wits and Scholars.
But what everyone noticed most were the two large tapestries of the new faculties.
A white and gold tapestry, depicting a dragon with the sun shining in its claws. And next to it, a black, grey and crimson tapestry with a grinning demon and a black sun.
The higher powers of light and darkness. Drago and Darnm.
The scoreboard also changed. It was no longer an empty competition, but a rewarding one. The winning faculty received considerable privileges for the year. For example, more opportunities to go to Hogsmeade, a scholarship for pupils and students, rewards in the form of speed brooms and much more. Students who excelled could transfer to the higher faculties before the end of their five-year term, where they would study their chosen magic in greater depth. They would also be taught by incredible teachers who knew their subjects from beginning to end... And just behind the tapestries, on the wall, were their portraits.
On the wall were portraits of the real angels and demons, undead and elves. And the signatures below the portraits confused the students even more. For five subjects would be led by entire Archimages! And that's not counting the higher demons, undead and other evil spirits!
The resonance of what had happened immediately spread throughout magical Britain and even far beyond.
Many parents wanted to remove their children from this place and transfer them to other schools of magic, but a large number of students from other countries wanted to study at the University of Magic.
However, many were reassured that the changes would not be introduced until next year. And there was no rush to leave Hogwarts...
End of the retreat
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