Draco made an unlikely friend in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book that absolutely must be in HBO’s upcoming remake. The relationship was cut from the Harry Potter movies, and this has led even book fans often overlook it. There wasn’t much time dedicated to the connection, and there is never a mention of what became of it. However, the fact that Draco wound up in this friendship, to begin with, emphasizes how much he had changed over the years, especially since the events of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was a tough year for Draco Malfoy. He initially believed this was when he would finally prove himself, tasked with finding a way to get Voldemort’s Death Eaters into Hogwarts and murdering Albus Dumbledore. Of course, he had been set up to fail. Draco didn’t realize that Voldemort was using him to punish Lucius Malfoy, and the stress and failure took a significant toll. What’s more, the young Malfoy quickly realized that he didn’t want to kill, despite his previous belief that Muggle-borns deserved death. This was when Draco made the most unlikely friend.

Draco Developed A Surprising Friendship With Moaning Myrtle In Half-Blood Prince

Moaning Myrtle Was A Muggle-Born Murdered By Tom Riddle

Draco spent a lot of time crying in the bathroom in his fifth year, which happened to be the favorite pasttime of Moaning Myrtle. This ultimately led to the pair meeting and, surprisingly, developing a connection. Though it wasn’t until the bathroom duel scene in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book that Harry realized who Myrtle had become friends with, he knew there was a boy in the school that the ghost had taken a liking to. She told him as much, dropping the first few hints about just how dire Draco’s situation had become:

“But I thought he liked me,” she said plaintively. “Maybe if you two left, he’d come back again. … We had lots in common. … I’m sure he felt it. …”

And she looked hopefully toward the door.

“When you say you had lots in common,” said Ron, sounding rather amused now, “d’you mean he lives in an S-bend too?”

“No,” said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. “I mean he’s sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to, and he’s not afraid to show his feelings and cry!”

“There’s been a boy in here crying?” said Harry curiously. “A young boy?”

Myrtle refused to say who she was talking about, noting that the “boy” had confided in her secrets that she would never repeat. Of course, it’s later clear that Draco had told her about the pressure he was under and the terrible fate he and his family would suffer if he failed. Draco confiding in Myrtle shows how desperate he had become and how few people he had to turn to as he slowly realized that being a Death Eater wasn’t all it had been cracked up to be. However, it also demonstrates just how much he had changed since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Draco’s Unlikely Friendship Showed How Much He Had Changed Since Chamber Of Secrets

Moaning Myrtle Was Used To Create Contrast Within Draco’s Personal Arc

Moaning Myrtle was first introduced in Chamber of Secrets when it was ultimately revealed that she had been the victim of Tom Riddle’s Basilisk. In truth, she was Voldemort’s first victim—a Muggle-born the Dark Lord purged from the school. When Harry discovered this, Draco had been cheering on whoever had opened the Chamber of Secrets, publicly stating that he himself would love to see the Muggle-borns of Hogwarts dead. Of course, he was only a boy with no idea what he was talking about. By Half-Blood Prince, he realized that murder wasn’t so light a thing.

The fact that Draco became friends with Voldemort’s first victim while trying to carry out the Dark Lord’s orders is deeply ironic. As a Muggle-born, Myrtle represented everything the Death Eaters stood against, but she ended up being the only person Draco could talk to through this horrible, tumultuous time. This friendship emphasized that despite finally achieving his dream of becoming a Death Eater, Draco no longer felt the same way he had as a child in the Chamber of Secrets. Moaning Myrtle reflected Draco’s immense vulnerability and juxtaposed his supposed hatred for her kind.

Other Ways Draco Malfoy’s Half-Blood Prince Story Parallels Chamber Of Secrets

These Are The Two Most Important Books In Draco’s Story

Though they are set years apart from one another, Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince are perhaps the most closely related books of the Harry Potter series. There are dozens of ways in which the former set up the latter—in both books, Harry suspected Draco of attempted murder, stepped into memories of Lord Voldemort’s past, and interacted with Horcruxes. Additionally, the Chamber of Secrets first introduced the Vanishing Cabinet (Harry hid inside it at Borgin and Burkes), which Draco used to sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts in Half-Blood Prince.

Then, of course, there is Moaning Myrtle. Though she appeared in other Harry Potter books, these were the two in which she played the most prominent roles within the central mystery. She and the other common characteristics of Chamber of Secrets and Half-Blood Prince all serve to create contrast between the person Draco was at the beginning of the series compared to who he was at the end—a naive pure-blood boy who despised Muggle-borns and craved power and a young man who realized that the hateful ideology he had been raised with was wrong and dangerous.

HBO’s Remake Can Lean Into The Irony Of Draco’s Connection To Moaning Myrtle

Moaning Myrtle’s Friendship Can’t Be Cut From The Remake Like In The Movies

Draco and Myrtle’s friendship wasn’t all the Harry Potter movies cut, and this is precisely why HBO’s TV remake of the series is so exciting. As a book-faithful adaptation, the show should restore everything, big and small, that Warner Bros’ films simply didn’t have time for. Ultimately, this will mean a much stronger story than had been brought to the screen previously since all the parallels and bits of symbolism would be back where they belong. Of course, with episodes upon episodes to work with, HBO’s remake could feasibly lean into Draco’s story even more than the Harry Potter books did.

Despite being an antagonist for most of Harry Potter, Draco has always been a fan-favorite character. He’s despicable, but as the story begins to explore what his home life would have been like, it’s much easier to understand why Draco turned out the way he did. HBO’s remake can take this even further by adding scenes demonstrating the indoctrination Draco was raised in at Malfoy Manor. Then, some additional scenes of Draco connecting with Moaning Myrtle and learning that the Muggle-born ghost isn’t so bad after all could go a long way, too.