The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

The Pit

Sarah was awoken the next morning--or at least, she assumed it was morning, as it was impossible to tell in the dungeons--by the same rasping Death Eater. He shot her with a blasting jinx, so that her back and head slammed against the bars on the opposite side of her cage. 

"Rise and shine," he rasped, blasting Diego awake next. 

The others were all awoken in the same manner. Merula shot to her feet and reached for a wand that wasn't there, and Barnaby scrambled about his cage for a minute in confusion. 

The Death Eater was no longer wearing his mask, revealing a face that reminded Sarah of a Swedish Short-Snout. His squashed nose was nearly hidden behind wiry facial hair, and when he smiled, he showed large, crooked yellow teeth. His eyes had the yellowed appearance of one who enjoys too much drink, and they seemed uncappable of opening wider than a squint. 

"Where's my brother?" said Elena, rising to clutch the bars of her cage. "Let me see him."

"Oh, you'll seem him soon enough, darling. We're planning something special for the two of you, don't you worry. Now," he rubbed his hands together, surveying them all like hanging cuts of meat. "We're ready to see what you've got. Who'd like to go first? What about you, feisty?"

He pointed his wand at Merula. She glared back at him, clearly trying to cast the killing curse on him using just her eyes, but for once, she kept silent. 

Sarah kept quiet too. She told herself to speak up, to spare her friends whatever waited for them in the ring, but she stood, frozen, watching the Death Eater. Sarah had never been a coward. Before she was even of age, she'd fought fully grown dragons and infiltrated a murderous Dark cabal. But there wouldn't be dragons or enemies of any kind in the pit. She'd be facing other victims, people without magic and without hope. Maybe even her own friends. Sarah didn't want to go into the ring, because she was afraid of what the fear of death, the will to survive would turn her into. 

She was afraid of herself. 

"I'll give it a shot," said Jacob. "Can't be worse than anything I've faced before."

The Death Eater laughed. 

"Alright boy, we'll see about that!" 

It took him several minutes to undo enough spells to let Jacob, freshly bound in chains, out of his cage. 

The Death Eater glanced at the others, then shook his head. "Don't wanna waste too much fresh blood this early in the day."

Sarah let out a breath of relief, but cringed as the Death Eater selected William instead. William left his cage like a beaten, submissive dog. He didn't look up from his feet until he passed directly in front of Sarah's cage. Then, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. Sarah would never know if he'd used legilimency to speak with her, or if the hopeless look on his face had just been easy so read, but she'd understood him perfectly. 

Please, remember me. 

Sarah nodded. She knew she never could forget those wretched eyes, no matter how badly she might want to. She'd see them every night in her dreams. 

The Death Eater selected two other fighters for the pit, each of them nearly as ragged and forlorn as William, and the funeral procession exited the dungeon, the door slamming shut behind them. 

For perhaps a half hour, nobody spoke. They hardly moved. It was deadly quiet in the prison. No noise penetrated the door at the end of the chamber. Sarah longed to leave her own mind, to drown out any thoughts or images that came to her, but she knew there was no peace to be found while trapped in this place, this waiting room for death.