HBO’s Harry Potter Already Filmed the Flourish and Blotts Showdown, Says Arthur Weasley Actor Rafe Spall

When fans list the most memorable moments from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the quiet, venomous showdown between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy inside Flourish and Blotts usually ranks near the top, and it sounds like HBO’s Harry Potter has already shot it. Rafe Spall, who plays Arthur Weasley in the new series, told Deadline while promoting his upcoming series The Death of Sherlock Holmes that he’s already shared scenes with Johnny Flynn’s Lucius Malfoy and Kit Harington’s Gilderoy Lockhart, well before Season 2 has been confirmed to be in full production.

A Confrontation Years in the Making

Spall described a recent day on set with Flynn, Harington, and his on-screen wife Katherine Parkinson, who plays Molly Weasley, and spoke warmly about working alongside her, calling her “one of the best actors in the world. She’s phenomenal,” in comments to Deadline. Between the names involved, the timing lines up with the bookshop confrontation between Flynn’s Malfoy and Spall’s Arthur Weasley, the scene where Lucius needles Arthur over the Weasleys’ fondness for Muggles while quietly slipping Tom Riddle’s old diary into Ginny Weasley’s stack of school books, the small moment that sets the entire Chamber of Secrets plot in motion.

Katherine Parkinson plays Molly Weasley in HBO’s Harry Potter, the role Spall calls one of the best performances he’s worked alongside.

One Head Start, One Clean Slate

Flynn’s Lucius Malfoy isn’t entirely new to the production. He’s already made his first appearance earlier in Season 1, ahead of where the books properly introduce the character in Chamber of Secrets. Harington’s Lockhart, on the other hand, is a fresh Season 2 addition, stepping into the role this year after original pick Nicholas Hoult exited the production, as GamersUniverse covered back in September.

A Full Circle Family Moment

Spall’s connection to the franchise runs in the family. His father, Timothy Spall, played Peter Pettigrew, better known in his animagus form as Scabbers the rat, across the original film series. Spall said the overlap hit home recently when he ran into a prop version of Scabbers on set and stopped to take a photo next to it, joking that he’d have shared it if he were on social media. Asked about the ongoing controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, Spall kept his answer brief, saying he isn’t on social media and had nothing to add to that conversation.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Season 1 of HBO’s adaptation, premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 25, while Season 2 keeps adding names and footage to its Chamber of Secrets chapter well ahead of its own release.

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Picture Source: HBO