Image Source: Journal, Times of India
HBO Max released the reunion special episode, which was one hour and forty-three minutes long and titled, ‘Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts’, on New Year’s Eve i.e., December 31st, 2021 for the Potterheads.
It has been over 20 years since the first installment of the Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter And The Sorcere’s Stone’ was released and HBO Max decided to reunite the alums for the Potterheads across the globe and gift them a special reunion episode featuring their favorite stars from the movie.
But what was more exciting for the fans was the fact Emma Watson and Tom Felton talk about the platonic love they have for each other.
The cast during the special episode revealed that while they all were filming, there were crushes, breakups, dating, and a lot of emotions that took place like Hogwarts was a real high school. They stated that 2007’s ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ as their ‘peak hormone stage’. During the revelations, it was also revealed that Emma Watson who played Hermione Granger revealed that she had a massive crush on actor Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy in the movie. The actress revealed that the crush was developed after she saw Tom Felton drawing a girl with a baseball cap on a skateboard as his vision of God. Both actors stated that they had an instant connection and the audience could see it through the screens.
Tom Felton played Draco Malfoy and Emma Watson played Hermione Granger in Harry Potter movies. Image Source: Load More
Explaining the scenario of that time, Emma said, “I walked into the room where we were having tutoring. The assignment that had been given was to draw what you thought God looked like, and Tom had drawn a girl with a backward cap on a skateboard. And I just don’t know how to say it—I just fell in love with him. I used to come in every day and look for his number on the call sheet, it was number seven, and if his name was on the call sheet, it was an extra exciting day. He was three years above me and so for him, he was like, ‘You’re like my little sister.’”
The actress further explained, "I used to come in every day and look for his number on the call sheet, it was number seven, and if his name was on the call sheet, it was an extra-exciting day.”
The pair although did spark some dating rumors back in the days but have denied it by stating that they have a great friendship. Tom Felton said, “Emma and I have always loved each other, really. I think I was in the hair and makeup chair and someone said, something along the lines of, ‘She has a crush on you.’ I became very protective over her, I’ve always had a soft spot for her and that continues to the day. There’s always been something that’s like a kinship.”
Emma Watson revealed during the special episode that she had a massive crush on Tom Felton. Image Source: GoodToKnow
Emma Watson on the other hand did reveal that she felt comfortable and a level of vulnerability with Tom Felton that she could not experience with anybody else. She said, “The truth of it was Tom was the one I could often be more vulnerable with. Nothing has ever, ever, ever happened romantically with us. We just love each other. That’s all I can say about that.”
Emma Watson had previously told Seventeen magazine during an interview, "For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush. He totally knows. We talked about it. We still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that's cool." In 2019, Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasly told Entertainment Tonight that he did see a ‘spark’ between Emma Watson and Tom Felton during the filming but he added, “But we were kids. It was like any kind of playground romance."
In 2018, Emma Watson shared a picture of her and Tom Felton hanging out on a beach and riding a skateboard together. In 2018, Tom Felton told US Weekly, “Lovely Emma. We do see each other quite a lot actually. We just don’t always post pictures about it. We just don’t always post pictures about it. Everyone loves the reunion of it. We’re reuniting all the time, we just don’t always post it on Instagram.” Tom Felton told the Daily Mail in 2019, "It's always nice to bump into her, see her at the beach, or over dinner, or whatever. She's an incredibly smart and lovely young lady, so it's always nice to bump into each other and slightly reminisce about old times but also about looking forward to the future."
In June 2021, Tom Felton told Entertainment Tonight amid the rumors of the duo dating, "We are something, if that makes any sense as far as we've been very close for a long time. 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."
