Draco Malfoy Story Revealed In New Pottermore Post; JK Rowling Talks 'Unhealthy Fantasies' About 'Harry Potter' Character

If you grew up with a crush on Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s bully at Hogwarts, J.K. Rowling is concerned about your health. As part of Pottermore’s 12 Days of Christmas, Rowling revealed some new information about the series, and Dec. 22 brought Draco’s life story.

Rowling’s entry takes readers through Draco’s life throughout and beyond the “Harry Potter” books. At first he hated Harry because of the attention he received. His hatred and envy grew when Voldemort returned. Harry wasn’t just well-liked at school anymore, he was a serious threat to the Death Eaters and Voldemort -- even helping to put Draco’s father, Lucius, in prison. Draco hated Harry, but he still wasn’t a killer. Rowling noted that when he tried to bring Harry to the Death Eaters, even had he succeeded, he wouldn’t have followed through.

“Whether he could have brought himself to actually hand over Harry is a moot point,” Rowling wrote. “I suspect that, as with his attempted murder of Dumbledore, he would have found the reality of bringing about another person’s death much more difficult in practice than in theory.”

But just because he isn’t a murderer doesn’t mean he should be a bad boy heartthrob. Rowling is concerned that so many girls believe Draco is destined to be a good guy. “I have often had cause to remark on how unnerved I have been by the number of girls who fell 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),” Rowling wrote. “Draco has all the dark glamour of the anti-hero; girls are very apt to romanticise such people. All of this 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.”

It seems Draco didn’t follow in his father’s dark footsteps. He married Astoria Greengrass, a witch who went through a similar struggle. Her family was rich and pureblood, but after the Battle of Hogwarts, their views changed. Neither of them could raise their children hating people because of their bloodline. Draco’s parents don’t really like her because she and Draco refuse to raise their son Scorpius with the same pureblood ideals. Rowling noted that he would raise his son “to be a much kinder and tolerant Malfoy than he was in his own youth.”

Rowling realized that this isn’t exactly the life a villain. She explained that Draco has a “dual nature.” His name means dragon, yet his wand has unicorn in it. He keeps his father’s dark artifacts, but refuses to teach his children those ideals. Draco isn’t a hero, but he certainly isn’t an evil villain anymore. Rowling explained, “There is, after all – and at the risk of rekindling unhealthy fantasies – some unextinguished good at the heart of Draco.”

Draco’s past is just one of Rowlings many holiday presents to fans. Check out the rest on Pottermore.