The Butterfly of Ideals

"Is there anything else, Riley?"

Snape, who had been about to leave, stopped and sat down on a nearby sofa.

"Miss Anna, we've all discussed this for a long time, and we hope you'll agree to our request."

She fought the urge to yawn, but when she saw the group hold out their left hands to her, her sleepiness vanished.

"Do you understand what this means?

Riley Charles, please explain."

All traces of laziness disappeared from Anna's face, replaced by a grave expression.

"Yes, Miss Anna, we all understand perfectly what this means. Please don't blame Riley."

A girl beside Riley spoke in a soft, gentle voice, easing some of the pressure on him.

The others nodded, holding out their hands without the slightest hesitation.

Snape sat on the sofa nearby, warming himself by the fire. Watching Anna stand in a corner of the common room, surrounded by the group, he unconsciously curled his left hand loosely into a fist.

There was nothing there...

"No, I don't mean to blame him. You don't have to worry about your boyfriend, Hettie."

Anna's teasing made everyone chuckle.

She remembered everyone's name. It was homework a person at the helm had to do.

"But I made this very clear a few years ago.

Underage wizards aren't allowed to receive the Butterfly Mark.

Do your parents all know about the decision you're making now?

Do you really understand the ideals this mark represents?

And do you know what your own futures truly hold?"

To an uninformed bystander, the little group might have looked strange, being questioned by a newly enrolled first-year. But it was precisely because of her words that Riley and the others felt they had made the right choice.

"Miss Anna, none of us are in the lower years. We'll all come of age in a year or two, and I think we're already capable of thinking for ourselves.

As for our fathers and mothers, of course they know, but parents have no right to control our lives.

We've discussed this for a long time. We originally meant to wait until our seventh year to tell you, but what you said today made me realize that the conflict has already begun. We need a force that's more united and commands more respect.

As for the future, we made up our minds a few years ago, during the Kennedy incident in the United States, and we're willing to contribute our own strength to the new world."

Riley Charles spoke with a determined expression.

Anna had not expected her words at the long table to have sparked this, but she would not regret them. If she had not gained the upper hand in that confrontation and made her position clear, she might very well have lost some of her advantage.

Looking at the people before her, Anna understood that she absolutely could not speak against them and discourage them at a time like this.

She stepped forward and gently took Hettie's left hand. With her small, soft hands, she placed Hettie's hand together with Riley's and smiled.

"I'm glad you have such ideals. In fact, one of the reasons I established that rule in the first place was that I hoped you wouldn't be like those people, getting caught up in factional disputes at school.

Riley, your trust makes me happy, but this mark isn't meant to bind you. It's only a means of communication and maintaining secrecy. Even without it, I believe we'll always stand together and possess more strength than those people."

Anna's gesture left Riley and Hettie somewhat at a loss. A faint blush rose on both their faces as they listened attentively to the rest of what she had to say.

"The butterfly is only a symbol of an ideal. The pursuit of it is what matters most.

So let's do as you originally decided. When you reach your seventh year, as long as you still trust me, I'll personally mark everyone with that ideal then, all right?"

The rule could not be broken, or her image would crumble in the eyes of some of her Acolyte elders, no matter what the initial reason was.

It was precisely because of this rule that the Acolytes with children trusted her more, so Anna could only use a gentle approach to reassure Riley and the others.

Clearly, this conversation had won their hearts more effectively than marking them with butterflies would have. Snape believed that, in their school life to come, these few would be Anna's most loyal followers.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

She slipped out from among the group, who were still excited, and sat down beside Snape.

"You know perfectly well that my soul isn't only eleven years old. Why won't you give me that mark?"

Looking at the bright flames in the fireplace before him, he asked quietly, his expression unchanged.

"But you really are only eleven now, Severus.

Besides, I think you hate that sort of thing. The parchment contract between us is enough."

Anna chatted with the person beside her while waving goodnight to Riley and the others as they returned to their dormitories.

"That parchment that doesn't even have any magical force?"

Snape looked at his right arm. It was clean and pale, with nothing on it.

The contract he and Anna had signed back then bore no spell like the Unbreakable Vow. It was just an ordinary piece of parchment with a few terms written on it, bearing a spell with a true-name effect and nothing else.

That single spell only ensured that their signatures had indeed been made by the two of them personally and that their names would never fade from the parchment. That was all.

"I trust that you won't do anything to violate the contract, and I also hate using an absolute contract to bind someone.

That's why I developed the Butterfly Mark in the first place-just to make it easier to keep in touch. The secrecy measure is there just in case. As long as someone makes up their mind to leave, it can be erased at any time, along with the relevant memories."

She was telling the truth, and that was precisely why he had not stopped Eileen from having a butterfly marked on her palm.

This person clearly left everyone an untarnished way out and room to retreat, yet even now, not a single Acolyte had chosen to erase the mark.

They took pride in it, and it was precisely because of this trust and the way out they had been given that the Acolytes devoted all their strength to pursuing that butterfly of ideals.

Some younger Acolytes had now begun gradually separating themselves from the older generation. They had emerged from the Acolytes and called themselves the "Butterfly Chasers." They formed an established group and were the most capable and loyal followers under Anna's command.

People like North and Elisa, and the students just now, who had experienced her personal charm firsthand.

"And even in a few years, when we've both graduated, I still won't give you the mark.

I'll respect your choice, Severus."

The night was deep. Lake water lapped gently against the transparent windowpanes of the Slytherin Common Room, and the flames burning in the fireplace crackled from time to time.

In the vast space, it seemed that only their breathing and heartbeats remained.