I woke with a stretch and a yawn and for a moment, I wondered where I was, until suddenly remembering the events of the previous twenty four hours.
I looked over at the bedside cabinet beside me and focused on the red numbers from the digital clock radio that had bleeped loudly just a few seconds ago, awakening me from my slumber.
Narrowing my eyes, I thought it said 5.30,the time I had set to get up, but that could not be right, it couldn't be that time already, I had only just gone to sleep!
I looked around me but it was dark, pitch black in fact although I could just about make out a shape lying in the bed next to mine. It stirred and then without moving muttered:
"Gwen?.......Are you getting up darling?".
It was the voice of my Mother, who had come with me down here, to the out skirts of London, to be with me whilst I followed my dream of being in an actual Harry Potter film.
Mum was very good like this, always been very supported in whatever I did, whereas my Father was totally the opposite.
She had traveled here with me and even though she hadn't been allowed to enter the studio, she had taken herself off shopping for the day and had arrived a little before I had done last night.
I grumbled a faint reply.
I felt tired out and needed my bed more than anything.
" You don't want to be late now". She went on, from beneath the covers. "Remember how much you enjoyed it yesterday"
She went on.
My mind suddenly flashed back to a big man with large hands and a huge Roman nose.
He wasn't wearing a flowing black cape and he didn't have long, jet, black hair either, nor did he have cold, dark penetrating eyes.
The man who played Severus Snape was smiley and gracious and ...................I had his autograph!
I reached out once more, fumbling for the scrappy bit of paper on my bedside cabinet, then suddenly remembering that I had actually put it inside my diary to keep it safe. Sitting up I grabbed the book and opened it on the relevant page.
There it was, looking a little less crumpled than I had remembered, but the signature on it was crystal clear. I smiled to myself. It had actually happened and here was the proof, even if it was by someone I didn't particularly like!
Oh well, it was great to say I had met him.
I had also met the most loveliest of girls in Amelia, and I felt sure that we were going to remain friends long after all this filming was done.
Excitedly I got out of bed, washed, got dressed and with a cereal bar in hand, kissed my Mum goodbye and then made my way downstairs to catch the bus.
It was now just coming up to 6 o'clock and it was pitch dark and very cold.
I shivered.
This was just like last night, standing with a group of others who I didn't know, except that I didn't have Amelia with me.
I looked up the road for her as the bus taking us to Leavesdon Studios arrived, and wondered where she was.
I hoped that she was coming today. She said she was.
Oh it wouldn't be as much fun without Amelia here too!
I climbed onto the bus and took a seat near the front, starring out into the darkness for any sign of her as the bus moved off.
Suddenly I felt saddened by her absence as all I could hear was the loud, excited chatter coming from behind me, as I sat quiet and alone.
Turning into the drive the led up to the brightly lit studios, I couldn't help but to stare in wonderment at the huge building before me. It looked magnificent but the real of beauty of it all were the secrets that was held within.
All the props, the cameras and crew, not to mention the famous actors. Who would I see today?
Stepping off the bus, I made my way towards the dressing rooms. As I followed the others I felt a sense of loss that Amelia was not here with me. She had given me a bit more confidence and without her beside me, I felt strangely vulnerable.
I knew that she defiantly had what it takes to be a fully fledged actress. A situation such as I now found myself in would not bother her at all, for she would most likely find someone to communicate with, whereas I was a little more shy.
I took in a breath and suddenly noticed the miserable looking girl from yesterday, the one who demanded to be at the front, until Amelia and I were chosen before her, starring hard at me.
I turned away but I knew she was coming over.
"Friend not showed up then?". She said haughtily.
I looked around me and felt embarrassed by her presence.
" Well, maybe with her not around, it will give somebody else the chance to go to the front". She sneered.
Then looked me up and down, before moving away.
I blinked hard as I notice her chatting to her friends and felt sure it was about me. I didn't understand quite what she was getting at, to be truthful, I mean neither of us had actually asked to be positioned where we were. It was the Directors idea, not ours.
Oh I wished Amelia was here. How I missed her.
I realised now, that I just could not be an actress in my own right, I was just not strong enough.
Amelia would be, I just knew it. She would have come back with a quick retort, such as the Director being able to spot real talent when he saw it, or something like that.
I watched as the girl continued to laugh and chat to her friends and so decided to move away from them.
Soon I was dressed in a lovely, Hogwarts robe and entering, once again the wonderous Great Hall.
How lucky was I to be in this very privileged position and immediately I began to look around me for famous faces.
Straight away I saw Daniel Radcliffe speaking to the Director, who's arms were doing their customery swirling about and his voice was loud and booming.
To the right of him were the Phelps twins, Oliver and James who play Weasley twins Fred and George. They looked kind of serious, not like the part they actually played when they always seemed to be messing about.
I was also very surprised at just how tall they were!
We were then told to stand at the side of the room, by the floor manager, and to await further instructions.
There is a heck of a lot of hanging around in film making.
I looked around me again to see who else I could spot. I really hoped that Gary Oldman would put in an appearance today or even David Thewllis, my two favourite Harry Potter actors, but to my dismay I heard that Gary was not in this scene and David wasn't even in this film at all.
My heart sank.
Not only was Amelia not here, but also I wouldn't be able to see my favourite's.
Nonetheless, I was still infatuated by just being here and was still determined to really enjoy the experience.
I took in a breath as the Director approached us, his steely gaze searching all of our faces.
I felt sure he knew that Amelia was missing. Such was her immense presence here yesterday.
She positively shone.
"You.......you.......and you.....come to the front and sit down on these benches". He barked, almost aggressively, with a pointed finger waving about in my direction.
I looked around me, as a boy and a young girl, made their way down to the front.
"Come along now...........you as well". He said impatiently, his eyes staring directly at me.
I moved tentatively forward, not really knowing if he actually meant me, but no one else was moving, so I stepped forward more confidently.
" That's it....down here......now you three have to really look as if you despise Dan, because, as the story goes, he's cheated.". He, then looked above us at the other's.
" The rest of you have to do the same, but a little less dramatic". He went on, before turning to us again:
"But you three will be in shot, so put your best acting skills to the test. This is very important". He said sternly.
I felt my insides start to panic.
Oh how I needed Amelia now!!!
Just as that thought swept into my mind, about half a dozen black caped figures came hurrying onto the film set, preceded by an exasperated looking floor manager.
The Director glared at the intrusion and demanded what was going on!
The floor manager went on to explain that these extras had been on the golf cart that had broken down on it's way to meet the bus this morning, so had only just arrived.
I scanned my eyes towards their faces and my heart did an excited little flip, as I noticed that one of them, was in fact Amelia, who gave me a tiny subtle wave.
I beamed at her, so pleased that she was here, and I felt sure that she would either be down at the front with me, or even be taking my own place.
To be honest, it would not have even bothered me if she did, for I knew that she was a lot more talented and beautiful than I could ever hope to be.
It would be so obvious that they'd replace me with her.
I could see the Director pinch the bridge of his nose, before bustilling the late arrivals into their positions behind me.
This was a surprise to me, for I felt sure that I would be moved!
I could see Amelia put a subtle thumbs up to me and a huge grin also adorned her face.
She was genuinely pleased to see me stood down here and as I smiled back up at her, I could see that someone clearly was not!
The miserable looking girl, glared daggers at me, as standing at the back behind me was not where she wanted to be.
Her dark, brown eyes looked full of hatred and it made me nervous. So I put my head down and wondered why it bothered her so much, after all, no one else seemed to care, only her.
Turning away, I breathed deeply. I was not going to let her jealousy ruin things for me and I was determined not to let the Director down, for twice now he had placed me at the front.
Suddenly there was a big commotion from the bottom end of the Great Hall, as the adult actors made their way in.
Michael Gambon was his usual jaunty self, whilst Maggie Smith smiled at everyone. Then I saw Alan Rickman, dressed all in black and a face like thunder with cold, hard looking eyes that were as black as his hair.
I certainly didn't recognise him from the man I had met last night and for a moment the thought crossed my mind, was it really him at all!
His stride was tall and proud, looking straight ahead of him with his hands clasped tightly before him. His big, Roman shaped nose was unmistakable though and I was now satisfied that it was in actual fact, him that we had met last night after all.
He did seem though, curiously different from when I had seen him in his civvies, not only in how he was dressed but also his own persona. As all the others wouldn't get into their character until the camera's were actually rolling, Alan Rickman was already into his as soon as he entered the building.
For all in tense and purposes Severus Snape was alive and well and living at Hogwarts and for that reason alone, I found this actor to be particularly intriguing.
I watched as a make-up artist patted foundation onto his cheeks and around his large nose to make him look even paler.
He didn't look at her, nor did he acknowledge or thank her for her efforts but continued to look straight ahead as she busily put away her pads and brushes. She then turned to him again and began to lightly pull her fingers delicately through his hair, that I had realised only last night that it was in actual fact, a wig!
She was very gentle and precise in her work, but still the actor showed no emotion or gratitude in what she was doing.
I frowned at the scene before me.
How could he be so accomidating with us all, last night, with the time he took with each autograph and seeming to be genuinely happy about doing it, yet now, he looked so absolutely fed up to the back teeth of it all.
This was really strange to say the least.
Suddenly the Director started to clap his hand's loudly together.
" Come along now, places please everybody, hurry up now!". He barked loudly.
Everyone began scurrying around frantically as the actors strode into their respective positions.
I shook my hands down loosely by my sides and proceeded to stand tall, making my face appear angry for when Daniel Radcliffe walked by.
It took several takes and a lot of stopping and starting before the Director was satisfied with things, during which time I did look over to where Alan Rickman was stood and regarded him as looking totally bored and very fed up.
Of course it could so easily have been the part he was playing for he wasn't required to move very much and had no lines to speak in this scene, so maybe he was genuinely bored with it all, particularly now that it had taken practically all morning to get it right.
So it was a great relief to us all when the Director proclaimed that it was a wrap and the scene was completed.
For the other actors, they were to resume in an hour, for us...........that was it, the Harry Potter experience was over and we would not be required for any more scenes.
The director did come over to us however, and thanked us all for our contributions, which I thought was very descent of him. He then asked us to remain in our positions until the senior actors had made their exits.
I looked behind me and made eye contact with Amelia, giving her a huge, big grin to which she gave a me a congratulatory thumbs up.
Turning back to look at the front again, the adult actors were already beginning to stride past us, led by Michael Gambon who was playfully throwing his arms around in the air, just like the Director had been doing, as the veteran actor impersonated him unmercifully.
I watched as Maggie Smith followed behind him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at his antics. I knew that everyone, including myself, was smiling at her. She was such a lovely lady.
The smile, however had hardly left my face when I was quite suddenly and unexpectedly looking into a pair of very black, penetrating eyes.
I took in the very sharpest of breaths as I was now, quite literally face to face with Severus Snape himself, or should I say, actor Alan Rickman who was looking down right at me.
He had stopped, be it only momentarily, right in front of me as the doors of The Great Hall were being opened to let them through, but those eyes........... those eyes of his seemed to look right into my very soul and it almost scared me.
For that moment, I felt as if I was truly paralysed and could not breath, never mind move! I had never experienced a feeling like it ever before as I became transfixed within his stare.
Then as the others began to move forward, so did he and the moment had gone.
I let out a deep breath.
What exactly was that all about!!
It was so unlike him to actually look about him in the first place, let alone make eye contact with anyone.
I could suddenly feel my heart beating wildly inside my chest and my palms felt sweaty. But I still could not explain exactly what had just happened.
Maybe it was just my imagination or more likely he had, in fact, recognised me from last night as the girl who had asked him to sign a crumpled up old till receipt, that wasn't even hers?!!
Oh God, I bet he does remember and thinks to himself what a sad, stupid little girl I must be to dare to ask a big, shot movie star such as himself to sign such an article.
Truth be told, I hadn't really been expecting to see anyone at all last night,so really it was his own fault for coming out through that exit door in the first place.
If he had gone out through the correct door, we would not have seen him anyway!
A hand grabbed my arm suddenly, causing me to jump right out of my skin in horror, as I turned to see Amelia looking at me with a quizzeled look upon her face.
"Are you OK?". She asked, surprised at my nervousness.
I gave her a warm relieved smile.
"Of course I am, especially now that you're here". I grinned at her.
"Well come on then!". She said, grabbing my arm, "Let's go to the canteen and get something to eat, then you can tell me what's going on. You have a lot of explaining to do".
I hesitated for a moment and frowned, slightly confused at what she was going on about.
Amelia smiled, and then pulled at my arm, so I followed her obediently, still wondering what was meant by her comment.
Sat in the canteen with a tray full of food before me, I began to tuck in hungrily. Amelia was sat opposite, daintily eating at a croissant.
She had so much style and elegance it was hard not to be influenced by her, but at this moment in time I was really too hungry to try and emulate her.
"This acting lark as really given me a furious appetite". I confessed.
"So I see". She answered slowly, with a smile.
I grinned back at her and secretly hoped that I wasn't making a pig of myself in front of her. My reservedness at filling my plate up last night, in fear of looking greedy, had come back to haunt me this morning for I was positively starving now.
She continued to watch me impassively, now sipping from a carton of orange juice, before leaning back in her chair and taking in a deep breath.
" Well then". She began. "If you're not going to tell me, I'm just going to have to come right out and ask you."
I looked up from my plate and studied her curiously.
" Ask me, what................exactly". I frowned.
" Well..................". She hesitated for a second.
"What's going on with you and....................well........... Mr. Rickman then?" She asked.
I almost chocked on my food.
"What?". I said quite loudly, that some people actually looked round.
" Don't play the innocent". Amelia smiled, "I saw the way he looked at you just now.................and last night, come to that".
Oh god!, I thought, to myself, then it could not have been my imagination if Amelia noticed him looking at me as well!!
"You................You saw!". I said, now beginning to shake a little.
" Uh, uh........I did". She nodded.
I put my hands up to my face and shook my head.
"He must have remembered me from last night then.". I said in a tone of resignment.
Amelia frowned at me.
" That I was the one with the scrappy bit of paper". I continued, horrified. "He must think me a right dunce if that's all I had for him to sign, it was a bit embarrassing"
"I'm sure he didn't mind, probably never even noticed". Amelia said calmly.
I then put my hands down and stared at Amelia, who was looking at me curiously.
"Anyway, I thought you didn't like him very much, so why do you even care what he thinks". She added.
"I don't............well..... not really.............I prefer a lot more actors to him............ he just seems so.............oh, I don't know..........aloof or something, as if he didn't really want to be here". I said trying to explain myself.
Amelia leaned back into her chair and took another gentle sip from her carton.
Then said:
"Well I thought he was positively charming last night. He had time for everyone and didn't appear to be hating it too much".
"I still don't like him". I huffed, "Especially with him looking down his nose at me like that".
Amelia smiled at me.
"I don't suppose he can help it really". She stifled a giggle, "Anyway, I would take it as a compliment for you know yourself that he rarely looks at anyone....................and he looked at you...........twice!"
I nodded my head.
She was right, of course, he was a movie star after all, who had done numerous other films and must meet so many other people in his day to day life, so why on earth would I stand out to the likes of him anyway?, even if I did present him with a till receipt to sign!
I should just take it as it was and not read too much into it.
I mean, it shouldn't matter to me, whether he thought I was foolish or not, because, to be honest, our paths would never need to ever cross again.