The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

The Pit

Jacob returned, his clothes torn and his eyes steely. William did not. Nor did the other two. Jacob found a spot on the floor to stare at as the Death Eater relocked his cage, then strode out of the room. 

"The pit is surrounded by protective enchantments, so no spell can hit the spectators. But I was able to get into some of their heads."

He said all this with no expression, no lilt to his voice. Like he was reading an announcement in the newspaper. 

"This place isn't strictly sanctioned by Voldemort. He probably wouldn't mind killing muggles and traitors for entertainment, and he probably knows this place exists, but it isn't official, exactly. The snatchers who catch lawbreakers will bring them here, underground, for entertainment if they don't think the prisoner is important enough for questioning or to be murdered by someone higher up. 

"The fights usually take place in the afternoon. It's a way for Death Eater's to let off steam and have a bit of fun before they're called away to their nightly duties. Our jailer, Barron's his name, decides on what fights to throw together based on how many of his friends turn up. Sometimes there's only a couple, sometimes it's packed, like last night."

"Did you learn a way for us to get out of here?" asked Merula. 

"As far as they're concerned, there is no way out for us. I know a spell that might be able to subdue enough of them for us to escape, but I need my wand. They threw one in the arena, but it wasn't as powerful as mine, and they were quick to take it back as soon as the fight was over."

"After you killed those people," said Tulip. 

Jacob didn't answer her. 

Sarah looked at her friends, though it was maybe worse than watching the broken people in the other cages. They were angry, afraid, lost, and in Jacob's case, empty. 

Except for Barnaby, who was seated in the same position he'd been in last night, his eyes closed. Calling for help. Sarah considered joining him again, but what would be the point? They'd finally reached a place where no help could be found. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a bright light, quite unlike the few torches that had been lit for Barron to see his way through the chamber. This light was blue-white and powerful. 

Sarah turned. She saw a patronus, but not one she recognized. It took the form of a doe. Slender and graceful, it stepped forward slowly. Many of the other patrons in the dungeon didn't notice or didn't bother to look up at the light, but Sarah and her friends locked their gazes on it as if it were the source of life itself. Nobody spoke. They waited, frozen like anxious deer themselves, as the doe walked right up to Sarah's cage. 

It did not speak in the voice of its castor. It simply regarded her, and Sarah was no longer afraid. Though she knew this wasn't how patronuses worked, she spoke to it in a whisper. 

"Will you help us?"

The doe's ears twitched. Then, it vanished, leaving a swirling, silvery mist in its wake. They all watched hungrily until every trace of the patronus was gone, then regarded one another. 

"Who was that?" asked Diego. 

"I didn't recognize it," said Tulip. "Does anyone in the Order have a deer patronus?"

"Not that I know of," said Sarah, her eyes still fixed on the place the doe had been.

They all snapped to attention as the door swung open again. Barron had returned, and he strode over to their cluster of cages again. Sarah could hear jovial voices through the open doorway now. A crowd must've turned up.