Sunday, August 28, 2011

Amore Vietato, or Love and Death in the Time of Hogwarts, Where Nothing Makes Sense

Oh goodness gracious. Amore Vietato. Forbidden love. Is there anything that makes you want to puke more? Oh, right. Harry Potter turned on it's head so that everyone's a goth. I haven’t done a story about “a punk with a bit of an attitude problem” yet, have I? I mean, I’ve reviewed an extremely weird dark Harry story crossed over with Twilight (who could forget?) but I haven’t done the troubled teen girl yet.

Luckily, I found this.

“This” is a rather confusing story called Amore Vietato. It centers on a young girl named Rain Star Twilight, her best friend Sarah, and a random assortment of the regular Harry Potter characters. Rain Star Twilight plays in a band called Dark Pheonix, has “pale tanned skin” (wonder what that looks like?) and is transferring from the Salem Witches Institute to Hogwarts with her friend Sarah. And that my friends, is where we join the journey.

Rain’s brother, River (their names have such synergy, don’t you agree?) drives them to the airport, where Rain and Sarah have a brief “Do-you-remember-when-we-first-met-moment” which isn’t really worth mentioning here. Suffice to say we find that Rain’s band is predictably cliché, and Sarah is too preppy for their tastes, but plays piano like a piano wielding goddess, and so joins the band. They say the rest is history, but we don’t get to stop there.

Wee! Playing piano in a crappy band is so much fun!

Once they land, they make their way to the Leaky Cauldron, where Rain runs into Draco (le gasp!) who is mesmerized by her beautiful silver eyes. I bet you anything that before the end he cries deeply in her arms.

We join Draco in the next chapter, where we learn he is just simply pale, and that his father beats him in their house dungeon. He also has scars, but hides them well. Poor, tortured soul! He’s only mean because Daddy doesn’t love him!

We then see the meeting with Rain from his point of view, and he hears a lovely voice saying “Sarah, wait the hell up!” The voice of true love, am I right? But alas, when he goes back home his father knows that he was seen with “a witch less of you” and that he is not to see her again. To solidify this command, Draco is beaten. Again.

Throughout the next couple chapters, Rain has a flashback to when she and Sarah blew up half a potions room and got turned into hobbits in the process.

Oh good. Now I want you to take this ring...

Draco gets beaten some more (and Rain joins in on the fun in that she gets beaten too!), but he stands up for himself and challenges his father to some sort of ill thought out duel. Rain is really confused for a while afterward, either because she has a concussion, or she’s too stupid to function. Then Rain meets Harry Potter and Co., and hilarity ensues. Apparently Rain is Harry’s cousin. SURPRISE. How could she not have a connection to Harry Potter?

Anyway, they discuss this connection during dinner, while Ron eats with enthusiasm, because in fanfiction, Ron’s appetite is unsastiable and he can eat approximately the same amount of food as a baby whale.

Mmm, krill.

Later on, in the common room, Rain is struggling to write a song, while muttering to her self “A B B C A D.” Harry inquires as to what she is doing.

I'm trying to learn the alphabet, you fool!

They get into a conversation about relatives and the like, seeing as how they’re related, only they can’t be too sure because that would spoil the surprise in this story, wouldn’t it? Also, they both have the same godfather, but then Harry drops the bomb that he’s dead. This is never mentioned again.

Shortly after, Sarah tries to convince Rain that she is in love with Draco. Rain, not having any of it, and possibly still confused over how this story is supposed to go from her recent beating, denies it. One chapter later she gets it and decides to go out with him. There was a lot of Draco mushyness involved, but I’ll skip over that.

Soon after, Rain abruptly gets a letter from her “mom” explaining that she’s not really her mom, she’s her aunt, and she’s actually Harry’s twin sister. This leaves so many gaping plot holes open that I cannot even begin to contemplate how this is possible. Perhaps Rain is a metamorphagus, because, oh, I don’t know, she looks NOTHING LIKE HARRY, and everything like HER BROTHER RIVER.

A tasty representation of this fanfiction.

The author hastily patches up this plot hole by explaining that there is a spell over Rain, and there is one that she can perform to “make her look like she truly should.” Oh, gag. She reveals herself to Harry, and there is that understated celebration that only an author of this skill could accomplish.

But Draco finds out that she’s actually a Potter, and says that he’s not mad, but it’s a shock to him, and he’s afraid of dear old Dad. Rain is all for it, but she thinks Draco apparently is not, and while he goes off to lunch, she heads up to the Gryffindor common room to kill herself.

Now that I'm a zombie, he'll finally love me!

In the midst of all this kerfufffle, Sarah starts dating Harry, and in a brilliant stroke of imaginary Sue creation logic, they go on a double date with Rain and Draco to Hogsmeade. And of course, Hogsmeade has the wizarding equivalent of Hot Topic!

Draco dyes his hair black and red! He pierces his lip, eyebrows, and ears! And tongue! Because Draco is a whipped bitch (from practice!)(OH THAT WAS BAD) and lets his psychotic girlfriend practice makeovers on him.

There. You look much better now.

Afterwards, getting drinks, Dracos father spots them and flips his shit and knocks Draco unconscious. Draco stays unconscious for about two weeks, and Rain mopes about his room everyday, crying and generally being a leaky faucet. Then Lucius shows up to “pull the plug” on Draco, so to speak. Rain pops up and tries to stop him, but Lucius chokes her and flings her into a wall. Then Draco wakes up just in time! My guess is that it’s Rain’s turn to be unconscious for two weeks now. Or a month.

And I’m right. When Rain wakes up, she has no memory of anyone except Sarah. Oh, the drama! But she knows instinctively that Draco is her soul mate! In chapter 12, Draco cries! Yes! Previous predications come true!

Then the story descends into absolute confusion, with Rain and Draco breaking up, Rain’s parents (or aunt and uncle I suppose) dying, Rain and Draco getting back together (I think), blah blah blah. The whole thing ends in massive confusion. Hooray!