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Over the past few months, Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy has experienced a renaissance in book readers’ and movie watchers’ hearts. Fans are making Draco TikToks, devouring fanfiction, and diving back into the original Harry Potter book series to show their love for the character.

But there is someone else from the Harry Potter series who’s a bit more deserving of the sudden appreciation, and that someone is Regulus Black.

Tom Felton poses while at an event for his character Draco Malfoy from the 'Harry Potter' book series.
Tom Felton | Matt Peyton/Getty Images

Who are Draco Malfoy and Regulus Black?

Readers meet Draco early on in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — during Harry and Draco’s first year at Hogwarts.

Soon after that, Draco proves he and Harry will never be friends. Draco judges the Gryffindor house, talks down to the “poor” Weasley family, and asserts his beliefs in “blood purity” — the primary way wizards discriminate against each other. Draco eventually ascribes to Lord Voldemort’s plans to eliminate Muggle-born witches and wizards (i.e., those born to non-magical parents).

Regulus Black experienced a similar upbringing with his brother Sirius. Like Draco and Harry, Regulus and Sirius were placed in “opposite” Hogwarts houses — Slytherin and Gryffindor, respectively. The two have opposing beliefs in terms of magical blood purity, with Regulus following his family’s line of thought and Sirius being accepting of Muggle-borns.

But unlike Draco, Regulus has a revelation regarding the errors of his and his family’s ways. And what he does about that isn’t subtle in the slightest.

Draco Malfoy has recently been getting a lot of love

Yes, Draco does have moments where he shows small flickers of guilt for the violence he and his family have contributed to. For instance, in the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Draco is asked to confirm or deny whether a prisoner is in fact Harry. It’s possible Draco doesn’t recognize his classmate. But it’s implied he does and chooses to pretend he doesn’t know Harry’s identity to protect him.

TikTok users have been posting videos honoring the character, raking up billions of views under the “DracoTok” hashtag. Tom Felton, the actor behind Draco in the movie franchise, has also joined in on the Draco love. He posted a TikTok in October 2020 challenging fans to an accent challenge. While this is all in good fun, there’s another character in the series who should be appreciated.

Regulus Black is a severely underrated character

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All of the devotion Draco is receiving should actually be redirected to a more worthy — and criminally underappreciated — character, Regulus Black. Regulus grew up in a similar setting as Draco — in a wealthy, influential, blood purity-obsessed household.

However, Regulus does what many incorrectly assert that Draco does: He boldly fights back. Regulus goes against his family and their Slytherin ties. And with the help of his house elf Kreacher, he attempts to destroy a piece of Voldemort’s soul via a locket, dying in the process. This act of defiance is much more than anything Draco did. So if you’re looking for a sympathetic “evil” character to get behind, Regulus is the one.

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