For some you might not know, Draco Malfoy is now an unexpected mascot of good fortune for the Year of the Horse among Chinese netizens. Pasted beside crimson couplets on apartment doors, decorated on tea cups and shimmering from the backs of smartphones is the face of Malfoy — the silver-tongued Slytherin from J.K. Rowling's massively successful book series Harry Potter.
The trend stems from a clever linguistic play on words. In the Chinese translation, Malfoy's name is rendered as ma er fu - the character ma means "horse," while fu means fortune or blessing. This coincidental combination has led Chinese netizens to adopt Malfoy as a playful symbol for the upcoming Year of the Horse.
Tom Felton, the actor who plays Malfoy, has reshared an Instagram story highlighting his new status as a "symbol of Chinese New Year in China."
A Xiaohongshu user, reposting Felton's acknowledgment, captured the collective amusement: "When netizens play with this, it's 100% hilarious. When Malfoy himself joins in, it's 100,000% hilarious."
A search for ma er fu on social media platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu reveals a host of festive merchandise, including fridge magnets, phone cases and small pendants featuring Malfoy's distinctive smirk.
Some users are also placing Malfoy's picture on fuzi, traditional red paper squares that usually display the character for good luck fu, while others have hung the posters upside-down — a customary New Year's pun where "upside-down" sounds like "arrive" — suggesting that fortune is on its way.
A shopping mall in Central China's Henan Province has hung an electronic banner showing Chinese spring festival couplets featuring the huge picture of Malfoy at the center, according to online posts.
A post with the hashtag "The Year of the Horse ma er fu" on social media Weibo has garnered hundreds of comments. "Wish you good fortune in the Year of the Horse! "Full of good fortune!" All your wishes come true!" the user Yizhishangshangqian wrote, with Malfoy's smirk on red fuzi.
The trend has drawn coverage from international outlets like the BBC and CNN.
In a BBC report, the piece notes that "On Chinese social media, pictures show some users sticking couplets or upside down pictures of Malfoy's signature smirk." It also highlights that Chinese netizens cite "Felix Felicis," a reference to a potion in the series that makes the drinker lucky for a period of time, in a bid to attract good fortune.
A report by CNN also quoted some customers saying "Bring me some fortune in 2026, young master," to express their wish for New Year good fortune by way of Malfoy.