Interviewer (Andromeda Tonks): Lily Evans first appeared eleven years ago in a film called Order of the Phoenix, directed by Albus Dumbledore, when she was only twenty. Order of the Phoenix went on to be the biggest box-office seller in history and break records everywhere. Lily became an instant worldwide hit. Critics adored her, and she was deemed to be the next Big Thing. This was Lily's breakout film; people predicted all kinds of awards coming her way, and that she would be the golden girl of Hollywood and film for the rest of her life.

However, things went swiftly downhill. Within a month of the release, Lily was being hounded by paparazzi everywhere she went. She was given no peace, and every action was documented. Paparazzi even broke into her house a few times. It was crazy, and nothing a twenty-year-old should have had to deal with.

The world did nothing. In fact, if anything, it laughed and enjoyed Lily's distress. She went to many high-powered people within Hollywood, all who denied her pleas for help. An old friend of Lily's from school – Peter Pettigrew – even went as far as leaking Lily's personal details, and where she frequented, to the press.

A year after the release of Order of the Phoenix, October 31st ten years ago, Lily Evans disappeared. Even the paparazzi, those people who had been harassing her, couldn't find her.

Lily vanished from the public eye and has never reappeared. Her friends within the industry refused – and still refuse – to speak to the press, blanking questions bringing her up. Theories were spread throughout the world, but no one could work it out. All that proved she hadn't died or been kidnapped – as the wilder theorists suggested – was a message on her Instagram account.

Thank you to the true fans, it read, but I have to take a step back from the spotlight for my own personal sanity and safety. I wish I could continue to do what I love, making movies, but I can't. I have been pushed to my breaking point, and this is the consequence. I love all you true fans dearly, Lily. XX

I'm sure that no one listening, or reading, has forgotten the story of Lily Evans, but I thought a recap may be helpful. After all, she's the reason I'm here. In fact, Lily Evans has chosen – for the first time in ten years – to step into the limelight. She's here to talk about her life before, during and after fame. And I am incredibly grateful to be the reporter she chose for the job.

Lily, hi, I'm so glad you reached out. Do you have anything to say?

Lily Evans: Well, first of all, it was crazy to hear the story recapped like that. It really has been years since it all went down, but I still can't believe all that happened. From what I've seen, however, Hollywood has learnt from the mistakes it made with me.

In all honesty, ten years ago when I left, I truly thought I would never be doing anything like this again. Obviously, I've kept in touch with all my friends, some of whom are still working in the industry, but this life was just… it was just not going to happen. I'd grown; I'd moved on; I was completely and utterly over it.

It was only recently that I started considering whether I needed to share my story. My husband has been incredibly supportive –

AT: I'm so sorry to interrupt you, Lily, but husband?

LE: [laughing] Yes, husband. We married seven years ago and have been happily and incandescently in love ever since. Anyway, as I was saying, my husband was the one who thought it could be good for me to speak out. And help people to understand a little bit more about me, and exactly what happened all those years ago.

AT: I'm certainly curious about what happened. Especially how you managed to disappear with no one else knowing. But, before we get that, you're going to tell us about life before Order of the Phoenix.

LE: Which was very, very normal, I hate to break it to all the people out there. I was the second daughter of divorced parents, and my elder sister lived with my mum whilst I lived with my dad. My dad struggled to get food on the table, and, when I was eleven, he sent me to a boarding school.

Durmstrang – a fake name for the school – was a second home to me, filled with my second family. Friends became like brothers and sisters, and, from my second year, I was spending every Christmas and Easter holiday there. I saw my dad for six weeks every summer, and that was it.

I loved Durmstrang, though, and some of my friends from there have gone on to be part of the celebrity world. Marley McKinnon, the model, attended Durmstrang with me and was one of my dorm mates. We had such a great time, and I will never regret spending so much time there.

AT: Can you tell us a little about friendships there?

LE: [laughs] Before I begin, I just want to let everyone know that barely any of these people will be called by their real names, so I wouldn't bother looking any of them up.

I had three dorm mates during my time at Durmstrang: Marley McKinnon, Mare and Daisy. I spent most my time with them. In all honesty, spending so much time with so many different people means you're friends with practically all of them.

I can't, however, not mention some pretty important people in my Durmstrang life. Four boys called Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Peter Pettigrew – yes, that Peter Pettigrew. They were idiots, I have to admit, in the first five years of my Durmstrang life, but, by sixth year, they had matured a whole lot and were some of the people I was closest to.

AT: We'll come back to Peter Pettigrew later on in the interview. Now, tell me if this is too presumptuous, what about romantic relationships? I understand there was quite an important romance in your life at Durmstrang.

LE: Of course, romances are a key part of teenage life. [laughs] I vaguely dated a few guys in my time at Durmstrang, but it wasn't really until seventh year that romance really happened for me.

AT: You can't just leave us hanging like that, Lily!

LE: [laughs] When I was in my seventh year, I was asked out by one of my closest friends – Prongs. He'd been a massive idiot, and a huge prankster, throughout our previous years, and the number of times we'd had screaming matches is too many to count, but I… I had developed a crush and said yes when he asked me out. I would have been seventeen, a few months away from being eighteen.

That was the first time I was in love. I can't truly describe what it felt like: flying, falling, everything all at once. He was my best friend, my… my everything, really. I wouldn't be the person I am without him.

AT: That's beautiful. Personally, I know that feeling, of not being able to understand what's happening, but knowing it's something big.

LE: Exactly. It's a strange and beautiful thing.

AT: Would you be okay to tell me about the build up to Order of the Phoenix and its release?

LE: I guess that is why I'm here. Um, okay, so, um, I went to the audition just after I turned nineteen. I didn't really expect anything to come of it, so getting a call-back was just shocking. Prongs drove me down to the call-back and waited outside as I auditioned. Again, I wasn't expecting anything to come of it.

Three weeks later, I got a call saying I'd got the part. I couldn't believe it. There was no way. I couldn't have got it… but I had. We went out to celebrate, and, a month later, Prongs, Padfoot and Marley drove me to the airport, and I got on a plane to America, where we were filming. Marley came with me, chasing a dream.

Filming was both the worst and the best thing I've ever done. I missed my friends terribly, and it was so hard to do long-distance with Prongs. So hard that, after five months of being away from each other, we broke up. [sniffles] I can't describe how much that crushed me. We were still friends, but we weren't more than that. It killed me every day.

However, I met Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue, now Longbottom, on the set of Order of the Phoenix and they became some of my greatest friends, along with Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick and the Prewett twins. I also met you during those days, Andy, so I'm forever grateful to what has come from that time. I have made lifelong friends.

I adored being an actress; it brought me unimaginable joy. I really, truly, wish that I could have done it my whole life. When we finished filming, I was told that I needed to stick around a little longer for press tours. Marley had landed a modelling job, and we were renting a pretty nice apartment together. Prongs and I had broken up; I had no reason to go back to England. So, I stayed.

Press was… fun. I had the time of my life with Frank, Alice, Em, Benj, Fabe and Gideon. We'd sneak out to go and get a drink, laughing and giggling as we ran through the town. We joked around in interviews, acting like some crazed idiots as we teased each other. There is no one I would rather have done press with. It was amazing.

And then the film came out.

AT: Just interrupting you quickly, Lily. Thank you for telling me all about that build up, and I'm sorry to hear you had to deal with a breakup during filming.

LE: I didn't really deal with it, to be honest. I just shoved it down and waited until after the film came out to process it. It's probably what made life after the film so much harder; I was trying to work through the fact that I was no longer with the person I loved, while being constantly harassed and chased.

AT: How awful. Lily, you can choose how you do this next part: what you want to tell us and what order to do it in. I'm just going to sit back and listen.

LE: Thank you, Andy. [sighs] I really don't know how to do this. [sighs] Okay, so, um, right, here we go I guess.

When the film first came out, I was so incredibly happy with the reaction. Who doesn't want to hear that they're going to amazing things, that they have crazy talent? I was going to the next Big Thing. That's amazing and completely life-changing.

And then it all went so wrong. Paparazzi hounded me everywhere I went. I couldn't breathe from it all. I tried to escape, to take a break, and they were there. I just couldn't get away. Everything was just crazy. There were a few places I knew that I wasn't chased to, and I utilised those as often as I could without people knowing they existed.

Fans weren't always that much better. I loved them, I really did, but some of them knew no boundaries. I stood next to someone and suddenly I was dating them, I made a face and suddenly I despised someone. And there was nothing that I could do to change any of it. My closest friends were being pitted against each other, as if they needed to fight for my love, for my attention. That's not how it's meant to be.

I distinctly remember one particular moment in August ten years ago. I left my flat that I still shared with Marley – the number of rumours about that I couldn't count on my hands – and walked straight into cameras. I'd had a bad night the night before – for the first time in months, I'd scrolled through old photos of Prongs and I and ended up bawling my eyes out – so I was wearing sunglasses to cover my eyes and had no concealer or foundation on. I'd only just remembered to put on lipstick and some presentable clothes.

Cameras flashed everywhere and fans were screaming my name. It was so loud and I just… couldn't. Couldn't deal with any of it. But I still smiled and stopped to sign a few autographs, wanting to put on a brave face. As I walked further down the straight, fans trailing after me and paparazzi snapping photos, someone shouted out, 'Have you heard what Peter Pettigrew said about you?'

Peter had arrived in New York six months beforehand. Marley and I had let him sleep on our floor while he was getting his own place, and then stayed good friends with him. There had been no indication that he was getting ready to basically leak my private life to the press. And yet he had.

I grabbed the first paper I saw, walking as fast as I could while reading. I couldn't stop the tears falling, but, luckily, I was wearing sunglasses. Paparazzi were screaming questions about everything he'd said, everything about me he'd revealed. Fans were still screaming my name. Questions were flying, some about Peter, some about the most recent man I'd been linked to – Dirk Cresswell – who I'd chatted to for about three seconds at a bar a week before while out with my friends.

Diving into the nearest cafe, I'd slammed the door shut, and apologised profusely to the woman at the counter. She had merely smiled and said, 'There's a lock to your right.' I'd followed her instructions and locked the door before going up to the counter and asking for a black coffee.

I stayed in that coffee shop, which was actually more of a bakery, for almost two hours. I learnt the woman's name was Polly, and she was married to a lovely man called Adam. (Again, fake names alert.) They were very good friends to me in those two hours, and then have proceeded to be for the rest of my life.

That day was one of the worst days of my life. It first made me start thinking about leaving and never coming back. Over the next month, while constantly dodging paparazzi and ignoring all the inappropriate, personal questions about my life, I began to talk to my friends about the prospect of leaving.

I bought a house under a fake name far away.

I began packing my things, slowly shipping them off.

I begged my friends to keep my secret.

I decided that I would leave exactly a year after the release of Order of the Phoenix.

It was the very early morning of the 31st when I left. Marley and I had hosted a party with our close friends to "celebrate" a year since the film, and I crept out at two in the morning, hugging my friends goodbye. I took a car that I'd hired discreetly and parked a little way down the street, and ran for my life.

I'd booked a flight to England for the next early morning – November 1st at 4 in the morning if I remember correctly – so I stayed in the house of two dear friends of mine while I waited: Polly and Adam with their three children.

Once I was settled, ready to sleep, I took out my phone and deleted my Twitter account. I deleted every Facebook account I had. I deleted my Snapchat. I deleted every picture and every story I had ever posted on Instagram. I deleted my profile picture and my bio. I just… got rid of it all.

And then I wrote my message. I had been trying to craft it for weeks, but, sitting on that sofa bed, it came to me. When people woke up in the morning, I would be gone, and that would be all that remained.

I can't say that I didn't enjoy watching the aftermath. I did. It was quite fun to watch people scramble to find some evidence of my leaving, to watch various theories be presented. I'd made it very clear in my story why I'd left, and yet everyone was trying to blame anyone else but themself.

That evening, I hugged Polly and Adam goodbye and got on a plane. In all honesty, I haven't looked back.

AT: [blows out a breath] I have to admit that that's crazy to hear. But, to know that you didn't look back, it clearly shows you made the right choice.

LE: I really did make the right choice. I don't regret it, which feels very sad to say. I wish I did regret it, but it was too hard to continue. I wouldn't have survived. It's taken years of therapy to get to the place I am now.

AT: I am very glad you're doing better, though, Lily. Do you think you could tell us anymore about your life after leaving? For example, how did you meet and marry your husband?

LE: [laughs] Somehow, I knew that would be the question. It's quite a simple story, actually. A couple of months after I left, I contacted Mare and Daisy, asking to meet them and catch up. They agreed, and came to my new house. It was amazing, seeing them again.

After a while, they asked if I had contacted Padfoot or Moony. Then, they paused, as if deliberating, and asked if I had spoken to Prongs. I hadn't, although that wasn't for lack of wanting. At least ten times, I'd pulled up Prongs' number and almost rang it or messaged it. It just had been too terrifying.

Mare and Daisy laughed at me. They told me they'd see me same time next week, and that they'd bring the boys.

Unsurprisingly, I stressed about that for the next week.

AT: You have to tell me more. Was it okay?

LE: [laughs] I… I remember that morning, frantically trying to find an outfit. I'd desperately wanted to make a good impression; to be honest, I probably still hadn't got over Prongs.

When the doorbell went, I almost screamed. My palms were so incredibly sweaty as I opened the door. And then I saw his face, and… and I couldn't see anything else. It was like the world fell into place again.

AT: Your friends must have felt very much like third-wheels.

LE: That's the best part. Daisy and Mare didn't show, nor did Padfoot or Moony. We found out later they'd gone to play crazy golf instead. Daisy still boasts about the fact that she won. But they did it to leave me and Prongs alone. And I'm forever grateful for that.

I think I fell back in love with him on that first day. He anchored me to the world, to life. We started dating almost immediately. Two years later, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

We sent out invitations to our wedding to all my friends in New York, and they all showed. Marley, Em, Gideon, Fabe, Benj, Alice, Frank, Polly, Adam, their kids (five of them by that point): they all showed. It was a beautiful day; I'll never forget it. And to think that three years before, I would never have imagined I could have a small, private wedding, with only my friends. It was such a blessing.

AT: That sounds like heaven.

LE: It was. It still is.

AT: Thank you for sharing your story with me, Lily. I am beyond grateful.

LE: That's not the end of my story, though.

AT: Oh?

LE: Since that amazing day, Polly and Adam have moved near where I live, and Alice and Frank have purchased a holiday house within striking distance. Marley now has a permanent home in London, meaning she can come and visit whenever she wishes.

To add to that, I have been extraordinarily blessed with three, quite simply, wonderful children. So, both good and bad things have come out of the Order of the Phoenix movie. I've given up things I love, but gained so much more.

AT: That's… that's beautiful. Do you have anything else you wish to say before we end the interview?

LE: Um, yes, I think I do. I just… I really hope that, as it seems, Hollywood's learned from my experience. Yes, I was some big up-and-coming actress, but that didn't mean I wasn't a human being who needed space and to be respected. It's crucial to recognise that celebrities aren't another race, but humans who deserve the exact same basic necessities that everyone else does. The paparazzi wouldn't like it if someone chased them round with a camera.

But, really, I want to say how grateful I am to the respectful fans, the ones who knew I was just a twenty-year-old girl. I want to thank the fans who, even now, are respecting the people they admire, and recognising that everyone deserves privacy. I really couldn't ask for more; I don't want to be remembered in any other way.

Order of the Phoenix was a fantastic movie, life-changing for everyone involved. I'd like to think that I would do it all again. I'd like to think that, but I'm not sure. I hope it's a movie that lives on in people's memories, and I hope my story is one that lives on in people's memories.

Thank you, Andy, for agreeing to listen to me. I wish you all the best.

AT: You too, Lily. I'm so grateful you chose me to tell your story to.

So, for all the people listening or reading, Lily Evans has told her story. From a pretty ordinary childhood, to an extraordinary rise to fame, to a shocking escape, to a normal life, she seems to have had it all. And yet, all she can remember from that year of unforeseen fame, is the pain and torture it brought. Perhaps that's a lesson for us all. Perhaps.

I'm baaaaaaccccckkkkkkkkkkk. But not for very long. I have nothing past this, and, to be honest, I think you're pretty lucky to be getting this. In all honesty, inspiration is severely lacking at the moment. Anyway, enjoy and please review to let me know what you think!