Harry slowly felt the return to consciousness. The combined effect of the portkey and the Stunning Spell left Harry with a low-grade headache that felt rather like a mild hangover. His Beast-enhanced physiology was quickly recovering and he could feel the headache lessen even as he became aware of his surroundings.
He was in a grave yard shackled to a large, granite gravestone with his back to the stone and his arms attached to either side. The heavy iron manacles that encased his wrists were too solid even for the Beast to break. Plus there was a good chance they were magically enhanced. The chains were just as solid and seemed magically bound to the granite with some type of sticking charm. Harry doubted he could free himself with physical force. Harry reached for his wand in its normal holster but was not surprised to find it missing. So no magic was going to free him right now either.
Harry took stock of the area around him. The graveyard sat down in a hollow between some large hills and he could hear the slight sounds of a brook flowing nearby. The graveyard seemed to still be in some use but based on the dates on the few stones around him that he could see, this section had filled up sometime in the 1940's. The sod over the grave on which he stood was thick but somewhat wild and overgrown like it had not seen a clipping in some time. Harry did notice that there were torches set in sconces attached to some of the tombs. These looked new and the torches fresh.
Directly across from Harry was a small 'park' area. It was an open grassy area with a pair of benches that had clearly seen better days. But what caught Harry's attention were four circles burnt into the grass. One circle, larger than the others, sat in the middle of the clearing. The three smaller circles were like small moons circling a planet but were equidistant from each other. Harry didn't know what the circles were for but it made him nervous for some reason.
Perched on a hill some distance away were the electric lights of a small Muggle village. It was still light enough that the buildings were somewhat visible but a few street lights were already on. It had been about 17.00 when the Tournament's closing ceremony ended and by now the sun was below the horizon from Harry's vantage point. Harry guessed he'd been unconscious for at least an hour.
Harry cursed under his breath. 'I should have worn one of the recording crystals,' he thought. Not only would Sirius and Remus have been able to track him and see what was going on around Harry, but they were connected to the portkeys used by the champions.
A sound behind him made Harry tense. Someone was coming up behind him.
"Ah, Mr Potter. You are awake."
A man stepped out from behind Harry. He looked to be in his mid-30's and wore the black cloak of a Death Eater with the hood thrown back. A silver mask peeked out of a pocket at his side. The man looked like a normal person but his eyes burned with fanaticism.
"I've so wanted to meet you… formally I mean. After all, I've been watching you all year. Such a fascinating person. I can see why My Lord is so interested in you."
"Who are you?" Harry asked. "Obviously you are not Filch." The Death Eater chuckled.
"Oh Morgana, no. I hated that man worse than I did my father. Worthless little squib - always scurrying about looking for scraps from his betters' table and hissing worthless threats against the students. Killing him and that damn cat of his was a beautiful thing." To Harry's disgust the man said it with an almost sexual satisfaction.
"I'd thought of going after Mad-Eye - oh the irony of that! Dear old Uncle Alastor! He was the one that arrested me you know. Taught me to fly a broom and then sent me off to Azkaban. But My Lord and I decided it was too much of a gamble. What if I failed to subdue poor uncle? Mad-eye is many things but an incompetent dueller he is not. So we decided to go for the pathetic, invisible squib. I did stop by though to set off Uncle's wards and traps. Made him look the paranoid delusional he really is when the Ministry showed up to see what the fuss was all about.
"Once at Hogwarts, no one took notice of me. Not even Uncle or Dumbledore. After all, everyone knows a squib is no danger to a wizard! And no one missed having Filch around much so there was no suspicion when I drank my Polyjuice Potion. You ruined my simple plan with your little ward, Harry. I was quite angry but forgave you after I saw you diverted my target to that spawn-of-a-coward into trouble. I really did enjoy the chaos you created. Most entertainment I've had in years. But I wanted to make you the centre of attention, not the Malfoy spawn. After all, you are the one seen as being responsible for the Master's downfall not that little twit. Oh, but I had to be oh-so-subtle! A word here about Hogwarts's poor showing in the duels, and another one here about the Third Task needing to be better. And you can through perfectly! So now here you are!"
Harry had decided halfway through the wizard's monologue that the man was completely unhinged.
"Who are you? Harry interrupted the man.