Tom Felton on Voldemort's creepy and improvised welcome

There are wonderful blink-and-you-miss it moments in the Harry Potter films. Some of them are written into the script, but many moments of improvisation left their mark on the franchise. One of Ralph Fiennes' decisions as Lord Voldemort is still being talked about to this day.

"Magical and equally baffling"

Thanks to Fandomwire's report on the moment, we have new insight into a scene near the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Contributor Krittika says that "the best part about working with seasoned actors in Hollywood is you never know when they might improvise a scene out of the blue." Krittika cites Tom Felton's memoir, entitled, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard for the tidbit we're discussing.

If you've seen the movie it's likely that you remember a moment in which Draco Malfoy joins Voldemort's ranks. At his parents' urging and faced with the defeat of Harry Potter, he crosses to the side of the conquering army. Felton recounts that, "For many of the takes, I did the same thing: walking past Vodemort, keeping my distance, pacing slowly,, head down, slightly terrified. Ralph would look at me differently every time." The fear and haste are both understandable at that moment. Malfoy is trying to survive a no-win situation.

Suddenly, Fiennes drew him into an embrace that Krittika describes as "the most uninviting hug ever captured on film." It is physical contact under duress and behind his new devotee's back, Voldemort still has his wand trained on his enemies. Felton recalls seeing this on the screen:

"That was one take out of 50. I had no idea they were going to use it until I saw the film for te first time at the premiere in London. The audience was completely silent. There was something so very twisted about that moment, something so wrong about watching Voldemort's warped display of affection, that I could sense everybody around me holding their breath uncomfortably."

- Tom Felton

This scene of discomfort was shared in many locations, including the theater where I watched the final film. I can resonate with Krittika's assessment that "the improvised hug between Ralph Fiennes and him perfectly captured the eerie and uncomfortable dynamic between Draco and Voldemort in the harry Potter franchise."

As all of the movies are available on MAX, now is the perfect time to relive the terror we all felt in that scene.