Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were never on friendly terms in the Harry Potter series, but the actors have a strong connection in real life.
Tom Felton, who played Malfoy in the movie franchise, has always been vocal about having a ‘secret love’ for her co-star Emma Watson.
The 35-year-old actor recently published his memoir, Beyond the Wand, and revealed that he and Emma “definitely nursed crushes on each.”
In his new memoir, Watson gives an insight to fans about their lasting friendship and sweet bond that she often struggled to explain to people.
“For more than 20 years now, we’ve loved each other in a special way, and I’ve lost count of the times that people have said to me, ‘You must have drunkenly made out, just once!’ ‘You must have kissed!’ ‘There must be something!’” she wrote.
In 2009, Emma admitted that she had a huge crush on Tom during the filming of the movie, and she used to wait for him on the set.
“Between the ages of 10 and 12 I had a really terrible crush on Tom Felton, to the extent that I would go into work in the morning and look down the numbers on the call sheet to see if he was going to be in,” she told Jonathan Ross on his show.
“We love a bad guy, he was a few years older and he had a skateboard — and that just did it really.”
According to Us Weekly, The Perks of Being a Wallflower actress noted that Felton was totally aware of her feelings at that time.
“He totally knew and the thing is that he’d tell everyone, ‘I see her in a younger, sisterly way,’ and it just broke my heart. It still does.”
Tom discussed Emma having a crush on him in his book, Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, and wrote,
“She was 12, I was 15. I had a girlfriend, and in any case, I’d been programmed to dismiss any talk of that kind of stuff. I laughed it off. In fact, I don’t think I really believed [it].”
Many fans believed that the duo was dating during the filming of the third Harry Potter movie: Prisoner of Azkaban, however, it was not true, and the ‘dating’ never happened.
But there’s no denying that the two actors had crushes on each other and developed a strong connection over the years, totally platonic though.
“Like Tom, I always struggle to explain to people the nature of our connection and relationship,” she wrote in Felton’s book.
“It’s one of the purest loves I can think of. We’re soulmates, and we’ve always had each other’s backs. I know we always will.”
Watson also added that her HP rival is so understanding and non-judgmental that he’d always know her deal.
“Sometimes it feels hard to live in a world where people are so quick to judge, to doubt, to question intentions. Tom doesn’t do that,” she penned.
“I know that, even if I’ve made a mistake, he’ll understand that my intention was good. I know that he’ll always believe me. Even when he doesn’t have the whole picture, he’ll never doubt that I’m coming from a good place and will have done my very best.”
She continued, “That’s true friendship, and to be seen and loved like that is one of the greatest gifts of my life.”
In June 2021, Felton spoke to Entertainment Tonight in an interview and said that he and Emma have always been very close to each other but never in a romantic way.
“We are something, if that makes any sense, as far as we’ve been very close for a long time,” he said.
“And I adore her, I think she’s fantastic. Hopefully, she returns the compliment. But as far as the romantic side of it, I think that’s a Slytherin-Gryffindor thing rather than a Tom and Emma thing.”
What are your thoughts on their sweet relationship? Let us know in the comments.
Sources: PEOPLE – Us Weekly – Entertainment Tonight
