Ch-83

Surprisingly, my parents didn't create as big of a scene as I expected them to. One day after my birthday, they sat me down, and we had a frank discussion about my relationship with Emma.

"I love her," I said with utmost seriousness. "A lot." It felt a little strange saying it out to my parents, but it was true. "It doesn't matter what you have to say, I won't stop dating her because of that."

"Troy," Dad said in a serious tone. "You're both very young. We don't want you or Emma to get heartbroken or worse, do something you'll regret for the rest of your lives."

"We're not having sex," I said with absolute certainty. "And we won't for years. I told her very clearly that we won't cross that threshold yet. As for getting heartbroken, we can't stop loving people for the fear of getting heartbroken, or there would be no more relationships in the world."

Dad wanted to argue more, I could sense it, but Mum held his hand and squeezed lightly which stopped him in his tracks.

"Fine," Mum said. "You can continue dating her." I smiled at that. "But, we have a few conditions." Of course. How could there not be?

"First of all, don't take her to your room at all."

"That's not fair!" I complained.

"This is a condition placed by Emma's parents," Mum said. "If you don't follow it, they won't send her here."

That's another thing that I didn't like about the situation. My parents had told Emma's parents about our little affair. As any sane person could guess, they weren't very happy about it. Emma being Emma, she was equally insistent about continuing to see me, so they had laid out a few conditions of their own.

"Fine!" I grumbled. "What else?"

Mum looked at Dad worriedly before he took over, "We can't ignore the fact that the two of you aren't some random kids. You're world famous, and if any outsider gets even a hint of this information, it won't take time for it to become international news. You know how bad it can become, right?" At my nod, he continued, "Until Emma turns 16, we cannot let this news come out or there will be all sorts of nasty rumors. As soon as the production begins, we will get the entire crew to sign fresh NDAs. Whoever refuses, we'll replace them with someone else."

"What about the cast and their entourage?" I asked. "You cannot replace them as well, can you?"

"No, we can't," Dad agreed. "That's why you have to be careful about who you share this information with. Also, you have to…"

That lecture continued for a few hours. I felt tired and emotionally drained afterward. The worst part about the whole conversation was the realization that I would have to continue being careful about my love life for the rest of my life. Or at least as long as I'm an actor. Scandals are very common in the entertainment circle, and the ones that are exposed are only the tip of the iceberg. I also knew that it would be almost impossible to keep this relationship under a lid for three years. 

After that long lecture, I was in desperate need of some sleep. I walked towards my room with that singular thought. After all, the winter break would end in a week and the shooting for [Goblet of Fire] would begin. Then I'd hardly have any time for things like an afternoon nap.

Right as I plopped down on my bed, my phone beeped indicating a message. I wanted to ignore it, but I also knew who the most likely sender was. Now that I was in the UK, we didn't have to rely on emails to talk.

Em: Are you ok?

I sighed before typing a reply.

Me: I'll live. Wbu? Ur parents aren't too angry, are they?

Em: Mum cried when she got the call from Kathy. Dad was angry. But they'll be fine in a few days. Let's talk about something else.

Em: That film you're doing next. Do you think I can play a part in it?

And that was my only regret about pursuing [Perks] as my next film. I loved the film, but it was also likely that due to my involvement, the film would not feature Emma. To compensate for it, I had decided early on that I'd recommend her for another great role in the future.

Me: Didn't you say last week that you'd rather focus on being normal for a few years after [GOF]?

Em: But U'll be away from me for months!

Me: The only good female roles in the story are all much older than you. I don't think this film will suit you.

Em: :( Ok

Before I could end our conversation, I got an email notification. I opened up the email, expecting it to be one of the few fans I interacted with frequently, only to see that the sender was someone I had almost forgotten about.

From: Tobias O'Brien

Hi Troy,

I don't know if you remember me, but we met on the set of [David Letterman] when you were doing press rounds for [Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]. I was the assistant assigned to you personally, and later on in your changing room, you gave me your card about a job with you.

I know it has been quite a long time since then, and I don't even know if you have this email active now, but just in case you do, and you remember me, I wanted to see if you still have a job open with you. Because of some personal reasons, I don't wish to work in New York for the foreseeable future. My other options were all mostly centered around Los Angeles until I remembered your offer. I'd be glad to work as your assistant, manager, or in any other capacity that you want me to. I'm very dedicated to my job, and Mr. Letterman would be happy to give me a recommendation.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Tobias

xxx-xxx-xxx

I remembered him. It was more than two years ago, but I remember the incident and the circumstances under which I offered him a job. I didn't think he would contact me at all given he had recently joined with [Letterman], and working for me meant shifting countries. At that time, I was contemplating hiring someone but had dropped the idea later on. Now that I am venturing into production as well, I'd definitely need someone other than my mother to oversee my affairs.

Enough of that, I need to rest right now. I'll contact him later.

(Break)

The shooting for [Goblet of Fire] began soon after the winter break. Some of the old crew members who had been with us from the first day left the set because they refused to sign an NDA. To clarify, they weren't fired; instead, they were put on some other film by Warner. The number of people who left was in the single digits, so it didn't impact the production that much.

Dad and his team had made up a story that someone in the crew was selling information about kids to the media, that's why they needed everyone to sign on this. On paper, the excuse was very good and most people agreed in the name of child protection.

As soon as I reached the set and changed, I was escorted to the place where our training would begin. By "we," I mean the four actors who would play the roles of the four champions of the Triwizard Tournament, and by "training," I meant training for the second task where we will have to shoot most of the part underwater.

I still have nightmares from my time shooting underwater scenes for [Artificial Intelligence], but it is unavoidable for the good of the film.

As I greeted my fellow actors, I couldn't help but feel that my presence had changed the casting once again. The actor for Viktor Krum was the same, Stanislav Ianevski, but the actress for Fleur Delacour was being played by a gorgeous girl by the name of Lea Seydoux. I don't recall the name of the original actress, but I know her face, and this was not her.

The biggest change in the casting was the tall boy playing the role of Cedric Diggory, who was played by none other than future Superman (at least in an alternate universe) by the name of Henry Cavill. Henry was only 19 at the moment, so perfect to play the role of Cedric. When he was cast in the film, the shooting of [Prisoner of Azkaban] was going on, so he was called on to make a cameo in that film as well. The scene where dementors attack me while playing Quidditch. I felt a little bad for Robert Pattinson and his massive global fanbase, but some things were just beyond my control.

"It's good you're all here early," our diving instructor, Bernie, said. "The script requires you to act underwater without even a single bubble released for taking a breath. This is called free diving, and it is the most difficult sort of diving where you don't have any equipment to breathe. Troy and Henry here have dived before, so their training would be a little different from Lea and Stan. Let's get you all geared up."

The four of us were already in our skintight wetsuits, and soon Henry and I were fitted with a heavy cylinder each and so began our diving practice in the huge diving room they had set up for us. Warner Bros had set up this huge pool at the Leavesden Studios where all the underwater scenes would be shot, and we were using the same spot for our training as well.

The schedule of [Goblet] was the worst as of yet. For us four champions, the day began at the crack of dawn at 5 AM when we had to reach the set. Then we would practice diving nonstop for three hours. Because I was the protagonist and had the most diving scenes in the movie, I was given a lot more attention than the other three. Then after a big breakfast, I would go back to the set proper, and the regular shooting would begin. Then, in the evening, we would do some more diving practice. By the time I got home, I just wanted to pass out. I barely had any time left to talk to Emma when we were not shooting together, and we didn't even have that many scenes with each other in this film initially. Just like this scene that we were shooting.

I stood in the room hesitantly as the three Triwizard champions were looking in my direction. I didn't know what to do or say because the situation was pretty awkward.

"What is it?" Lea said in a French accent. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

Suddenly, there was a commotion behind me as I slowly turned in that direction. When I saw that the three headmasters, a few professors, and ministry officials came into the room, I fully turned in that direction without answering Lea's question as suddenly Michael Gambon came running up to me and held my shoulders. He calmly pushed me back against some trinkets placed in the room. Then he asked me equally calmly while shaking me from head to toe, "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire, Harry?"

I couldn't help myself anymore. I broke my character and started laughing hysterically. Michael Gambon joined in on the fun and started laughing as well. Behind him, I could see some of the other actors also laughing at us.

"Sorry," I said while turning in the direction where Alfonso was standing. "He shook me too wildly. I couldn't help myself."

"It's okay," Alfonso grinned. "It's only the first take. Let's get it right on the next one."

As Gambon separated from me, I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I knew I could have asked to change this scene to be more accurate to the book description, but if they had done that, the iconic meme would have been lost. Overall, it didn't impact the film that much, and I was having entirely too much fun to include this while no one else knew why.

After a couple of more takes, we were successful in getting the right shot as per Alfonso's vision and moved on to the next scene. The wait time between the two scenes was around 20 minutes, so I decided to stay on set during that time. Before I could take out my phone to text Emma, someone came and stood beside me.

"Man," Henry Cavill said as he stood next to me. "Is it always this hectic on this set?"

"Yes," I said emphatically. "But you're probably feeling it more than others because of the diving practice. The first three films were relatively tame as compared to this one."

He nodded in acceptance before whispering to me, "Hey, do you think you can help me out a little?"

Surprised, I whispered back, "That depends on what you need help with. And why the hell are we whispering?"

Henry turned a little embarrassed at my question but answered nonetheless, "Can you help me out with Lea? She's… so hot."

I stared at him to see if he was serious, and when he didn't break out in laughter, I got to know that he was.

"Why can't you be a man, go up to her, and ask for her number?" I offered. "How could I help you out, anyway? I'm just 14."

"Are you kidding me?" He asked incredulously. "You're the world's biggest superstar right now. You can probably do anything, and date anyone. As soon as you turn 16, girls would be throwing themselves at you. I could ask her number, but I don't want to come across as a try-hard, you know? Please do this for me. All you have to do is go up to her and start some small talk. Then, sometime later, I would walk by and you can include me. Then, you make some excuse, get out, and let me do the rest."

Essentially he wanted me to be his wingman.

"Okay," I said, "I'll help you, bro. But if you two go on a date, you have to treat me to a good meal."

"Done," he agreed easily.

Bidding him farewell, I walked up to Lea and waved, "Hey Lea, how're you doing?"

I could see that Lea was a little surprised that I approached her. I could guess the reason easily. Henry was correct in saying that Lea was hot, and I was a hormone-filled teenage boy with a beautiful girlfriend. Emma would kill me if she even suspected some wrongdoing on my end. So it's better to stay away from Lea. It's not like we had many scenes together that our chemistry would suffer.

"I'm good," she smiled at me. "Tell me."

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Tell me what you and Henry were saying about me," she said mischievously.

I stood there, shocked for a few seconds before regaining my composure, "We weren't. I like talking to all my co-actors." I lied through my teeth.

She gave me a disbelieving look. "I can read lips," she said. "At least in French, I can. So I know he said my name. I didn't get the rest, and suddenly you walked up to me. So tell me, or I'll ask Henry."

I would be the worst wingman in the history of wingmen for what I said next.

"Fine, we were talking about you. Mostly how Henry thinks you're the most beautiful girl in the whole world and he wanted to ask you out. But he's scared that you'll say no. That's why he sent me to test the waters, so to speak."

She sent her beautiful smile at me, "And how do the waters look?"

"That depends, are you single?"

"Yes."

"Do you like Henry?"

Covertly, she looked behind me at where Henry must be standing and then nodded, "I do."

"Then it's decided," I announced before turning to Henry and motioning him to come forth, which he did, surprise evident on his face.

"Henry, why don't you talk to Lea? I have to use the restroom." And with that pathetic excuse, I ran off, leaving Henry to his fate.

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AN: I have a new poll on Pat reon about Troy's Marvel Superhero debut. Go vote on it if you haven't already.

Link: www(dot)pat reon(dot)com/fableweaver