Tom Felton’s portrayal of the world-renowned “Harry Potter” character Draco Malfoy is going viral. Although «Malfoy» is commonly interpreted as deriving from the French «mal foi» («bad faith»), on Chinese social media, he is trending as a symbol of good luck ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year, the BBC reported.
The trend stems from his family name: when read in Chinese, «Ma‑er‑fu» can be translated as «horse and fortune,» perfectly aligning with the sign of the upcoming Lunar New Year — the fire horse.
Users on local social media are sharing festive decorations, including couplets and fuzi stickers — Chinese decorations featuring the character for prosperity, commonly placed upside down to symbolize good fortune arriving — adorned with the iconic smug portrait of Malfoy.
The 2026 Lunar New Year will begin on Feb. 17.
Previously, legendary composer Hans Zimmer was announced to work on the HBO “Harry Potter” series soundtrack.
Separately, Kursiv LifeStyle also explored how J.K. Rowling’s characters might look in a Soviet-era context or in a Central Asian setting.
