Harry Potter fans will never forget where they were when they read the devastating death scene of Albus Dumbledore, but Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy, nearly missed the moment entirely.

The actor, who won fans over with his portrayal of the cruel (or misunderstood) Slytherin, said that he read the novels “painstakingly” to the extent that his pals finished them before him.

For those unaware, the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book and movie in the series, features Severus Snape’s shocking murder of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore (performed in the film by Michael Gambon) (played by Alan Rickman).

Tom recalled: “I attempted to serve myself by patiently reading chapter after chapter.” Tom was speaking to Metro.co.uk to mark the inauguration of the Warner Bros Studio Tour’s Mandrakes and Magical Creatures addition.

However, I recall reading Half-Blood Prince slowly when it first came out and having friends call me nonstop to ask, “Do you know what happens to Dumbledore?!”

“No, please don’t give it to me,” I begged. Since there was so much from the books that couldn’t be finished there, I waited as long as possible and ultimately waited for the scripts to be released.

I was happy to learn that the final chapter could be split into two sections because it gave us more time to absorb the epilogue for each character.
The ensemble became incredibly close after spending more than ten years working together, and Tom still considers actors like Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) to be like family.

The 34-year-old remarked, “We all still detest one other.”

It was beautiful to see everyone when we celebrated the 20th anniversary at Leavesden a year or two ago. We hadn’t changed at all from when we left!
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Even though it seems corny, our family doesn’t get to spend as much time together as we’d like, but as soon as you put us back together in one room, everything returns to normal.

Years after the last film in the series hit theatres, Tom is still one of its biggest admirers, frequently gushing about Harry Potter online and preserving the magic for viewers.

I’m incredibly proud of everyone who worked on the films, both in front of and behind the camera, and [it’s] mostly just the reactions…

The affection for it is not going anywhere any time soon. It’s a fantastic thing.

Tom now considers the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Leavesden, which recently debuted its Mandrakes and Magical Creatures addition, complete with Professor Sprout’s greenhouse, to be a second home after having grown up on the Harry Potter set.

“Welcome to Professor Sprout’s greenhouse right now. It’s fantastic to come back here and see how beautifully kept it is because I believe I was standing here 20 years ago. It seems to grow better and better every time I return, he exclaimed.

It’s like going back to your college dorms; so many memories! It’s a blast from the past! It’s not like we shot it 100 miles away, but this is precisely where we did.