Even though Draco Malfoy is definitely not written to be a heart-throb, teenage girls took a liking to Harry Potter’s nemesis thanks to actor Tom Felton. Because of his popularity, the films make Draco seem more charming than malevolent. Regardless, Draco acts as the perfect adversary to Harry, and he creates an entertaining riff between himself and his nemesis. The two also help bring a tangible representation of good versus evil, which is the most prominent symbolism in the Harry Potter story.
If you grew up with a crush on Tom Felton, then you may pride yourself on knowing everything there is to know about Draco. However, unless you have read the series, there are a few intricate facts about this Slytherin that you may not be privy to. Here are ten facts about Draco Malfoy that the movies leave out.
He Never Goes To Prison For His Crimes
This isn’t all that surprising considering none of the Malfoys have ever had to pay their dues. Audiences see Malfoy 19 years later with his family on the Hogwarts Express, with no indication of why he wasn’t, you know, in prison for being a Death Eater. Although it is apparent that Draco has a change of heart towards the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, there is plenty of witnesses who can attest to the Malfoy family’s allegiance with Voldemort. Well, Lucious Malfoy is able to save his entire family from imprisonment by giving names of other Death Eaters to the Ministry of Magic. So, not only did Malfoy evade Azkaban, but so did his father.
Draco First Meets Harry In Diagon Alley
In the films, we first see this adorable version of Draco Malfoy—thanks, Tom Felton—in the entrance to the Great Hall. It’s here that Draco offers his friendship to Harry to save him from “making friends with the wrong sort.” The moment that Harry actually sees Draco for the first time is in Diagon Alley. While shopping for robes at Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Draco warns Harry about Muggle-borns and the likes of wizards such as Hagrid. He meets Draco again on the Hogwarts Express, which is when he insinuates that Harry should be acquainted with him instead of Ron Weasley. As we know, Harry immediately turns him down. So by the time they reach Hogwarts, Draco already hates Harry.
Draco Reminds Harry Of Dudley
It is during his initial meeting with Draco inside Madam Malkin’s that Harry sees an immediate familiarity in the young wizard. Having just left the Dursleys with Hagrid, Harry is reminded of another pompous and spoiled boy who holds a sense of prejudice and narcissism. In the book, Harry is “strongly reminded of Dudley” after meeting Draco. The two definitely share similarities, and it would be interesting to see how Draco would react if he ever meets Dudley.
He Dressed Up As A Dementor
This scene from the books is moderately mimicked in the Prisoner of Azkaban. During their Care of Magical Creatures class, Malfoy and his cronies poke fun at Harry after hearing about his fainting on the train from the presence of the Dementors. In the movie version, they simply raise their hoods and mock Harry’s sensitivity of the creatures. In the books, however, they take it much further. When Harry is flying hundreds of feet into the air during a Quidditch match, Draco and his friends dress in hooded cloaks under the guise of a Dementor in hopes that it would freak Harry out. Well, it does work, and Harry sends an aggressive, impressive Patronus charm their way, and they are knocked off their feet.
He Wrote Weasley Is Our King
‘Weasley is Our King’ has a shallow mention in the film, which is a pity. The Gryffindor team ends up using this chant as a way to congratulate Ron’s performance during his Quidditch match. However, the song originally starts off as a song written by Draco himself. The composition sang by Slytherins, went a little something like this:
“Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That’s why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our King. "
The song is used to taunt Ron and initially works at lowering his self-esteem and he questions his position as the Gryffindor Keeper. Fortunately, Harry and his friends are able to use Draco’s lyrics against him. After Ron helps win the match, they change it to, “Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That’s why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King!”
Harry, Fred, and George Beat Him Up
Before this redeeming moment, however, “Weasley Is Our King” struck a nerve with Harry, Fred, and George. The Weasley twins are Beaters on the Gryffindor team and obviously very defensive of their little brother. Draco goes on to explain how he came up with the song, noting that they had plans to add more verses to insult Harry’s mother and Mrs. Weasley. This hit a little too deep, and Harry, Fred, and George respond by attacking Draco. This is during the Order of the Phoenix, so their actions gave Dolores Umbridge cause to kick them all of the Quidditch team for beating up Draco.
Draco Quit Quidditch
Voldemort uses Draco as a means to redeem his father, Lucious, who lands in Azkaban after the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. Because of the strictness an severity of his tasks, Draco eventually loses all interest in his previous Hogwarts activities. His grades began to suffer during his sixth year, and he eventually loses interest in Quidditch. He even has a fellow Slytherin, Harper, take his place on the team.
Brief Master Of The Elder Wand
The trick to becoming the Master of the Elder Wand is actually pretty simple.; all that a wizard needs to do is use the Disarming Charm—Expelliarmus—against the owner. This seems a little too easy considering the Elder Wand is a Deathly Hallow, but it really is that simple. Draco briefly becomes the Master of the Elder Wand when he disarms Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy Tower as he is trying to fulfill Voldemort’s mission. This is never mentioned in the films, and Draco never mentions it to his father, who would have seen this as a major accomplishment.
Draco Was A Proud Death Eater
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One Draco is shown on the Hogwarts Express as moody and quiet. This is completely unlike his normal self. He encompasses this veneer throughout the last two films as his commitment to Voldemort becomes impossible to bear. In the books, though, Draco is initially thrilled to be a Death Eater and even brags to his friends about the duties that Voldemort has trusted him with. This is what lures Harry into Draco’s compartment so that he can eavesdrop under his Invisibility Cloak. It’s interesting that books show a very different demeanor than the Draco we see on the silver screen.
He Knows Occlumency
Harry forcibly takes Occlumency lessons from Professor Snape once they learn that Harry’s mind is connected to Voldemort’s. Harry is never able to fully master this tact, despite the fact that he has proven himself a powerful wizard. Draco, on the other hand, learns to be a true Occlumens. This is why Snape or anyone else is able to detect his plans to sneak the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. He learned the trade from his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange.
