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Chapter - 147
🕑 Added 2025-06-05 15:45:51 +0000 UTC[Title : Workshop]
….
As the auditions went on to continue the days were slipping past for two weeks.
Regal leaned back in the chair, his undereye darkened slightly, as the sleepless nights and endless auditions tapes and reviews occupied him.
“How the hell am I supposed to convince that brat again?” He muttered an expression slightly defeated playing with black shades in his hands.
He didn’t need to say the name.
Everyone around - Samantha, Simon, Andrew - knew exactly who he meant.
Daniel Radcliffe.
…the boy who was supposed to be - The Boy Who Lived - but who still hadn’t signed.
Behind the scenes, the talks were still ongoing.
His parents were interested, but playing cautious.
Daniel himself seemed unsure, and unwilling.
And while this was happening, Regal’s casting team was scrambling to line up contingency options…. just in case.
Alas, Regal believed in certain truths: there are actors who are born with a calling to play certain roles.
Undoubtedly, for him, Daniel Radcliffe under the skin of - Harry Potter - was one of them.
“Anyway… today I might get an answer.” He murmured, rising from the chair.
He stepped out of the room, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve. Trailing behind him was a man built like a vault door, dressed head to toe in black.
“Hey, Rock.” Regal said casually, not even glancing back. “Think the kid will say yes today?”
Rock grunted. “....I don’t know.”
“...?” Regal was weirdly surprised. “You are unusually uninsightful in things like this.”
But honestly, no one knew what Daniel would do. Not his agent nor his parents. Maybe not even Daniel himself.
Today wasn’t a formal shoot day - it was a pre-pre-test session.
However, Regal planned to be more of a workshop for all the potential kids that passed the first to tests and most likely to feature in the film - like a no-pressure, no makeup, and just a casual ‘hangout’ under soft lights and lo-fi cameras.
Similarly, he had proposed the plan to Daniel’s parents, referring it to a Sunday picnic.
A playful industry visit. A chance to let the kids just be.
Fortunately, Daniel had agreed to attend. Maybe he was curious as it was not a common procedure that happens? Who knows?
However, since he is coming, Regal didn't dilly dally and set him up with future his trio.
Rupert Grint was set to arrive too - Regal had met personally, and he was happy the kid got the innate aptitude for the role, despite his talent in overall acting.
It's just him being him.
And as for the one girl who is playing - Hermione?
She is most probably already inside by now…. talking the ear off the costume assistant, no doubt.
As Regal strode down the narrow corridor of the rehearsal studio, the air was thick with youthful energy - snippets of laughter, sudden bursts of dialogue practice, the occasional shout from an instructor echoing off the high, industrial ceiling.
Regal had insisted on this workshop phase.
The drills were basic: camera timing, improvisation warm-ups, posture correction.
He passed room after room, each holding about fifteen children, all under the watchful eyes of acting coaches and studio overseers.
Nearly fifty kids in total. Well, there were supposed to be more, like about fifteen more kids, but they chose to prepare themselves privately.
However, ten days from now, the first real screen test will happen. Of the seventy-five, only thirty to forty would make it.
Brutal, yes. But necessary.
It had been three days since the process began, and he had met each of them personally. Regal is not narrowminded, and he understands they need some basic training before providing their best during audition for the roles.
So he gave them what they needed.
….
Regal continued walking, eventually reaching a glass-panelled rehearsal room.
However, just from the surface one could tell it was more private and secluded.
Inside were a couple of young assistant cinematographers adjusting the lens while a woman arranged colored tape marks on the floor.
And then - he saw him.
Daniel Radcliffe.
The boy was standing quietly by the window, looking out at the grey sky beyond the studio glass.
His hair was a little longer than needed, and he kept touching the edge of his sweater sleeves.
When Regal stepped into the room, Daniel turned slowly.
His eyes - blue with a kind of storm in them - met Regal’s for a moment that was both direct and guarded.
Regal gave him a slight nod. “Daniel.”
“Hi.” - the boy said, barely above a whisper, polite but unsure.
“....” And just like that, Regal was already cursing himself internally.
He had thought through so many ways to nail this first impression.
Maybe come off as the chill, cool guy - the kind who made kids instantly comfortable.
He had even felt confident. Relaxed, even.
After all, he has been interacting with a lot of kids from the past few weeks, and learned a bit or two on approaching them.
Also, he has little experience talking to a kid before too.
A girl. Around the same age.
Maybe even younger when he first met her.
And things had gone smoothly then. So naturally, he had assumed he was good with kids.
But now, standing here in front of Daniel, he realized something else entirely.
Maybe, it wasn’t that he was good with kids.
It was that most of the other kids were not as serious as Daniel.
Damn, why does he have to be so smart for his age? Regal exhaled, mentally kicking himself. Well maybe that's what makes his… special.
And just like that an adult and a kid stood in that moment - two people from wildly different worlds, one trying to offer an invisible bridge.
Creak–!
Then the door opened again, and in came -
Rupert Grint.
He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, a hoodie half-zipped, and hair that looked like it had fought with his pillow and lost.
His eyes scanned the room and landed on Daniel. Then on Regal. Then back to Daniel.
“Hey.” Rupert Grint said, voice cracking slightly but confident enough to carry the room’s energy. “Uh… this is where we are supposed to be?”
Right. He wasn't informed why he was called here alone. Regal smiled and sighed at the same time. There was something instantly likable about the kid.
Daniel nodded to him. “Yeah. I think so.”
Rupert wandered over, his sneakers squeaking on the floor, and stood beside Daniel at the window. “You see the train set outside? That thing is huge!”
He was speaking about the fake model he just saw outside, which he didn't know from the past two days as he wasn't allowed here.
Daniel blinked. “The Hogwarts Express?”
Rupert nodded, grinning. “Yeah. Like, they are building a real one. Not just some green mat thing. I touched it when the guy wasn’t looking. Hehe….”
At that Daniel’s lips curled. A smile threatened to appear but didn’t quite make it.
Regal turned slightly, keeping his hands in his pockets. “Rupert, this Daniel. And Daniel, this is Rupert, who is testing Ron. Also, there will be another one joining you two.”
He pointed towards Daniel. “Since this will be your first day, make yourselves comfortable. We are keeping things simple today. You will just move around, talk a bit, maybe hold a wand or two. No lines, no nothing. Just… hang out. Maybe you can join the other kids too if you are interested.”
Daniel looked down. “Okay.”
“Cool.” Rupert said, already pacing in a small circle and pretending to swish an invisible wand. “I wanna try the spell that explodes stuff. What is it called again? Explodo-um?”
Daniel gave a small, startled laugh - quick and breathy, but honest. Regal noted it silently.
First crack in the ice.
“Expulso.” came a crisp, confident voice from the doorway.
Regal turned his head.
There she was.
Lily Harris - ten years old, arms crossed. She stepped into the room like she owned every inch of it.
“It is called Expulso. But that is not something first-years can do, obviously.” She added, glancing at Rupert with a faintly disapproving look that felt straight out of the books.
Her eyes drifted over to Rupert, and her tone flattened with a touch of mock disdain - like she had already pegged him as Ron.
Rupert blinked. “Oh. Right. Though it sounded a bit... boomier.”
She kept walking, past Rupert, right up to Regal.
Without slowing, she gave him a quick, harmless punch to the stomach - just a soft thud against his coat.
“You.” She said, narrowing her eyes. “Why haven’t you asked me to play her yet?”
Regal gave a small exhale through his nose - half-smile, half-sigh. Yeah... she was onto him.
Technically, he had called her to the studio today. But he hadn’t said why.
Just a casual, "Come on down, I have got a few things to show you. It will be fun."
His plan was to ease her in. Let her walk into it herself. Not that it mattered. She already knew.
“Well.” Regal said dryly. “You are going to play her anyway, whether you say yes or not.”
If Samantha - or anyone from line production - had been nearby, they would have combusted on the spot.
That wasn’t how casting was supposed to be handled - not when millions were riding on it. Not when there were contracts, screen tests, and studio approvals pending.
But Regal didn’t care.
Not when the right person was standing in front of him.
He motioned casually toward Rupert. “Anyway. Nothing is decided yet. For now, just… try to get along with these two.”
He turned. “This is Rupert - he is testing for Ron.”
Lily gave Rupert a once-over, head tilted.
“Hmm.” She said, noncommittally.
Rupert raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Not even a hello?”
“I am saving it in case you pass the test.” Lily said with a bright smile that didn't suit her words.
A grin bloomed across Rupert’s face. “Sassy. Okay, Hermione.”
Regal smirked faintly, then gestured to the boy still standing motionless by the window. “And that is Daniel.”
Regal had nearly forgotten he was still there. Daniel hadn’t moved an inch since Lily had entered.
Not a blink or a shift. He looked like he had been turned to stone.
Even after hearing his name, he remained completely still.
Regal frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Lily noticed it too.
She stepped toward him, closing the gap in a few strides.
“Hello?” She said gently, now standing directly in front of him.
Daniel blinked. His eyes refocused. Slowly, he nodded.
That was it.
But Lily saw it - and smiled faintly, satisfied.
She stepped back without another word, her gaze drifting toward a rack near the corner of the room.
And then her eyes lit up.
“Wait... is that our school uniform?”
She darted past Daniel, heading for a long rail of costumes where a few prototype Hogwarts outfits hung in protective plastic.
Rupert, still trying to process the last thirty seconds, squinted.
“Uniform?” His voice has a touch of terror to it.
Lily was already yanking one sleeve out of its cover, marveling at the stitching.
“It’s even got the crest.” She said, excited.
Rupert jogged over, curiosity lighting up his face.
“I am coming too.” He said, nearly tripping over a floor marker on the way.
The two of them huddled around the costume rack, their voices overlapping in bursts - Lily’s sharp and certain, Rupert’s more scattered, like he was just catching up to the energy in the room.
Daniel stayed near the window. Still blinking. Still quiet.
But something had changed.
His shoulders had dropped slightly, the tight grip of his fingers loosening at last. His eyes weren’t scanning for exits anymore - they were watching them.
Watching her.
Then Lily’s voice rose above the murmur.
“Hey - look at this.” She said, holding something up in the air toward Rupert, her brows pulled in focus.
She turned her head, glancing over at Daniel again.
He hadn’t moved.
Without hesitating, she marched over to him, a soft determination in her step.
She didn’t say a word - just grabbed his hand and tugged him gently to the long rehearsal mirror nearby.
Daniel stumbled forward, caught off guard, but didn’t resist.
In one motion, Lily reached up and placed a pair of thin, round glasses on his face.
They were the glasses.
The ones Regal had quietly commissioned months ago - sitting in a case waiting for the right moment.
Lily stepped back a pace, narrowed one eye, and held up her fingers like a camera frame.
She tilted her head.
“…Hhhh… perfect.” She whispered, more to herself than anyone.
Beside her, Rupert had paused mid-buttoning a prototype sweater. He squinted at Daniel, then nodded slowly.
“Yeah.” He said. “That’s totally him.”
Daniel blinked again. This time not because he was lost - but because he was stunned.
He looked at his reflection.
And for the first time that day, he actually saw what they were seeing.
And then - quietly, almost like it surprised even him - he spoke.
“…they feel weird.” He said, adjusting the bridge of the glasses.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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Comments
Rohit Reddy
Edited them
BGDGr81
TFTC!
PRANAV AGGARWAL
Ch 148 and 149 are not there. Ch 151, 152,153 are also not in the queue.
