Galadriel and Elrond exchanged a warm smile as they watched the happy family.
"Have you two decided what to name them, Sylas?" Elrond asked gently.
Sylas and Arwen shared a look. Then Sylas straightened, his voice sincere as he said,
"Lord Elrond, Arwen and I discussed this before. We would like to ask you to name our children."
Elrond's eyes softened with both surprise and gratitude. He didn't refuse. He gazed at his newborn grandchildren for a moment, thoughtful, and then said:
"The boy shall be named Elseth, and the girl Elroth. Do these names please you?"
"Elseth… guardian of the elves. Elroth… flower of the elves." Sylas murmured, immediately understanding.
Both names followed the tradition of Elrond's lineage, beginning with El ("elf"), with seth derived from thir, "guardian," and roth from elloth, meaning "flower."
Sylas and Arwen loved the names instantly. Thus, their children became:
Elseth Sylas- their eldest son.
Elroth Sylas- their daughter.
The birth of the twins stirred joyous celebration throughout the Valley. Elrond even held a grand banquet, rare among elves, because births among their people were so uncommon.
Elves lived long and reproduced slowly; even the influx of elf students at Hogwarts in recent years had been the result of decades of accumulated children. And since elves aged slowly, one elven year being roughly twelve human years, there could very well be long stretches with no elven child at all.
So the birth of these two half-elven children became a treasured event.
The Valley's elves showered them with blessings and gifts: small hand-carved wooden statues, wreaths of flowers and leaves, protective amulets, starlight-collected dew, delicate elven jewelry, silver and gold necklaces, gems and precious stones.
Elroth's gifts leaned toward beauty and elegance, while Elseth received miniature bows, arrows, and ceremonial daggers from the male elves.
Elrond gifted Elseth a dagger once used by his own twin brother Elros, now to be Elseth's future personal weapon.
To Elroth, he gave Celebrian's old necklace, a treasured heirloom.
Celeborn and Galadriel each bestowed their own gifts: a longbow carved from mammoth-heartwood for Elseth, and a delicate mammoth-ivory crown for Elroth.
With such treasures, the twins became wealthy the moment they opened their eyes.
Sylas and Arwen stayed in the Valley for more than two months before finally returning to Weathertop, just as Hogwarts approached final exams.
A grand banquet was held at the castle to announce the birth of the Lord and Lady's heirs. Professors, students, and old friends like Bilbo attended, all enchanted by the two radiant elven infants.
Elseth and Elroth won everyone's hearts instantly. Even the most reserved elves found excuses to walk up and offer small gifts.
At only three months old, the twins were astonishingly brigh, already able to speak simple words and even attempt wobbly steps. They would call "Daddy!" sweetly to Sylas, which nearly melted him every time.
Arwen, despite having recently given birth, refused Sylas's suggestion to rest longer and returned to teaching History of Magic.So Sylas, the headmaster who otherwise had little pressing work, became the full-time caretaker.
Soon the sight became commonplace: Sylas wandering the castle halls with a baby in each arm.
During meals, the headmaster would sit on his golden chair at the center of the professors' table, with Elseth and Elroth sitting in their tiny seats on either side, babbling happily.
Sylas, the doting father, constantly fed his children, barely taking a single bite for himself.
The students watching from the tables were stunned.
Their mighty lord, who had once tamed dragons, slain trolls, orcs, and all manner of dark creatures, had now become… a stay-at-home dad.
As time passed, Elseth and Elroth grew incredibly fast.
Not only could they speak, walk, and even dance, their minds developed far faster than ordinary human children.
Under the guidance of Sylas and Arwen, the twins quickly mastered both human and elven tongues.
Time moved quickly, and soon it was the year 2967.
The first generation of Hogwarts students had reached seventh year and were preparing to graduate. The entire school now held more than five hundred students from first to seventh grade.
The start of the school year brought new life and noise into the castle, with so many young wizards and elves living together, Hogwarts thrummed with energy.
Over the years, new professors had joined the staff as well. Starting from third year, several courses had been added: Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, and Alchemy.
For Care of Magical Creatures, Sylas invited Beorn, the skin-changer.
Beorn could transform into a massive bear and communicate with animals, making him the perfect instructor for the subject.
For Ancient Runes, Sylas brought in Prince Legolas.
During his time studying magic with Sylas, Legolas developed a deep fascination with runes and studied them extensively. Teaching them to students posed no difficulty for him.
As for Divination, although Sylas possessed a prophetic gift,it was unpredictable and uncontrollable, and he had never developed it fully.
So, following Elrond's recommendation, Sylas hired Gilraen, Aragorn's mother.
Her mother, Ivorwen, had been a famed prophet who foresaw that Gilraen's marriage to Arathorn would bring both hope to the dwindling Dúnedain and the tragedy of Arathorn's death, as well as Aragorn's rise as king.
Though not as renowned as her mother, Gilraen inherited strong prophetic abilityand was well suited to teach Divination at Hogwarts.
Sylas even handed over all the divination books he had gained from past sign-ins, for her to study and use in class.
Finally, there was Alchemy, a course only open to sixth and seventh years, and only to those with excellent rune scores.
Sylas taught this course personally, twice a week. With only a handful of students, it required little of his time or energy, so he treated it as a pleasant hobby, hoping to cultivate a few true alchemists.