Harry Potter's Tom Felton Threw Even More Fuel Onto Those Persistent Emma Watson Rumors

In the eight "Harry Potter" films released between 2001 and 2011, Tom Felton and Emma Watson portrayed two characters who were enemies: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Draco is the son of a Death Eater and is expected to become one himself, making him an automatic enemy to Hermione and her friends. That is, until Draco decides late in the series that he does not want to fulfill his family legacy of being evil. However, even after Draco renounces Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), he and Hermione still don't like each other; they merely tolerate or ignore each other. 

Although their characters may have detested each other, rumors throughout the years have suggested that the feelings between Tom Felton and Emma Watson are far from hatred. Rather, both actors have suggested at different times that they had crushes on each other during the filming of the "Harry Potter" films. 

For example, in HBO's documentary "Return to Hogwarts," Emma Watson revealed the moment she fell in love with Tom Felton on "Harry Potter" was when she saw a drawing of his that depicted God as a girl with a backwards skateboarding cap. Because of this drawing, Felton became her first crush. Additionally, in a 2018 interview with Us Weekly, Tom Felton said, "Love Emma. We do see each other quite a lot, actually. We just don't always post pictures about it."

Recently, Felton added even more comments to feed the rumors about the flirtation between him and Watson. 

In his recently-published memoir, "Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard" (October 18, 2022), Tom Felton wrote about his experiences acting in the "Harry Potter" films as a teenager and young adult. According to the Daily Mail, regarding his feelings towards Emma Watson, Felton wrote, "I've always had a secret love for Emma, though not perhaps in the way that people might want to hear. That isn't to say that there's never been a spark between us. There most definitely has, only at different times." This suggests that, although both actors felt a romantic spark for each other, they were never single and interested in each other at the same time.

Because of their closeness and flirtation, rumors about a romantic relationship persisted. Felton wrote, "I denied that I liked her in that way, but the truth was different. My girlfriend at the time knew straight away that there was something unspoken between us. I remember using the familiar old line, 'I love her like a sister.' But there was more to it than that" (per the Daily Mail). Although the actors previously claimed in "Return to Hogwarts" that they have never had a romantic relationship, there is still potentially time for that in the future. 

Whether or not the two actors pursue an actual relationship, they will always hold a special place in each others' hearts. Felton wrote, "I don't think I was ever in love with Emma, but I loved and admired her as a person in a way that I could never explain to anybody else ... We were kindred spirits. I know for certain I'll always have Emma's back, and she'll always have mine too."