Who Is the Butterfly?

After the mascots' performance came the entrance of the players from both teams.

In the end, the match concluded amid an almost boiling atmosphere. The spectators were left wanting more and reluctant to leave.

"Ah, I really wish Petunia could have come to see this too," Lily said regretfully as the crowd gradually dispersed. "But she went to France a few weeks ago, and I don't know when she'll be back."

Evita stopped in her tracks. Had she heard an unfamiliar name?

So she asked, "Lily, who's Petunia?"

"My older sister," Lily answered cheerfully. "She's traveling around the world, looking everywhere for material."

"Material?" Evita suddenly recalled something that had once flashed through her mind: a name in the literary sections of Britain's three major newspapers, which she used to read often.

"Skiploom," she murmured. "Skiploom, another name for Petunia."

"That's right," Lily said proudly. "She's a very famous writer."

Evita said no more. Lily took her back to Godric's Hollow by Apparition, then pulled her over to look at several letters between her and her sister.

"We used to have quite a big falling-out." Lily brought out one stack of letters after another. "The rift between us kept growing back then, until I made a pen pal in my fifth year."

"She was a student at Durmstrang," Lily said happily, "but she was nothing like those people who were so keen on Dark Magic. She often discussed all sorts of schoolwork with me."

"We wrote so, so many letters. Every day, I looked forward to an owl bringing me her letters from far away." Lily looked nostalgic. "She was also the one who advised me on what to talk to Petunia about. That was how I finally made up with Petunia, although many years had already passed by then. Four years, perhaps?"

"But..." Lily sounded a little down as she said her last sentence. "Later, she suddenly stopped writing to me."

Evita felt a quiet thrill of delight and a suspicion that was far too bold. "Can I look at your letters?"

Lily gladly agreed. She had taken good care of all the letters, and even after so many years, they remained clean and tidy.

She unfolded a letter and said in the cheerful tone of someone who had discovered a secret, "Weiwei, you two write your f's the same way."

Evita looked at the letter.

"Dear Lily,

How are you? The weather in Germany is so cold. I rather want some piping-hot soup, preferably cream of vegetable soup. I hope we have it tomorrow. I really don't want to eat sauerkraut, sausages, or pork knuckle ever again. Heaven knows why I used to like them. There are many kinds of beer here, but I'd rather try that Butterbeer you mentioned. It sounds delicious.

I'm a little worried about the person living next door to me. There's no sound here all day and all night. I'm really afraid that living here might cause some terrible psychological problems, so I had to buy a few books on the subject to study it myself. Unfortunately, a doctor can't heal herself, and I don't know how to deal with the problems I've developed either. I've also been reading a lot these past few days and found many interesting spells. I've enclosed them with this letter to share with you. I hope you like them.

Voldemort's activities in Britain are becoming more and more rampant, and I'm really worried about you. Durmstrang doesn't forbid Dark Magic, and I've learned that the students all admire him. Even the headmaster is a notorious Death Eater. I hope he's caught in the end."

Evita read on. The second sheet was densely filled with discussions and debates about related Potions, while the third contained many spells. The signature at the end was Peregrine-meaning peregrine falcon, a fairly straightforward transliteration.

...It was hard not to suspect that this faraway peregrine falcon was her.

But how had she managed to write to Lily ten years in the past?

"Do you really want to know?" Adele popped up and spoke with a little guilt, a little embarrassment, and a little hesitation.

Evita said, "Of course, but wait a moment first."

James and Sirius walked in, having returned with Harry and Nagini respectively.

Harry's cheeks were flushed, and he clearly hadn't yet recovered from the thrilling match. He hugged Lily first, then looked up with a smile and said, "Evita, I want to see your Quidditch Match."

"You're very welcome to, but it might... not be especially interesting."

"What about Charlie's match?" Harry asked.

Evita didn't hold back. "The only difference between our matches is that I'm better-looking than him."

"All right..." Harry was very disappointed.

After dinner, Evita went home with Nagini.

She watched Nagini go upstairs to bed, then went into the study herself. Sitting upright before a desk covered with books, parchment, all kinds of papers, and newspapers, she asked gravely, "Now tell me what's going on."

"Open the spell notebook I gave you." Adele didn't answer directly.

Evita did as she was told. Adele had left her a Potions notebook in the first year and given her a new spell notebook in the second, but some of the more difficult spells were fairly weak when she cast them.

She lowered her head and carefully examined the notebook before her. The spell on this page was Protego Diabolica. So that was it...

"All right, when are we going back? I'll work hard to help Lily and Petunia resolve their differences, write all kinds of letters to Lily... and perhaps do other things too," Evita asked.

[Part one of the chain quest: Master advanced Dark Magic and fear nothing wherever you go]

"Wow." Evita smiled. "I really do have to attend Durmstrang, don't I?"

Adele felt guilty. "...Actually, that's not quite it."

Evita said, "Huh?"

But Adele didn't answer. With a dazzling flash of white light, her consciousness gradually grew hazy.

When Evita opened her eyes again, a question mark slowly formed over her head.

What was going on?

She got up from a very hard wooden bed. Beside it was a very narrow window. The space as a whole wasn't particularly small, but it contained only a bed, a table and chair, and a bathroom.

It looked less like a Durmstrang student dormitory than a prison cell.

...A prison cell?

Evita walked over to the tightly shut door. After looking around and seeing no one else, she cast a spell on the wall. It took tremendous effort; all sorts of counterspells seemed to have been placed here. But after her unrelenting efforts, she finally succeeded.

Looking through the wall, which had turned translucent, she spotted an old man with messy white hair, resting against the wall with his eyes closed.

The old man's senses were unexpectedly sharp. Almost a second later, he opened his eyes and looked straight at her with an incomparably piercing gaze.

Evita met his gaze and silently murmured a name in surprise.

"...Gellert Grindelwald."

The notorious dark wizard had been defeated by Albus Dumbledore in 1945 and would spend the rest of his life in the highest cell in Nurmengard.

So...

Evita said, "Is this still Durmstrang? You're not going to make me break out of Nurmengard just to study, are you? Hey, the difficulty just shot through the roof!"

Adele: (whistles)