Finding the Magic (a Clexa hogwarts au)

Missing

Clarke looked up at Kane, unable to form the words to ask the questions that swam around her head. Harper stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Clarke's shoulder, allowing Clarke to lean her weight into her.

"What happened? What can we do?" Harper echoed the thoughts bouncing around Clarke's head.

"I'm afraid we aren't capable of doing much, Miss McIntyre. They haven't left a trail and all of the information we have comes from the mouth of Raven Reyes, who was walking around the castle when she saw Lexa on the third floor. Apparently Raven was using the lavatory when she heard a commotion, and when she went back into the hallway, Lexa was nowhere to be found," Kane responded, attempting a calm demeanor yet missing the mark by several degrees.

"And you've checked the whole castle?" Monroe shot back. "Thoroughly? She could just be hiding."

"Yes," Kane said in exasperation, "Twice."

"What about the grounds? Hogsmeade?"

"I'm not sure if you are aware that there was a murder in Hogsmeade last night," Kane said.

"Yes, we're aware," Octavia's voice was icy, "and we asked if you've checked the town for your missing student. There are hundreds of aurors, Hogsmeade is bound to be secured by at least some of them now."

"I am going to ask you to mind your tone, Miss Blake," Kane began, but he sighed and returned to the question. "Yes we have checked the town, there is no sign of her there, in the school, or in the forest. She has simply disappeared."

"And you trust Raven Reyes? Maybe it wasn't even Lexa that was part of that commotion, how can she be sure?" Harper asked.

"There is no guarantee, of course, but Miss Reyes is quite sure. She seemed certain, and immediately reported to us when she realized that Lexa was gone."

Professor Jackson spoke for the first time, "Some of the teachers and I have been discussing the possibility of the Phoenix nearing the castle, and we have come to the consensus that we will do anything to help our students. If I may ask you again, Headmaster, what can we do to help her?"

Clarke was overcome by yet another wave of gratitude for her teacher, this one crashing into her so intensely that she collapsed into the chair next to her, unable to bear her own weight.

"Headmaster, there has to be something," Clarke said, her voice wavering. "We can't just sit here and let the life of an innocent be lost to the fire."

As the words of the prophecy echoed around the now-silent room, their reality hit Clarke with the force of a speeding car. Phoenixes were born of fire. When they died, their bodies burst into flame and they are reborn from the ashes. The bird was a symbol of fire. The life of someone innocent would be lost to the Phoenix, and there was nothing Clarke could do besides search in vain for her friend.

"We won't let that happen, Clarke," Kane's voice softened as he looked down at the girl crumpled on the chair. 

The bell rang, pulling the group of nervous people back to the present. Clarke knew she should be in her Charms lesson, learning the levitation charm, just as Echo teased her for the previous day. But even the sound of the bell wasn't enough to get her tired limbs moving, the crushing weight of recent events keeping her pinned to the chair. 

"I am needed in my office now, feel free to return to your dormitories, I will alert your teachers that the four of you are exempt from classes for the rest of the day should you not wish to attend," Kane nodded curtly and left the room, the echoing clang of the dungeon door declaring his withdrawal. 

"Would any of you care for a cup of tea?" Professor Jackson asked tentatively, "I have a free period now and you are welcome to stay if you... need to."