Emma Watson wrote the foreword for Tom Felton's book.
Longtime Harry Potter fans have been fascinated with stars Emma Watson and Tom Felton's somewhat undefinable off-screen relationship. The co-stars, who played on-screen enemies Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, respectively, have sparked romance rumors for years, with Watson, 32, admitting to having a childhood crush on Felton, 35, on the set of the Potter films.
Then in the HBO Max special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which came out on New Year's Day, the two addressed the rumors.
"I think really the truth of it was Tom was the one I could often be more vulnerable with," Watson said in the special. "Nothing has ever, ever, ever happened romantically with us. We just love each other. That's all I can say about that."
In Felton's new tell-all memoir, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard, both Watson and Felton once again attempt to explain their relationship to readers.
Watson pens the foreword for the book, getting into her feelings for Felton right away.
"You know that person in your life who makes you feel seen? That person who is somehow a witness to all that unfolds? That person who knows -- really knows -- what is happening to you and what you're going through, without anything having to be said? For me, that person is Tom Felton," she writes.
The actress adds that their friendship has "blossomed and endured" after she first "followed him round [the Potter set] like a puppy, desperate for his attention."
The friendship between the two has certainly meant a lot to Watson, who writes, "The friendship we share has allowed me to move through some of the most challenging and soul-searching moments of my life."
Admitting that they both "struggle" to explain "the nature of our connection and relationship," Watson writes, "For more than 20 years now we've loved each other in a special way, and I've lost count of the times that people have said to me, 'You must have drunkenly made out, just once!' 'You must have kissed!' 'There must be something!' But what we have is far deeper than that. It's one of the purest loves I can think of."
She concludes her forward by calling the actor a "little piece of my soul."
Similarly, Felton has nothing but adoring praise for Watson when he writes about her in his memoir. He met the young star when she was just nine at the auditions for the famed franchise. At the time, he admits to sneering at her when she didn't know what a boom mic was, regretting his childhood antics.
He later says that he felt Watson had the most to deal with out of the entire Potter cast, calling her one of the "most impressive" women in the world. Their friendship, he says, is "a touchstone for both of our lives."
He admits to always having a "secret love" for Watson and goes on to talk about the "spark" between them, saying it has always come "at different times" for each of them. In regard to the rumors that began to circulate about their relationship, he says that he always "denied" that he liked Watson "in that way" but acknowledged "the truth was different."
"My girlfriend at the time knew straightaway that there was something unspoken between us," he writes. "I remember using the familiar old line: 'I love her like a sister.' But there was more to it than that. I don't think I was ever in love with Emma, but I love and admired her as a person in a way that I could never explain to anybody else."
Felton also reveals that they would meet up outside of their time on the Potter set, recalling one instance when they went for a long walk around a lake close to his house. He shared something that Watson told him "will always remain with me."
Her message was, "I've always known I was a duck, but I've spent my whole life being told I was a chicken. Every time I try to say 'quack' the world tells me that I have to say 'cluck.' I even started believing that I was a chicken and not a duck. Then we started hanging out and I found somebody else who quacked. And that's when I thought: To hell with them, I really am a duck!"
Felton writes that he understood exactly what Watson meant by her analogy, saying, "She meant that we were kindred spirits, that we understood each other and that we helped each other make sense of ourselves and of our lives. We've been quacking ever since. I know for certain that I'll always have Emma's back, and that she'll have mine too."
Felton also speaks about his long-term relationship with Potter extra and stunt assistant Jade Olivia and their life together in Los Angeles. After revealing his struggles with alcohol addiction and being forced into rehab, Felton admits, "I thought of Emma a lot as I wondered how the hell I'd ended up here."
After he walked out of the rehab facility, he ultimately decided to end his relationship with Olivia.
Felton ends the book with one more mention of Watson in the acknowledgements page, writing, "To Emma Watson, for quacking with me all these years."
In a recent interview with The Independent, Felton revealed that it was Watson who "encouraged" him to delve into his rehab stints and mental health struggles in the book.
"I was encouraged by a few people, Emma Watson specifically, to tell the whole story and not just sort of cherry-pick the fluffy bits," he said. "Not just because it was cathartic for me. But also in the hope that sharing those parts of my story will help others that are maybe not going through the best time."
Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard is on sale now.
RELATED CONTENT:
