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JK Rowling has admitted to feeling “unnerved” by Harry Potter fans who fancy evil character Draco Malfoy.
The British novelist published an essay on her Pottermore fan site , describing Harry’s Hogwarts schoolmate as an “archetypal bully of dubious morality”.
“I have often had cause to remark on how unnerved I have been by the number of girls who feel for this particular fictional character (although I do not discount the appeal of Tom Felton, who plays Draco brilliantly in the films and, ironically, is about the nicest person you could meet),” she wrote.
Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films (Warner Bros. Ent, Harry Potter Publishing Rights J.K.R) Rowling added that girls should heed those common warnings – bad boys can’t be changed, and least of all by you. “Draco has all the dark glamour of the anti-hero; girls are very apt to romanticise such people,” she continued.
“All of this has left me in the unenviable position of pouring cold common sense on ardent readers’ daydreams as I told them, rather severely, that Draco was not concealing a heart of gold under all that sneering and prejudice and that no, he and Harry were not destined to end up best friends.”
Harry Potter filmsShow all 47 Harry Potter films Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with his owl Hedwig, in the first instalment of the film franchise
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch in Harry Potter
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch in Harry Potter
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Zoe Wanamaker as Madam Hooch in Harry Potter
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Emma Watson as Hermione Granger in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Quidditch players in the film ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets A still from the second Harry Potter film 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,' filmed in 2002
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban The trio on the poster for the 2004 movie 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter studied Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them as part of his required reading at Hogwarts
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry arrives in the graveyard to be confronted by Voledemort in the fourth instalment of the films
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire Voldemort in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The three main characters in a still from 2005 movie 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Grint, Radcliffe and Watson in a scene from 2007 film 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint in a scene from 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Actors Jim Broadbent and Daniel Radcliffe
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince The trio in a still from 2009 film 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince'
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Harry enters a ransacked room at Grimmauld Place
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) in the Harry Potter film series
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Everyone mounts up and leaves Privet Drive. Harry and Hagrid (Greg Powell) take the bike.
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) faces Voldemort in the Battlements of Hogwarts
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Actor Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I' movie poster
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Voldemort takes over the Malfoy mansion and turns it into his Deatheater headquarters
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Voldemort takes over the Malfoy mansion and terrorises its occupants
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 McCrory starred as Narcissa Malfoy in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'
Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Dobby the house elf
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Harry, Ron and Hermione enter number 12 Grimmauld Place
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 The Harry Potter machine marches on and the dismal Quidditch game (no doubt) gets another tedious outing. But we're nearly at Potter's end, before the heroic teenaged trio – Daniel Radcliffe's Harry, Rupert Grint's Ron and Emma Watson's Hermione – start showing their age
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1' movie poster
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Gregory Goyle (Josh Herdman) and Blaise Zabini (Louis Cordice) enter the Room of Requirement
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter holding Godric Gryffindor's sword
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) meets his nemesis Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in The Deathly Hallows, Part 2
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final part in the magical series, is up for best production design, make up and hair, sound and special visual effects.
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Harry Potter films Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' - the end to the films
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Rowling has been revealing new content on Pottermore this month as part of a 12-day Christmas countdown.
In order to access the Draco post, fans must solve the following riddle: “Death Eaters gather on the Astronomy Tower, keen to rid Dumbledore of his life and power. But which student masterminded this plot with precision, in order to fulfil the Dark Lord’s terrible mission?”
On guessing that Draco is the villain, Pottermore users are then shown the scene in which Professor Snape uses the Avada Kadavra spell to kill the Hogwarts headmaster as Harry watched from underneath the invisibility cloak.
Rowling is careful to emphasise that she does not hate Draco but pities him for the “damaging experience” of being raised by the Malfoys.
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