Ah, Harry Potter. The series of books and movies that took the world by storm. When you think of Harry Potter, you think of Harry's lightning bolt scar, his friendship with Ron and Hermione, his battles with Voldemort, and his rivalry with one of his classmates, Draco Malfoy. These two rivals are iconic. They're definitely one of the most recognizable rivalries in any form of media. Even those who haven't read or seen Harry Potter have probably heard about this famous rivalry. And why? Well it's definitely easy for fans to relate to. Many people have met a Draco in their lives. And it's hard not to root for Harry, where this rivalry is concerned. Even though the two rivals are more alike than you might believe they are.

Yes, Harry and Draco have some things in common. Harry and Draco both come from families with big reputations. Both of them have an uncomfortably close relationship with Voldemort. They both try to be like their fathers. Both of them perfectly embody the qualities of their houses. They are both wealthy. Yet, they are rivals, right? So there should be differences as well. One difference between the two is that while Draco excels at Occlumency— protecting your thoughts from being read by other wizards— Harry struggles with it. Another is that Draco is a better student than Harry is. Draco also looks down on Harry for spending time with Muggleborns like Hermione and "blood traitors" like Ron and his family, while Harry doesn't judge Draco for who he spends his time with.

Here are 25 Wild Revelations About Harry and Draco's Rivalry.

Both Come From Families With Big Reputations

The Potters and the Malfoys both have reputations in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. While the Potters are known for being great wizards and fighting against Voldemort, the Malfoys are known for being rich and snobby and siding with Voldemort. So, in a way, both Harry and Draco are attempting to live up to their family's legacies. Harry's legacy, is , of course, the better one, because he is the main character of the story. Draco, however, is more of an antagonist, just meant to bother Harry as much as possible.

Both Of Them Have An Uncomfortably Close Relationship With Voldemort

Harry wears his as a scar, showing his connection to Voldemort all the time. With Draco, it's more subtle. Obviously, his family is on Voldemort's side and he is eventually given a job by Voldemort himself. Yet he is not fully comfortable with this job he's given, to eliminate Dumbledore. Nor is he prepared for the possible consequences of such a job. Draco is definitely an antagonist, however, he is not entirely a villain. He has some good somewhere deep inside him.

Both Try To Be Like Their Fathers

Of course, Harry would try to be like his father. James Potter was a great and very heroic wizard. Draco's reasoning is a bit harder to understand for many fans. Lucius Malfoy is a snob and not even a particularly appealing one. Sure, he's Draco's father and most little boys look up to their fathers, yet Draco wanting to be like Lucius doesn't make much sense. He wants to be an elitist snob with really weird hair? At least Harry has reasons that we can point to for why he wants to be like his father. With Draco, it's a lot harder to figure out.

Draco Is Jealous Of Harry

This one is certainly surprising to many fans. This bitter rivalry is all the result of jealousy? Wow. According to Pottermore, J.K. Rowling herself has confirmed it. Draco is jealous of Harry. He is especially envious that Harry is more admired at Hogwarts than Draco himself is. And that Harry shows a natural talent for flying, one of the things Draco is good at too. Though this may be hard to believe for some fans, it does make sense in a way. Jealousy is definitely a powerful force. One that could cause a bitter rivalry such as Harry and Draco's.

Draco Initially Wanted To Befriend Harry

Given their bitter rivalry, it's easy to forget that Draco initially wanted to be Harry's friend. Harry, however, wanted nothing to do with Draco and found him quite obnoxious, just like his Muggle cousin, Dudley. Draco would no doubt be horrified at being compared to a Muggle. Although the Malfoys occasionally interacted with Muggles in the past, especially rich ones, Draco and his father Lucius have nothing but disdain for non-magical folk. Harry, on the other hand, has no problem with Muggles as long as, unlike his cousin, they are good people. No wonder their friendship didn't work out.

Draco Saved Harry From Voldemort In The Deathly Hallows Book

Yes, that's right. Draco Malfoy saves Harry from Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are captured by Snatchers, they are brought to Malfoy Manor. Thanks to a spell placed on him by Hermione, Harry is unrecognizable. So Draco is asked to come and identify him to determine if it is, indeed, Harry Potter. This would seem like a good opportunity for Draco to get revenge on his longtime rival. However, he chooses not to and that says a lot.

Both Of Them Embody The Qualities Of Their Houses

Draco is cunning and ambitious, the qualities of Slytherin House while Harry is the perfect Gryffindor, determined and brave. Where Draco uses whatever he can to get ahead, especially his family's money and influence, Harry wants to succeed without things like that. This embodiment of each house's characteristics may be one reason the two are rivals. They might have been friends given different circumstances, but as it is they are enemies. They are the epitome of the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Both Of Them Are Seekers

Though they are bitter rivals, Harry and Draco have some things in common. One is their love for the sport of Quidditch. They even play the same position for their respective House teams. Both of them are Seekers, always hunting for the elusive Snitch. In another version of the world of Harry Potter, this may have led the two of them to bond. As it is, this only further inflamed their rivalry. With Quidditch, they found another thing to compete about.

Both Of Them Are Wealthy

Yet another thing the two rivals have in common. Both of them have a lot of money. There is a difference, however, in how they use their money and the influence that comes with it. Draco uses his money and influence to get ahead while Harry wants to succeed without using his money and influence. Harry is often generous with his money and uses his influence to help others. Draco, on the other hand, is only out for himself. Though this is something the two enemies have in common, the different ways they use their money shows how different they are as people.

Draco Initially Thought That Harry Was A Powerful Dark Wizard

When Harry survives Voldemort's attack as a baby, there are many theories about how. One theory, believed by Draco's father Lucius Malfoy, is that the baby Harry would grow to be a Dark wizard even greater than Voldemort. According to J. K. Rowling herself on Pottermore, this is why Draco initially tries to befriend Harry. When Harry refuses Draco's offer of friendship and instead becomes friends with "blood traitor" Ron Weasley, Draco correctly guesses that Harry will not become the next great Dark wizard.

Draco Is Better Than Harry At Occlumency

Occlumency is the practice of keeping other wizards, or Legilimens, out of your thoughts. Though Harry learns Occlumency, he does not exactly excel at it. Harry is, after all, the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. Draco, on the other hand, is good at compartmentalizing his emotions. Therefore, he excels at Occlumency. This ends up being useful to Harry in a way. Because due to Draco's Occlumency talents, Voldemort never finds out what really happened the night of Dumbledore's demise.

Draco Tries To Capture Harry During The Final Battle At Hogwarts

During Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Draco tries to capture Harry and bring him to Voldemort. He is, fortunately for Harry's fans, unsuccessful. Draco does this to attempt to regain Voldemort's favor after his family had lost it. For someone who likes to use his money and influence to get ahead, this makes sense. After all, if Voldemort took over, the Malfoys could either become more powerful or stay the same. Draco would definitely rather they became more powerful.

Draco Probably Wouldn't Have Been Able To Hand Harry Over To Voldemort

It's good to know that despite their bitter rivalry, Draco does not want to actually harm Harry to that extent. Like with Dumbledore, who he could have easily eliminated, Draco would find it difficult to cause Harry any permanent harm. He might be able to capture him and mess with him a bit, but he would not actually eliminate his rival. Draco, while not a nice person, is not as evil as you might think. He would hesitate to harm Harry and that shows that he has a bit of a conscience anyway.

Draco Is As Powerful A Wizard As Harry

Yes, that's right. Draco Malfoy is as powerful a wizard as Harry Potter himself.  Though Harry is the protagonist of the story and people root for him, Draco has as good a chance in a duel as Harry does. Maybe it's a good thing, though, that the two of them don't often fight duels. After all, since they're evenly matched it could go on forever. And that would be no good for either of the two young men. Even though most of us would likely root for Harry if said duel was to happen, it's probably better for the wizarding world— and for the two rivals— that it doesn't.

Draco Is A Better Student Than Harry

Now we're not saying that Harry's a bad student or anything, just that Draco is slightly better. He is such a good student, in fact, that he is made a prefect during his fifth year at Hogwarts. In the world of Harry Potter, becoming a prefect requires good grades and some natural talent. Draco has both. Poor Harry has a lot of talent, but his grades just aren't good enough to make the cut. Of course, having to fight Voldemort every year would have a negative effect on anyone's academic performance. It's not entirely Harry's fault that he doesn't have good grades all the time.

Draco And Harry Both Become Successful Adults

Though their methods of success are, of course, different. While Harry gets a job at the Ministry of Magic and works for a living, Draco lives off of his family's fortune. Both men, though, are remarkably well-adjusted adults given what they went through as children. They both get married and have children, who they eventually bring to Hogwarts. They also are able to be around each other and treat each other in a civil manner, despite their rivalry. That shows maturity on both sides.

Draco Looks Down On Harry For Spending Time With Ron and Hermione

This is because Draco and his family view "blood traitors" like Ron and his family and Muggleborns like Hermione as inferior. The closer you are to Muggles, the more likely the Malfoys will view you as less than them. Since Ron and his family have no problem with Muggles, in fact Ron's father is fascinated with them, and Hermione's parents are Muggles, both of them are too close for comfort in the Malfoys' view. Draco and his family are very prejudiced, always trying to distance themselves from Muggles any way they can.

Draco Scoffed At The Notion That Harry Could Be The Heir Of Slytherin

Of course, Draco was right in this case. Harry wasn't the Heir of Slytherin. It was Voldemort, or rather a piece of him, that was causing all the havoc at Hogwarts. Harry would never do such a thing. Yet in Draco's opinion, that is a bad thing. Draco and his family respect strength and power, nothing else. They don't care about morality and just want to do what's best for them. Though Draco eventually breaks away from his morally ambiguous upbringing, he had not done so yet in his second year at Hogwarts. He was still very much like his father at that time.

Draco Was Behind Rita Skeeter's Articles About Harry

During their fourth year at Hogwarts, Draco gave information to Rita Skeeter that caused her to write articles criticizing Harry and lying about him. Most of this information was not even true. In the world of Harry Potter, Rita Skeeter is the worst kind of journalist. The kind who does not care about the truth and is just after what they perceive as a good story. The fact that Draco would associate with such a person shows how much he dislikes Harry and his lack of morals in general.

Draco Blames Harry For His Father Being Locked Up In Azkaban

At the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, gets locked up in Azkaban. Draco, of course, blames this on Harry. What he fails to realize is that it is his father's own choices that led him to the infamous wizard prison. If Lucius hadn't sided with Voldemort and become a Dark wizard in the first place, he wouldn't have been locked up. It is probably so much easier for Draco to blame Harry rather than actually think about how his father got to Azkaban.