Dreams of Stardom (Hollywood SI)

Austin couldn't be happier about the surprise that happened at Rihanna's concert. He didn't even like Rihanna that much and only went because his girlfriend forced him to. Since he had a camcorder, he was relegated to being the unofficial event videographer. Now, he had something exclusive on his memory card that could be worth a fortune.

"You can't sell it," Bree, his girlfriend, pointed out. "It would violate so many copyright laws. You never had their permission to record or distribute the video. Don't forget, this song isn't even out yet. They could sue you. Scratch that. They will sue you if they find out."

"What if…" Austin mused, "…I sold it on the dark web? How would they know?"

"Or…" Bree countered, "how about you don't sell it at all? Why not just upload it online for free? There's this new website called YouTube where you can upload any video. And since you won't be making money, at most, they'll ask YouTube to take it down."

Austin, ever the money-minded schemer, didn't agree with Bree, though he wasn't foolish enough to blatantly contradict her. Instead, he silently posted an ad on the dark web offering the video for sale. He set the initial price at $50,000. Unfortunately for him, no one made a decent offer, even after several days. The highest bid was just $100.

Selling the video for such a paltry sum wouldn't be worth the risk if Troy or Rihanna decided to sue him. Reluctantly, he resorted to what he hoped wouldn't leave him financially ruined: he uploaded the video on YouTube late at night and then went to sleep. In the following days, he even forgot he had done so. YouTube was a very new platform, and he assumed at best the video might get a few hundred views.

Or so he thought.

When he opened his account a week later, he was stunned by the numbers in front of him.

Troy Armitage and Rihanna's Exclusive Song – We Don't Talk Anymore

32,345 Views | 3,085 Likes | 22 Dislikes

Austin stared at the screen in disbelief. He played the video again to review the result of his impromptu videography. To make the video better, he edited the footage to begin when Troy walked on stage, ensuring that the brief, public kiss between Troy and Rihanna was included. Fortunately, his camcorder had a good-quality microphone, and the audience around him had been unusually quiet, likely due to the novelty of the song. He had also used sound-editing software to clean up the audio, resulting in a surprisingly professional product—at least, in his humble opinion.

Still, for the video to garner more than 32,000 views in just a week on a fledgling website like YouTube was astonishing.

Another week passed, and then something even more unexpected happened. An entertainment news channel reached out to Austin, requesting permission to use clips from his video. In exchange, they offered him $5,000—an offer he immediately accepted.

(Break)

"Troy Armitage and Rihanna were seen showing some massive PDA at the latter's London concert."

The video then cut to a still of Troy and Rihanna locked in a kiss—the same one they had shared on stage.

"The new celebrity couple also sang a duet, 'We Don't Talk Anymore,' said to be part of their upcoming movie together, [Echoes of You], which is expected to release later this year during the holiday season. The full clip of the song, which was uploaded on a new video streaming website, YouTube, has been seen by more than forty thousand viewers by the time of recording of this episode."

Mum and Dad sat beside me as the news played on the TV.

"Seriously?" Mum asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you letting this go on at all?"

I shrugged. "It's free publicity. Legally, I could ask YouTube to take down the video since it includes my copyrighted song, but it's just one song out of so many."

"Don't forget," Dad chimed in, "this isn't even the best song on the album. 'Lovely' is much better than this."

"I prefer 'All of You,'" Mum interjected. "But that's not the point. I think you're taking this too far. I didn't object to whatever is going on between you and Rihanna, but… this is too much."

"Is it?" I asked seriously. "I don't think so. For all anyone knows, I'm just dating a girl I like. That's normal teen behavior, isn't it?"

"Of course," Mum agreed. "But normal teens aren't global sensations. People on the other side of the globe now know about you and Rihanna, and the reaction isn't great. Especially online."

"I told you not to go on the internet to read about me, didn't I?" I sighed.

She shrugged, picking up her laptop from beside her and passing it to me. The screen was open to the infamous YouTube video that started it all. I had already seen it last week when Tobias suggested I get it removed, but I declined. I knew how much we needed the publicity for the musical. Tobias doesn't understand how vital social media is for shaping public perception.

What should have been only a few thousand views had skyrocketed to a massive 419k after breaking into international media two days ago. As of now, it was the most viewed video in YouTube's library, posted by some guy named Austin.

Reading the comments below, all I could think was how people have nothing better to do with their time.

@scorpion: This is the bestest song eva!

@vincent: What the fuq is Troy doing with that gal? He can do so much better!

@grace: fuq u @vincent. Troy & Ri were made for each other. They are so cute together…

@demi: I agree with @vincent. Rihanna is so mid (not to mention black!)

@Sonian: Troy and Rihanna rocked the living bejesus out of me. Hot damn!

@garfield: Ugh! Why her? Anyone would puke seeing her.

@Mitts: I know, right! Who gave that black bitch the permission to date MY troy!

What followed was a deluge of comments that were mostly spewing hate about Rihanna solely because of her skin color. I promptly shut the laptop and set it aside.

"I don't care about some nobodies on the internet," I said emphatically. "Negativity is so much easier to spread when no one knows who you are. Even people with something good to say will often stay silent if even five people are talking shit about someone."

"But that doesn't change the fact that—"

"Kathy," Dad interjected, gently taking Mum's hand and shaking his head slightly. "Leave it be."

"But Steve—"

"Don't forget that this is a fake relationship," Dad reminded her. "I'm sure soon enough, one of them will be in a real relationship, and they'll call it off. Right, Troy?"

"Yeah," I said confidently, standing up from the couch. "Enough now. I'm getting late for the shoot."

I ignored Mum's worried gaze as I left to head to work on [Harry Potter]. If I let inconsequential things like this affect me, I'd never be able to work in peace.

(Break)

Today, we were filming a scene not included in the original [Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix] movie, set in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. A mouthful of a name, but so is everything in the Wizarding World.

"Action!"

"Neville!" Jamie called out to the boy, who startled at the sound of his name. "What are you doing here?"

But Neville didn't respond.

"Friends of yours, Neville?" Dame Judi Dench asked, turning to him. He only nodded silently.

"Ah, of course," she said, nodding towards me and extending a handshake. "I know you, Mr. Potter. Neville speaks highly of you."

"Thanks, Neville," I said, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze.

Dame Judi Dench turned to Jamie and Imogen. "You two are clearly Weasleys." Then, looking at Emma, she added, "And you must be Hermione Granger."

Emma's expression showed her surprise that the old pureblood lady knew of her, though she didn't react outwardly.

"It's good that Neville has friends like you who help him out of sticky spots," she said with a warm smile before her face turned stern. She looked at Neville and said, "I'll be downstairs waiting for you." Then her voice softened slightly. "Take as much time as you need, dear."

She walked off, leaving the group momentarily frozen, unsure of what to say or do.

"Umm, Neville?" Emma, as Hermione, asked softly. "Why are you here?"

Neville hesitated before finally pointing toward the end of the ward, where a man and a woman sat, seemingly detached from their surroundings. "Those are my parents," he said in a low voice. "They were Aurors—heroes—tortured into insanity by Voldemort's followers after his fall. Cruciatus Curse."

Just then, his mother approached and handed Neville something. He accepted it without hesitation. "Thanks, Mum," he whispered softly, looking down to see it was an empty candy wrapper.

Emma choked back a sob, tears threatening to spill but managing to hold them in. She hugged Jamie sideways for support, while Imogen leaned into me, her eyes misty—a silent acknowledgment that this could have been her father's fate as well if things had been slightly different.

"Cut!" Rian called out. "Perfect shot, everyone. Let's move on."

As the cast began to break, I gently stepped away from Imogen. Before I could say anything to her, an older woman stepped beside me.

"So, how did I do?" Dame Judi Dench asked.

"Ha! As if you could do anything wrong," I said, beaming. "Thank you for doing this, Dame Judi."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me just Judi?" she replied, exasperated.

I cracked a grin. "Alright, Just Judi."

She gave me a deadpan stare. "You think you're the only clever person in the world to think of that joke?"

I shrugged. "Nonetheless, thank you for doing this for me. I know you didn't have to."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked. "This is my grandson's favorite movie series. When he found out you called me, he practically begged me to do it, no matter how short the role might be."

I smiled, touched by her words. Dame Judi had unknowingly played a pivotal role in my life. I'd never forget the moment when she handed me that Oscar statuette all those years ago—a moment etched into history. Over the years, we'd run into each other at various Hollywood events, and she'd always been a delight to talk to. So when the chance arose, it only made sense to invite her to do a cameo in the movie as Augusta Longbottom.

As the scene wrapped and I was preparing to leave, my loyal assistant came sprinting toward me.

"Troy, I just got a brand partnership offer for you," Tobias said, panting.

"You know how to deal with those," I replied dismissively, continuing to walk.

"No," he said, shaking his head vehemently. His urgency made me stop.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's YouTube," he said. "They're thrilled with the response your music video generated on their platform. They're offering a partnership to promote their website and build a long-term relationship with you—like what you've done with Crocs. Remember how you told me to inform you immediately if an up-and-coming tech company reached out?"

That stopped me in my tracks. This wasn't just big. It was monumental. YouTube would go on to become the biggest video platform in the world and would eventually be bought by Google. If it weren't for TikTok, it would be the unchallenged leader for sure.

"Are you sure that's what they said?" I asked, my tone serious.

"Yes," he nodded. "They mentioned in their e-mail about wanting to talk, but since they currently lack the funds to fly to London, they're willing to wait until after your film is done."

"Call them right now," I said urgently. "Fly them over to London on my private jet."

Tobias's eyes widened at the weight of my words.

"Go," I ordered, making him spring into action.

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