The LA Times publishes this incredible photo, taken by Harry Potter producer David Heyman, of the day Daniel Radcliffe (aged 11) and Rupert Grint (aged 12) met each other on the film set:

“Here, look at this one — this is a photo taken the day the boys met. No one’s really seen this before. They were taking a little walk together to get know one another…”

The black-and-white snapshot showed “Potter” stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint as chubby-cheeked adolescents strolling side by side, their eyes cast down to their shadows. Heyman took the photo in 2000. Much has happened since then. Those meek boys are now world-famous young men, and their sixth film together, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” has, since its Wednesday opening, racked up more than $400 million worldwide.

Hell, I’m not even a Harry Potter fan, but this image hits me pretty hard. There’s just something amazing about the precarious innocence of youth and knowing that these two boys, now men, somehow managed to grow up without losing themselves in the trappings of stardom, money, and fame.

Then again, maybe it’s just the black-and-white aspect of this image that really does it for me. It wouldn’t be the first time.