Hogwarts was abuzz with the news of the robbery at Prince Legal. Since James had returned from Christmas holidays, it had been all anyone could talk about.

Casper had been positively despondent, and the few times James saw him, he was in the library, bent intensely over his books, rarely engaging with anyone.

James' cousin, Molly, was particularly close with Casper wanting to go into the legal field herself, and so she had a much better insight than James into what was going on inside of Casper's head.

"He's told me he knows who did it, but he has to have proof before he can say anything," Molly said. "I don't know if I believe he actually knows who did it or if he just thinks he does. But either way, he's convinced. The only thing that's holding him back is, in his words: 'The outrageousness of such an accusation'."

"Oh," James felt sick to his stomach. He had a feeling he knew the outrageous accusation Casper was gearing up to make.

James knew he had to tell someone Casper was planning on accusing Rebecca of being involved in the Prince Legal break-in, but he didn't know if he should confront Casper, or tip-off Rebecca. So he went to the one person he knew would have a reasonable and balanced answer: Jerry.

James invited him to the library under the guise of a study session, which, upon seeing Jerry's skeptical expression, he changed to a "serious talk". Jerry quickly acquiesced.

So on a particularly grim January afternoon, James and Jerry met in a far corner of the library to discuss what James was to do about Casper.

"So you think Casper's going to publicly blame Rebecca Sims for the break-in at his family's legal company?" Jerry asked after James had finished explaining the situation to him.

"That's right."

"And why do you care?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Jerry said, "you hate Rebecca. Why do you care if he says it's her?"

"Because it's impossible for her to have done it," James said. "I hate Rebecca but innocent people shouldn't get blamed for crimes they didn't commit. I mean, how ridiculous does it sound that an eleven year old could pull off a legal document heist?"

"It sounds too stupid to believe, which is why you shouldn't worry about it," Jerry said. "Everyone will just think Casper's crazy."

"But don't you think the right thing to do is at least try to stop the rumors from spreading?" James asked.

"They won't spread. It's too crazy. The only rumor that will spread is that Casper is going to be forcibly committed to the mental ward of Saint Mungo's."

"I guess," James said skeptically.

"Trust me," Jerry said. "Casper's not going to tell anyone this was all Rebecca Sims' fault."

And in his own unique way, Jerry turned out to be right. While Casper did tell anyone who would listen that he knew who was at fault for the break in, he never got the chance to confirm the identity of the suspect. Because a week after Jerry and James' meeting in the library, Casper Prince disappeared.

The first warning signs occurred on a Monday morning when Casper didn't show up for breakfast. That itself wasn't unusual, Casper often skipped meals in favor of going to the library. But Casper hadn't been in the library, Madam Pince confirmed that.

It was suggested that perhaps he slept in that day, but Casper's dorm-mates alleged that he rarely slept at all, and never late into the morning. Besides, he hadn't come to bed on Sunday night, at least as far as they knew.

Collecting information about Casper's whereabouts proved decidedly difficult. His offputting nature meant very few people were quick to come forward with any information, and as far as anyone knew, he didn't have very many friends.

The entire school was frantic with worry over how an individual could disappear from the castle of all places. It was true he could have gone to the Forbidden Forest, but apparently Casper was severely allergic to practically everything about the outdoors, and avoided it as much as he could.

Students and professors alike were understandably distraught, none more than Professor Slughorn.

"Such a promising young student," he bemoaned. "So much potential! He will certainly be missed at our little gatherings, after all, he contributed so much. What a wonderful young man!"

When he wasn't preemptively eulogizing one of his own students, Professor Slughorn was attempting his way back into the good graces of James Potter and Rebecca Sims, who he had decided had behaved well enough as of late to earn back their spots in the Slug Club.

Rebecca accepted with cool indifference, but James was more hesitant. He was beginning to be afraid of Rebecca Sims. It couldn't be a coincidence that Casper had targeted her at a Slug Club meeting and had suddenly gone missing with his family business ransacked and countless confidential legal documents taken.

It was silly to blame an eleven year old for these events. But James couldn't help but feel a bit nervous knowing that he was already on her bad side.

Already having broached the subject with Jerry and getting nowhere, James decided to try to get Alice's perspective on the matter.

Alice listened attentively to James' concerns before weighing in.

"I think that you might actually be onto something," Alice said.

"You do?" James felt a sense of relief wash over him.

"I don't think Rebecca could be directly responsible for these events. After all, she's only eleven. But someone connected to her could be. What do we really know about Rebecca Sims?"

"She's a pureblood born to Squib parents," James said. "She's good at potions and a pain in the ass. That's all I really know."

"Pureblood Squibs?" Alice asked curiously. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Well that's what she says," a light went off in James' mind. "Do you think she's lying?"

"I don't know," Alice said. "Is there any way to verify a pureblood family named Sims?"

James' face lit up. "I know! Saint Mungo's keeps birth records back centuries! I bet they would have a record of some pureblood Sims. We would just need someone with access to those records."

Alice cleared her throat, "I know someone. She's works in records at Saint Mungo's. I could ask, but we'd have to come up with a good excuse for why we need the name. She's kind of the suspicious type."

"It's worth a shot," James said. "Who're you thinking of asking?"

Alice smiled, "My godmother."


Dear Godmummy,

How are you? Sorry I haven't written in so long, but Hogwarts has been busier than I expected.

That's actually why I'm writing today. I have a little favor to ask you. We're meant to do a project on our ancestry and one of my friends doesn't have any records of her family.

Her last name is Sims, and she says she comes from a long pureblood lineage. I was wondering if you could check the birth records for her and verify that.

I promise that this is very important.

Love,

Alice

Dear Alice,

You have always been a terrible liar.

However, I do believe you when you say that this is important, regardless of whether there is a school project or not.

There is no record of any pureblood family named Sims in all of Saint Mungo's.

Love,

Your Godmummy

Astoria Malfoy