Emma Watson is back to fan the flames of her and Tom Felton’s dating rumors!
For years, Harry Potter fans have often wondered if the co-stars had secretly dated — and their openness to discuss former feelings hasn’t helped to quiet that speculation! While officially they’ve remained just friends, it’s always been clear that back in the day, Emma was hoping for a lot more!
The OG Hermione Granger opened up about the moment she “fell in love” with Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) during the movie’s 20th-anniversary special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which will premiere on HBO Max on Saturday. And she’s spilling all the details about her secret Slytherin crush!
According to multiple reports, during the reunion, Watson admits that she fell for her older co-star after watching him complete an assignment during a tutoring session on set, saying:
“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.”
OMG WHUT??
Emma and Tom completing school assignments on set! / (c) Tom Felton/Instagram
She continued:
“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.”
Adorbz!! Unfortunately, her crush was never reciprocated, likely because of their age difference; when the first Harry Potter film premiered, Tom was 14 and Emma was just 11. She recalled:
“He was three years above me and so for him, he was like: ‘You’re like my little sister.’”
Tom supposedly heard about Emma’s crush after her feelings had become the talk of the town! He reminisced:
“I think I was in the hair and make-up chair and someone said something along the lines of, ‘Yeah, she had a crush on you.’”
Rather than feel awkward that the film’s lead was catching feelings for him, Felton decided to get extra “protective” of her, adding:
“I became very protective over her. Yeah, I’ve always had a soft spot for her and that continues to this day. There’s always been something that’s like, I don’t know, a kinship.”
How sweet! While nothing “ever, ever, ever, happened romantically,” according to Emma, the duo “just love each other.”
Their platonic relationship has remained strong over the years; it probably helped that the Little Women lead was able to move past her romantic feelings. In an interview with Seventeen in 2011, the Beauty and the Beast alum shared:
“For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush. He totally knows.”
Years later, during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, she explained just why she’d fallen for the villain, noting:
“We love a bad guy and he was a few years older and he had a skateboard and that just did it, really.”
LOLz! Can you imagine Hermione and Draco getting together though?? That would be a sight to see! Ron WHO??
Back in June, the now-34-year-old Tom opened up about the status of his relationship with the Perks of Being A Wallflower alum, telling Entertainment Online:
“We are something, if that makes any sense. We’ve been very close for a long time. I adore her. I think she’s fantastic. Hopefully, she returns the compliment.”
When pressed if that “something” was romantic, The Flash alum noted:
“[It’s a] Slytherin/Gryffindor thing.”
Tom did date his on-screen wife, Jade Olivia Gordon, for some time, though, so it’s not crazy to believe he might have linked up with another co-star! But it wasn’t Emma, no matter how much she would have loved that when they first met. Fans can tune in to hear more behind-the-scenes secrets when the reunion special premieres on HBO Max on New Year’s Day!
