Malfoid and an unlikely boost for ‘Harry Potter’
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” takes the films and books we’ve come to grow up with, and reimagines them for an all-new generation to enjoy and experience. Still, as much as there is excitement for the upcoming HBO series, controversy and criticism continue to surround the show, particularly with J.K. Rowling and her anti-trans views.
But amid the Rowling hate train, and on top of the criticism directed at certain casting choices for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” fan-made art of female Draco seems to be the one thing fans are happily agreeing upon.
The best of Malfoid
Malfoid reimagines Harry Potter’s greatest rival as his greatest love—an enemies-to-lovers plot unexplored in Rowling’s magnum opus. In the eyes of the fandom, Draco’s classic arrogance and occasional pure-blood racism are translated into the typical “tsundere”—a trope featured in Japanese anime, of female leads acting cold or hostile toward another guy they’re secretly (and hopelessly) infatuated with.
In one fan art by @Sachi_Hwa on X, the artist reimagines Harry and Draco’s first meeting at Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions in Diagon Alley (the film removes this, and they first meet in Hogwarts instead). While Draco comes across as elitist and indifferent to Harry’s circumstances as a wizard—the meeting imparts interest between the two, rather than instilling a sense of rivalry and dislike.
Another piece by the same artist paints a scenario of Draco introducing Harry as her boyfriend to her parents.
Meanwhile, in another take on Malfoid by @Janggondan, Draco is seen to be jealous of another red-haired girl beside Harry. Every time she berates or attacks him, it isn’t because she dislikes him or anything. She’s jealous and doesn’t know what to do with the feeling.
The story’s missing piece
But why is Malfoid so well received? While anime and tsunderes in itself already attract a sizable audience—a reimagined Draco seemingly fleshes out the character story in a way neither the books nor movies ever did.
According to a YouTube video essay by Nucha, Draco was severely underutilized in both the films and books. While he appeared as an early foil to Harry, he dropped off later on in the story, making way for the series’ main big bad, Voldemort. Simply put, Draco was a campus rival to Harry but nothing much later on.
Instead, Malfoid and Harry’s theoretical relationship mirrors that of Severus Snape and Lily Potter’s, and shows a possibility where the opposites of Gryffindor and Slytherin do attract and stay together. Not to mention, the betrayal of Draco to Voldemort’s camp and his later redemption after the war gets more depth and significance, given the pair’s emotional investment in one another.
All this to say—and as the comments to the fan arts indicate: Rowling missed out on a genderbent Malfoy, and perhaps pop culture’s greatest love story.
Obviously, the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” series won’t include any semblance of Malfoid. Still, the fantasies of many fans have breathed life into a series peppered with outside noise and personal (perhaps incorrect) beliefs and worldviews.
A remnant of incel culture
The name Malfoid is derived from Femoid/Foid/FHO, which, according to UN Women, stands for “Female humanoid organism”: a term that suggests that women can be likened to robots, thus less than human.
