"Casper was right," James gasped. "Rebecca was lying about her family!"
"But what does it mean?" Alice asked. "And how does it connect to his disappearance?"
"We don't even know if it does," James said. "Only that Rebecca wasn't telling the truth."
"Do we ask her about it?" Alice asked.
"If she really does have something to do with these disappearances," James said, "I don't think confronting her is the best idea. We'll have to do a little investigating first."
"How? Everyone in the castle is already on high alert. We won't be able to sneak around easily," Alice pointed out.
"I know," James sighed. "We'll just have to look for an opportunity."
Opportunity came knocking rather quickly. After a week with no sign of Casper Prince, the Hogwarts staff organized a supervised search of the school which all students were to participate in, staying in groups and sticking to approved areas. The hope was with so many eyes searching, a small, overlooked clue would be found providing some lead as to Casper's whereabouts.
James, Jerry, and Alice signed up to be a search pod, planning to do a little research along the way.
"The library's restricted section will be watched, but unlocked," Alice said. "There's some books on lineage, blood status, and famous families. What was the one we were looking for?"
"Black," James said. "Anyone named Black. That's the mysterious name I keep hearing."
"Alright," Alice said. "If we're careful, we should be able to pull this off."
"It's a brilliant plan, James," Jerry said admiringly.
"I know," James puffed up, pleased his friends so readily complied with his genius idea.
The Saturday of the search, James, Alice, and Jerry showed up at the library late, hoping to find it already crowded with students and the staff overwhelmed. They were not disappointed. Book-bags in hand, they easily slipped into the restricted section and went their respective ways.
It didn't take James long to find what he was looking for. Hogwarts had a well-stocked section on pureblood lineage, and he managed to find a copy of A Recent History of Pureblood Lines which he slipped into his bag. Feeling very proud of himself, he headed back to the rendez-vous point, where a very excited Jerry was bouncing on the tips of his toes.
"I think you'll like what I found," he told James. "It's all about different blood types and how they're classified and come to be."
"I got lucky too," James said, patting his bag. "I wonder how Alice is getting on."
Jerry shrugged, "She'll probably be back soon."
But she wasn't. The two boys waited for what felt like a very long time, with no sign of their friend. The library started to clear out as different search pods came and went, but still no Alice.
"You don't think she got caught, do you?" Jerry asked.
"Nah," James shook his head. "We would've seen her getting dragged out if she had. She's probably still just looking."
But an overwhelming feeling of nausea began to settle at the bottom of his stomach as he said it.
After a few more minutes, James turned to Jerry, "We've got to go look for her. If she's not caught by now, she will be."
Jerry readily agreed.
The two wandered the restricted section, taking it one row at a time, starting at the back. It didn't take them long to find a hint about Alice's whereabouts. It came in the form of a panicked whisper.
"Come on," the voice hissed. "Oh, Merlin, please get up."
James' nausea worsened as he recognized the voice.
"No, no, no, no, no," the voice moaned.
Grabbing Jerry's hand and pulling him along, James ran down several rows of shelves to find Rebecca Sims standing over an unconscious Alice.
"What'd you do to her?" James demanded, trying to sound brave although he'd never been more terrified in his life.
"I didn't do anything," Rebecca said, pocketing what looked like a handkerchief. "I found her like this, I swear!"
She looked so pale and afraid that James almost believed her. But then he thought about how long it had been since anyone had seen Casper, and all doubt was erased from his mind.
"You did something to her, I know it! Just like you did to Casper!"
"N-no!" Rebecca stumbled backwards. "I don't know what happened to Casper!"
"Liar!" James yelled.
The commotion had not gone unnoticed, and Madam Pince came speeding around the corner, wand raised, "What is going on?"
"Rebecca hurt Alice!" James pointed accusingly.
"No I didn't!" Rebecca protested, now near the point of hysteria. "I found her passed out like this!"
"What are-?" Madam Pince began, stopping abruptly when she saw Alice. Suddenly her whole manner changed.
The color drained from her face and she began to shake ever so slightly. James had never seen an adult look so utterly terrified before. It scared him.
"Get to the hospital wing," she said in a harsh and commanding voice. "And tell Madam Pomfrey to prepare for a 30453."
"What is a 30453?" James asked nervously.
"Go!" Madam Pince snapped, something in her voice causing the three children to simultaneously turn and flee, not stopping until they got to the hospital wing.
"What is going on?" Madam Pomfrey asked as they burst into the room, each looking disheveled.
"Rebecca tried to kill Alice!"
"No I did not!" Rebecca choked out, beginning to sob. "I found her passed out and Madam Pince said it was a 30453 and I don't know what that means but I didn't do it!"
She dissolved into tears as Madam Pomfrey immediately leaped to her feet and began sectioning off a corner of the room.
At that moment, Madam Pince entered. With her was Professor Longbottom, carrying his daughter. Professor McGonagall was not far behind, with Slughorn taking up the rear.
Alice was placed in the sectioned area and immediately the cluster of adults around her got to work, mixing strange liquids and muttering incantations in what sounded like another language. The three other children in the room, one of whom was sobbing hysterically, were entirely forgotten for the better part of an hour.
Rebecca eventually stopped crying, and sat on a cot, slowly rocking back and forth as she held herself tightly. James and Jerry stood together, almost too afraid of her to move.
It wasn't until Professor Longbottom came over to speak with them that they were able to breathe a sigh of relief and move again.
"She'll be okay," he said, looking like he'd just been hit by the Knight Bus. "It'll be a while, but she'll be okay."
"Oh, good," James said. "Professor, Rebecca-."
Longbottom held up a hand, "Mr. Potter, you are never to repeat that rumor ever again. You too, Mr. Mackay. If I hear one whiff of that rumor, I will assume you started it, and there will be severe consequences. Do you understand?"
"But, Professor-."
"Your friend was hurt and you're scared, believe me I understand more than anybody. But Rebecca is not capable of what was done to Alice. Accept that and move on."
"Professor," Jerry said, "If Rebecca wasn't capable of hurting Alice, then who was?"
Longbottom's voice cracked and he looked seconds away from collapse as he said, "I simply don't know."
