lincolnkw | Valiant Effort has eaten my brain

I have listened to the Valiant Effort CD

eleanor_lavish sent seven times so far. It has wormed it's way into my poor abused little brain. And then my psyche manipulated it into a new form adn is now beating on the inside of my skull.

I want a similar concept in the Harry Potter world.

It would, of course, have to start with Harry and his fellow bandmates on stage in the middle of a show and then flashback to various scenes so that we know who's who and how they got there.

Harry would be lead guitar. He started playing the summer after fifth year, as an escape, using a guitar that Dudley had thrown aside. Luckily he didn't get caught. He also sings a bit, but doesn't like the idea of being in the solo spotlight, just another reason to be stared at. He plays in a folksie, acoustic manner.

Dean Thomas would be bass. He is enough of a cipher in the books that, really, no explanation is required. He just likes music enough to want to play no matter what. He just isn't that into the singing thing. Your classic rock stylings.

Ginny Weasley would be the drummer as I can totally see her taking them up to annoy her brothers and to stand out as something other than the youngest or the only girl. Loud, physical and fun! She so very much wants to be a punk princess.

Ginny and Dean are talking in the great hall at a meal and Harry overhears them and lets slip that he too plays an instrument, Dean jumps top the conclusion they should form a band, just likethe Hobgoblins and the Weird Sisters. Ginny loves the idea, Harry is not that enamoured of it, but Dean is persuasive. And persistent.

So Harry eventualy caves and as they discuss it Padma Patil overhears them and says she plays piano if they might possibly be interested. It would alsop be another way of separating herself from her more flighty sister. She's fine with singing but her voice isn't strong enough to be lead. Her style would be a mixture of strict classical and new agish David Lanz/Jim Brickman type stuff.

Ron just wants to be Head Roadie, heck harry's involved so he has to be. Sort of sad that is but really the boy can't sing himself out of a wet paperbag.

They dragoon Hermione into being their manager-type person, she resists but is sucked into it by Ron and Neville who thinks the eniotre idea is cool!

Colin would have to be their photogrepher, I am nothing if not one for typecasting.

So. A band without a lead singer. One guess who I think it should be.

Padma overhears someone singing out by the lake one night and lets the others know. She didn't know who it was but he was good. So they go on a hunt to find out who it was. Surprisingly it turns out to be Draco, who has been a bit subdued this year after the events at the ministry. His father in prison ad outed as a Death Eater and his mother while not an official one she is trying to cover the family's asses and trying to save as much from the Ministry as possible so she is very distant and too busy for her son. At one point se flat out tells him to grow up and be his own man, look what happened to his father after all.

Harry and Ginny are completely against the idea, Dean is neutral. Padma ewnds up talking with Draco and discovering how things are at home ad that he's not THAT bad. An ego the size of the moon, but in the music world that would not be too out of place. She starts practicing with him and eventually arranges it so that the others overhear. She's nopt a Ravenclaw for nothing, you know. Convincing Dean is easy, Ginny not so much but she succumbs after hearing his singing and getting an apology. A terse one but still. Draco is pure sex on legs while performing.

Harry isharder to convince but he's outvoted and lets the others know Draco is only in on probation, if he acts out Harry walks and screw the entire idea.

Ron, of course is furious, Hermione is practical she can see the PR aspects of Malfoy and Potter in the same band. So can Colin who arranges some photo sessions of the band. How, oh how, do the pictures reach the papers?? Who could the culprit have been.

The teachers reserve judgement for the most part, Snape andf McGonagall are completley against the idea, for differing reason. SUrprisingly Flitwick and Hooch are all for it, we discover that Hooch was in a band in the sixties before succumbing to the lure of full-time Quidditch. She decides to mentor the group.

they manage to meld their disparate musical styles into a cohesive whole, letting each others tastes out in turn, they perform at school a few times before getting a real gig at the Three Broomsticks where they are heard by Stubby Boardman and given some advice.

They eventually acquire a real manager who gets them better gigs and advises them to branch out into the Muggle world to make money and get face time, crossover so to speak. Hilarity ensues, the occasional memory charm and slip up.

During these happenings I see Ginny and Dean getting together, Ron and Hermione (of course, but they are the definition of dysfunctional, arguing, sniping, make-up snogging) and Harry becoming more and more attractedto the changed (bui still highly snarky, sarcastic and occasionally mean
and rude) Draco. getting together, breaking up, settling differences, all while still practicing and gigging together.

Their occasional backup singers would be Justin Finch-Fletchly, Blaize Zabini and Susan Bones.

I just can't decide on what they would call their band?? I am so going to attempt a CD for the group, any suggestions would be helpful.

Hmm, this would put them in 1996-1997 and on. I shall have to look into what songs were released before then.