Welcome to the Set

September 29, 2000 | Hertfordshire, England

POV Chris

Chris was no stranger to the business.

He had already worked on plenty of sets, including well-known productions like Home Alone. He had worked with children there too. Yet none of that seemed to have prepared him for what awaited him here on the set of Harry Potter.

Dozens of children between the ages of ten and sixteen stood gathered in front of him, waiting for his instructions—or rather, they weren't waiting. They were doing what children their age did. They were being children.

They talked, argued, and did just about everything except give him the attention he felt he deserved. But what else could he do except repeatedly tell them, politely but firmly, to shut up?

So far, with only moderate success.

His only consolation was that Oliver seemed to be having even more trouble with it than he was.

Chris wasn't angry with him. Quite the opposite—the boy had been right.

At first, it had been difficult for Chris to accept that a ten-year-old had essentially told him, albeit indirectly, that he had no boundaries and couldn't even protect three children from a few journalists.

But after he'd had some time to think about it, Chris had been forced to admit that the boy had been right. Which made it all the more satisfying to see that same boy apparently suffering even more than he was now.

"CAN YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP ALREADY?!" Oliver shouted, his voice echoing across the entire set.

Chris stared at him in disbelief, as did everyone else gathered in the Great Hall. But it worked. Finally, Chris could start giving the children their instructions.

Emma, who had of course known Oliver for years, seemed to be struggling not to laugh and whispered something to him, earning nothing but a dark look in return.

"Right. I know the first day of filming can be exciting, but please stay focused. We're shooting the banquet scene in the Great Hall now. We'll start with the master shot and then move on to the individual setups," Chris explained.

It took another few minutes before every child was finally where they were supposed to be and Chris could give the signal.

"Action!"

Oliver let his gaze wander around the Great Hall before finally looking up at the ceiling. Emma noticed and began her line, explaining that the ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky outside.

She didn't get very far.

"Shit!" she cursed after getting stuck only a few words in.

Oliver stayed in character, turning to her as Harry with a concerned expression. "Hermione, are you all right? I never thought I'd hear you talk like that!"

For a moment, Emma simply stared at him before bursting into laughter.

"Cut!" Chris called, unable to keep himself from grinning as well.

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"He's annoying!" Emma protested.

"Hermione, whaaat? Why would you say something like that? You're definitely going to end up in Slytherin!" Oliver protested in horror.

Chris merely shook his head. "Again."

Emma got further on the second attempt, but stumbled over her words again and stopped herself.

"Sorry! Again."

"It's fine," Chris assured her. "Take a moment."

Emma nodded and quietly went over her lines again. Oliver leaned towards her.

"Princess, listen," he said, waiting until he had her attention. "You know the lines—that's not the problem. Relax, forget about the camera, and focus on what you do best."

Emma looked back at him questioningly.

"Getting on my nerves—or Harry's, in this case!" Oliver teased with a smile.

Chris watched the two of them. Oliver seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Emma had already forgotten about her mistake and was far too busy being annoyed with him instead.

"When you're ready," Chris said, waiting until they were back in position. "Action!"

Good. Oliver's intervention seemed to have worked. On the third attempt, Emma finally delivered her line without a mistake.

"Cut! Good, we've got it," Chris said. "The Hat is next!"

The Sorting Hat scene took a while, until eventually only Oliver's close-up remained. For the first time that day, Chris would get to see him do more than simply react. He would get to see him really act.

"Action!"

Oliver sat with the Sorting Hat on his head and waited. At first, he merely looked tense, but the moment Slytherin came into consideration, something changed in his expression.

"Not Slytherin," he murmured.

Chris' eyes remained fixed on the monitor.

The fear was there immediately. Not exaggerated, not looking performed. Oliver grew increasingly uneasy, his expression revealing just how badly Harry hoped the Hat wouldn't send him there.

And then came the decision.

Gryffindor.

The tension vanished from Oliver's face, replaced by such obvious relief that, for a moment, Chris forgot he was staring at a monitor.

Wow. The kid is damn good.

Then Chris noticed something in the frame and stared at the monitor in disbelief.

"Cut! Microphone! What the hell—the take was perfect!" Chris snapped at the operator.

The operator, who only now seemed to come back to himself, immediately looked at Chris and began apologising. "I'm sorry, he was—"

"Can we finish this first?" Oliver interrupted quietly and hesitantly, obviously still in character as Harry.

"Focus!" Chris ordered the crew members involved in the take before finally saying, "Action!"

To Chris' relief, Oliver lost none of what had made the first take so good. If anything, he was even better.

When Chris called "Cut!" this time, the shot was safely in the can.

That was it for the children for now. While Chris would continue filming with the adult cast, Oliver, Emma, and the others had lessons to attend.

Chris looked provocatively at Oliver as he climbed down from the stool.

"Have fun in class, Olli," he teased.

Oliver stopped and glared at him.

Chris grinned.

Sometimes the small victories were the sweetest.

***

POV Oliver

Damn, that was exhausting!

"Jamie, good job! You're perfect for Ron!" Oliver said, struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Thanks? I guess?" Jamie replied, looking at Oliver suspiciously.

"You're just as greedy. Who would've thought they'd have to order extra chicken legs just for you?" Oliver teased, finally unable to hold back his laughter.

Emma joined in, laughing along with him. The shot of Ron eating like a pig had needed to be filmed over and over again.

"Oh, shut up! I'm never eating chicken again!" Jamie said indignantly.

Together with the other child actors, they made their way towards the classrooms that had been set up for them on the studio grounds.

Lessons on set were very different from an ordinary school class. It was more like individual tuition for the actors, since none of them were at exactly the same level and they weren't all on set for the same amount of time.

"Olli?" Emma suddenly asked quietly. "Why do you even have to go to lessons? I thought it was enough for you to attend your courses at Oxford between filming."

"You do what?" Jamie asked, shocked.

Oliver shot Emma a dark look before turning to Jamie. "I've been excused from normal lessons, but I don't want you telling everyone about it," he said seriously.

Jamie nodded. "Why? That's pretty cool!"

"Because I don't want everyone thinking I'm getting special treatment just because I'm playing Harry Potter. Besides, we're only allowed to film for twenty hours a week anyway, so I thought I'd help you guys with your schoolwork."

"Bloody prodigy," Emma muttered under her breath.

Oliver gave her a stern look.

"Hermione, language!"