Chad Hurley, the current CEO of YouTube, could only gape at his friends Jawed and Steve as they withe effects of the rea started by oroy Armitage.

  Troy may have casually posted that video taining personal information about Trey Parker and Matt Stone about a month ago, but it triggered a series of ued events. People began the power of YouTube and online video hosting. Troy's video had amassed an astounding one million views, being the most-watched video in the small history of YouTube. It became iional news, with almost every media el rep on it—most siding with Troy that [South Park] went too far.

  The calls to boycott the show and edy tral became so massive that edy tral had no choice but to issue an unditional public apology to Troy. They even promised not to air the middle segment of the episode in any future reruns. This marked the first time an episode of [South Park] had been sored for reasons uion.

  The most signifit ge for YouTube was the sudden influx of viewers on the website. Hundreds of thousands of people started visiting daily, a stark trast to the traffic before Troy's video. What followed was a wave of celebrities creating ats oform and posting their videos ohe first to follow Troy's lead was Rihanna, who created a YouTube at and began uploading covers of iigers like Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey.

  Simirly, other young celebrities looking to remain in the limelight opened ats and started posting videos. It wasn't just celebrities—ordinary people with regur day jobs began uploading a variety of tent, from funny clips to music. It was as though YouTube exploded ht, all thanks to Troy.

  "Now I feel bad about selling 70% of our shares to him," Steve noted sadly. "If this had happened before Troy's offer, we could have sold for five times what Troy gave us."

  Chad agreed with Steve. Troy needed a ptform to repair his image, and he would have used YouTube whether he ow or not.

  But nothing could be done now. All they could do was work harder and grow YouTube so much that their 30% would be worth far more than the 100% they had initially.

  (Break)

  November 2005, Leavesden Studios, London

  "It's totally normal what you're feeling, Harry," Michael Gambon said in a soothing tone. "On the trary, the fact that you feel pain like that is yreatest strength."

  I felt unbridled rage c through my veins when I heard that.

  "Sirius is dead!" I shouted. "And all because you wouldn't tell me what I o know! I don't want to talk to you. I'm doh everything. The wizarding world, Voldemort, everyone! Just let me go. I don't want to be a part of this problem anymore."

  Gambon lowered his head sadly. "I agree with you on that. It's all my fault. But I 't let you go until you hear me out."

  I picked up a small gss tri lying oable between us and hurled it at the wall opposite us with all my might. The tri shattered into hundreds of pieces instantly, but Gambon didn't react outwardly at all. He only raised an eyebrow, as if to say, 'Is that all you've got?'

  Seeing his rea angered me further, and this time, I grabbed the table between us and upe, sending everything on it crashing to the floor. All of the tris, made unbreakable for the se, scattered across the floor. If that wasn't enough, Harry's wandless magic kicked in as well. Using strings the produ team had set up beforehand, everything in the office was scattered everywhere, some even breaking apart. CGI would ter enhahe se and remove the strings.

  "Will you let me go now?" I asked again, panting slightly from the exertion of magic.

  "You tinue breaking more of my stuff if that's what gives you peace," Gambon said calmly. "I wouldn't even be surprised if you attacked me. But I'll let you out only when you hear what I have to say."

  I stared at him for a moment, feeling tired. I nodded slowly before relutly sitting ba the chair opposite him. I didn't bother saying anything.

  Gambon summoned his Pensieve and pyed the memory of the prophecy as a proje. For obvious reasons, this would be added in post-produ.

  When the supposed memory ended, he looked at me with an unreadable expression. "Do you now uand the situation? Why I tried to protect you from it?"

  I could only look at him with hollowed eyes, the weight of the situation finally nding on my shoulders. I didn't say anything, only kept staring silently, my anger drained from my body. He said more about Voldemort, me, and our e, but I didn't react outwardly. That is, until I heard the magical words.

  "Cut! Print. Check the gate," Rian Johnson yelled. "We did it, guys! We are doh the filming of [Order of the Phoenix]!"

  Cheers erupted around the set, followed by appuse. Despite the happy attitude, I could only manage a small smile. The st se had been too emotionally heavy, and I hadn't fully detached myself from the role yet. Maybe in a few hours, I'd be back to normal, but right now, I didn't want to do anything.

  Lately, I'd noticed a shift in my ag method. I wouldn't call myself a proper method actor, but I'd beeing influenced by my roles more and more. It had started during the shoot of [Perks], though that artly because of my first breakup. It intensified during [Little Miss Sunshine], but si was a edy, it didn't affect me as deeply. [Order of the Phoenix], however, had been the most intense experience. Harry's detat and lonelihroughout the film were emotions I'd unknowingly maed in my real life despite having loving support from my family, and occasional visits from Rihanna.

  "Are you okay, Troy?" Michael Gambon asked, stepping beside me. I looked up to see him and my assistant both staring at me with .

  "I will be," I said with a small smile. "It was a little intense."

  Tobias pced a hand on my shoulder. "You've got that promotion thing for [Echoes of You] this week. ostpo for a few days if you want."

  I shook my head. "No. I think It'll help me to get in a better mood. It'll be fun."

  Tobias didn't look fully vinced, but he nodded heless. I was actually looking forward to this part of the promotions for [Echoes of You]. The ey of the film had been shot to pletion, except for the video of one song—'Sugar'.

  We could have shot that song as well if we wao, but there was a high risk of it leaking to the masses before its official release, just like 'We Don't Talk Anymore'. After much deliberation, Evan had e up with a brilliant idea—ohat could kill two birds with oone.

  And sihere was a long break for me between shooting [Order of the Phoenix] and [Half-Blood Prince], it was the perfect time to implement it. The produ wouldn't shut down, and the other actors would tinue filming their ses for the sixth film. I just wouldn't be avaible because of the promotions for [Echoes of You].

  Let's just hope the new promotion strategy doesn't fall ft on its face.

  (Break)

  Samantha was beyond nervous. Every girl is on her wedding day, but it was doubly so when you're marrying so young. More than one person had asked if she was rushing into things with Tom, but she had been adamant. They'd been seeing each other for five years already, and this felt like the perfect time to tie the knot.

  Everything on the wedding day went perfectly—almost perfectly. The pastor had turned out to be a drunk and nearly botched their vows, but aside from that small hiccup, the day was as good as it could be.

  That was until her father escorted the newlywed couple to the middle of the hall during the reception. Samantha looked around curiously, hoping to glean something from the guests' reas, but they seemed just as clueless. The abundance of cameramen at their modest wedding was strahough. It wasn't normal for a low-budget event like theirs to have so many cameras.

  "Okay, ready?" her father asked with a big grin as he guided them to the ter of the room.

  "What is it?" she asked, fused.

  He simply raised five fingers and began ting down. Four. Three. Two. One.

  At zero, the curtain in front of Samantha and Tom fell, revealing a teenage-boy standing on a makeshift stage, surrounded by a full band. As soon as the unveiling was plete, the boy began singing in a beautiful voice.

  [Sugar - Maroon 5]

  ~: Yar

  Yes, please

  Won't you e and put it down on me?

  I'm right here, 'cause I need

  Little love, a little sympathy

  Yeah, you show me good loving

  Make it alright

  Need a little sweetness in my life

  Yar

  Yes, please

  Won't you e and put it down on me? :~

  As soon as Samantha realized what was happening—or rather, who the surprise guest was—she let out the loudest shriek of glee imaginable.

  "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Samantha yelled excitedly, her voice rising above the chatter of the crowd and even Troy's singing. As a massive Harry Potter fan, this was the best present she could have imagined for her wedding day. Overe with emotion, she turo her new husband (who seemed equally thrilled after reizing Troy) and pnted a big kiss on his lips.

  By now, everyone had realized that the Troy Armitage was in their midst, serenading the couple with a lively song. Guests who had beeed moments before were now on their feet, fully engaged in the impromptu cert. The upbeat tune, seemingly tailor-made for a wedding party, had everyone dang.

  When the song eroy transitioned into a soft love bald called [All of Me]. The gentle melody gave Samantha the perfect opportunity to share her first dance as a married woman with Tom, all to the beautiful voice of her favorite actor-turned-singer. It was a moment she knew she would treasure forever.

  (Break)

  It was such a joy to be part of young couples' weddings, especially those who were my long-term fans. When the idea was first floated, I had insisted on prioritizing fans for this initiative. All the couples whose weddings we po attend this week had been carefully vetted by Tobias and the marketing team at Warner Bros, and the results spoke for themselves. The sheer joy, surprise, and disbelief on their faces couldn't be faked.

  To top it off, my earlier serious and somber mood had vahe moment I started perf at my first wedding.

  This idea had e to me from the Maroon 5 video for the song Sugar in the inal timeline. When I wrote the song, the memory of that music video came along with it—and what a video it was.

  The first wedding I performed at earlier this year had been for Tobias' sister. I'd wao do more, but releasing the song prematurely was a risk we couldn't take. That's why we saved this project for just two weeks before the release of [Echoes of You].

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tobias asked, his tone cautious.

  "Seriously, man," I replied, shaking my head. "If I had a penny for every time you questioned one of my decisions, I'd be a billionaire by now."

  "Just saying," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "People don't usually leak their own songs o doesn't make sense."

  "It doesn't to you," I retorted. "Warner was hesitant too, but An Horn is a reasonable man—unlike Barry Meyer. An knows I own YouTube now, so he agreed with my request as long as the released video doesn't include the full song and isn't in high definition."

  Tobias tilted his head iant acceptance as I clicked the "post" button.

  I could've assighe task to someone else, but I wao do it myself for the fun of it. That's why we'd stationed a few discreet staff members at the weddings I performed at, armed with regur camcorders to capture the surprise. Meanwhile, a separate team shot proper footage that would be used in the film.

  (Break)

  "I news, Troy Armitage has takeer by storm with a one-of-a-kind promotional strategy for his uping film. While most teenagers opt for malls or schools to promote their films, Troy chose a different route—attending weddings across the U.K. and gifting newlyweds with exclusive, never-before-heard songs from his uping movie.

  "We 't py the songs here due to cht restris, but fans have already uploaded them to the video streaming site YouTube, and as of now, they haven't been taken down."

  As the news spread across eai els, Troy's dedicated fans immediately began sc YouTube for the songs—but they didn't have to look far. Upon opening the site, the video for Troy's performance of 'Sugar' romily featured at the top of the homepage, followed closely by the trailer for [Echoes of You] in the sed spot.

  This strategy served a dual purpose: it not only promoted [Echoes of You] but also boosted YouTube's visibility as a premier video-sharing ptform.

  Then, a week before the film's release, Warner Bros. and Troy Armitage made an unpreted move—they released the full HD video of 'Sugar' on YouTube, a song mostly filmed less than a week prior. A short turnaround, but more than enough time for Stephen Daldry to edit and polish the video to perfe. And what a video it was.

  As soon as it osted, it became all the rage with the people, be it old or young.

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