The Whispers In The Dark

✢ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

"ᵂⁱⁿᵗᵉʳ ⁱˢ ᵃ ˢᵉᵃˢᵒⁿ ᵒᶠ ʳᵉᶜᵒᵛᵉʳʸ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵖʳᵉᵖᵃʳᵃᵗⁱᵒⁿ."
⁻ ᴾᵃᵘˡ ᵀʰᵉʳᵒᵘˣ

✮ ✢ ✮ ✢ ✮

"Fun fact: If the planet we live in was one-centimeter closer to the sun, we would melt. If the planet we live in was one-centimeter farther from the sun, we would freeze. Both could most probably lead to death and that is the last thing I will be giving you today," said Atlas Boot, the Astronomy Professor at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, as he paced left and right in front of the chalkboard at the front of the class.

Atlas Boot was a tall man and regarded as handsome by most of the women in the population of Hogwarts and beyond that as well. He was a legal animagus, someone who could take the form of a cheetah at his own will. He started teaching at Hogwarts around 1964 when he needed the money - and the knowledge - to help raise his only daughter. He was an only parent because the woman he married at a young age died when she gave birth to their daughter.

You might have heard of Atlas Boot's daughter, a fourth-year student by the name of Royalty Boot. While her father was an animagus by the legal practice of the subject, Royalty Boot was born a metamorphmagus. When her father accepted the job, it caused Royalty to be raised at Hogwarts way before she got her letter. Atlas did not permit himself to be far away from his daughter and, thankfully, was granted the option to have her live with him at his own private quarters.

Although Royalty Boot was a metamorphmagus, she had a history with her powers that made her and her father feel various emotions. When they start living at Hogwarts during the school year, Royalty was a bit over the age of two, her metamorphmagus powers started to occur. Her appearance kept changing almost every day. When she hit the age of seven, she spent that entire year looking like her mother without acknowledging it because she never knew how her mother looked like. Although, her father did look sad whenever he looked at his seven-year-old daughter with curly brown hair and creamy green eyes. After her first year at Hogwarts, she never used her powers again. She kept her hair a lavender hue and purple eyes that matched her father's eyes with freckles that filled her face like the stars her father loved so much.

When asked the reason why she did so, she would never give anyone the answer. She promised herself that when she learned to control her powers to the point that made them seem like they did not exist. But let me share the truth with you. Facing some bullying during her first year at Hogwarts made her stick with purple for what she thought would be the rest of her life. The reason she choose purple was that she remembered her father saying it was her mother's favorite color.

Let's go back to the main scene of this portion of this chapter of this story. Oh, do I love saying that statement. For reasons I do not have the knowledge of, I just enjoy saying those words. Once more, let's get back to the main scene of this portion of this section of this tale (Oh, I do really love it and its various rephrasings)...

As the rest of the students started filing out of the room, Royalty took her actions in slow movements knowing that her father would like to speak to her. Once everyone was definitely out, Royalty approached her father who hugged her once she reached him.

"So, how was your old pop's class?"

"You aren't old, Dad," scoffed Royalty.

"I was in an early age when you came to my life," said Atlas as he messed up her hair.