* * * Triwizard Foolishness * * *
An Essentially Magical Alternate Universe Tangent Storyette
This takes place during the first task of HP4, at an imaginary point in time during November that is both after the events of New Moon, and yet before Bella's senior class graduation. Alternatively, the first task could have simply switched places with one of the other tasks during this time frame.
While I honestly believe the wizarding world's (healthy) fear of undead vampires is formidable enough that this really couldn't happen, even given their significant level of societal immaturity, the potential of the scenario was just too fascinating an idea to pass up.
Wizards' Folly
Supremely confident in the absolute effectiveness of their illusory protective wards against the possibility of discovery or intrusion by the most elusive and deadly species in the world (plus, wanting an opportunity to safely learn more about them up close and personal), instead of choosing dragons as the focal point of the first challenging task of the Triwizard tournament: the panel of judges – over Dumbledore's objection, most assuredly! – has chosen to bring in vampires.
U-vampires, to be specific; the undead predators of the muggle world.
In order to do this without risk of mortal injury to competitors and spectators alike, the Ministry has requisitioned the creation of a thoroughly warded corral space located upon Hogwarts' grounds, designed to absolutely contain and illusorily redirect the summoned undead in such a way as should keep them from ever realizing that the odd parameters of their temporary captivity were anything but a waking dream. No human-drinking-creature – and, to be safe, no potentially accompanying muggle trapped within their grasp – would be able to sense any sound, sight, or smell originating from outside the confined space, even as the embedded spellwork fabricated all the virtual evidence necessary to present to them a pristine forest of infinite size. Regardless of how fast and powerfully any vampire might try to run their way straight through it (for instance) from any given location, in actuality they would merely end up running in circles, as the warding fooled them into believing they'd been going straight all along.
The summoning effect would be as if some unknown trigger had strangely caused each vampire to instantly transport into a different time, or alternate dimension… eventually and instantly to bring them right back again into their own world when all was said and done (even if each would reappear at a widely different location, as if falling out of the sky… having been re-summoned over a large body of water, by an invisible wizard on a broom, to ensure the summoner's safety)… in such a way as would completely obscure the underlying details of any wizarding world involvement.
It wouldn't be a long interruption from their daily lives, they assured themselves; only long enough for each u-vampire's champion to clandestinely coax them into revealing some previously undiscovered aspect of their nature. The grander and more invaluable the coaxed-out revelation turned out to be, the more points would be awarded for it (worth half of their score!)… just as the remaining points would ultimately reflect whatever relevant ingenuity, complexity, and/or quality of enchantment was used in the effort.
Finally, everything happening inside the warded arena would be instantly magnified, translated, and/or speed and frequency adjusted as necessary – to provide unambiguous feedback to every champion and judge, as well as allow for the viewing delight of all tournament spectators. For reference purposes, everything conjured up by the virtual spell in response to the mental action of any subject held within its scope, would also be visible to the audience… just with somewhat of a translucent appearance, to remind them of the fact that it was in actuality an illusory effect.
The only thing left to do was determine whether the four subject vampires (already set to be the newest, the oldest, the hungriest, and the thirstiest, obviously because it would be safest to choose whichever extremes would have them at their weakest) will be brought into an area that is individually divided from every other subject (allowing for the easier judging of each competitor's efforts), or communally shared (making possible a much greater range of potential knowledge that might possibly be revealed).
All contingent on the council's decision.
As the final debate gets underway, it can't be ignored that the determination made today could significantly impact the outcome of the Tournament. In fact, simply due to the powerful and fearful nature of the undead, the revelations involved could leave a lasting mark on the mindset of the wizarding world; it will be important to truly consider every aspect of the choice. Dear reader, what would you advise?
Accordingly, this task will play out in one of two ways.