Lucius Malfoy actor sends hilarious birthday tribute to his 'favorite son' Tom Felton and fans are loving it

While they may have been the second-most hated family in the Harry Potter franchise (the Dursleys were obviously number one), it turns out that the Malfoy clan aren't all that evil after all. In fact, beneath all those dark robes and bleach-blonde hair, actors Jason Isaacs (better known by many as Lucius Malfoy) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) are actually rather sweet.

The pair demonstrated this over the weekend, as Papa Malfoy showed his softer side by posting a Happy Birthday message to his on-screen son. Alongside an old picture of the pair, Isaacs wrote:

"Happy Birthday to my favourite son. You've brought the Malfoy name into horrendous disrepute by turning out to be a gorgeous human being and a fairly average guitarist. I'm so ashamed and proud of you. #BrunettesHaveMoreFun"

The Harry Potter star also shared an image of the two in-character, with Isaacs pinching Felton's ear as he famously did in the earlier films.

This isn't the first time that Isaacs has lovingly ridiculed Felton, either. Last year, the actor posted a similarly sweet message for his former co-star's big day:

"Happiest of birthdays to the wild, beautiful spirit @t22Felton. Prouder and prouder of who and how you are, son, as you spread your wings. Hard to believe you're 30 today since, by quick calculation, that makes me nearly 43. You were a thoroughly delightful, curious and kind 12 year old when I met you and have strolled through the wild journey life has taken you on with unchanged charm and humility and with an everpresent mischievous twinkle. Keep on keeping on. I look forward to being part of the next 30. Bad dad x"

Isaacs' Instagram feed is full of Harry Potter throwbacks, in fact - almost all of them accompanied by witty captions and fond memories of his time filming the movies.

"Early days for a young Lucius with the great #EdwardTudorPole as Mr Borgin (the scene was cut, naturally) and the late, great Robert Hardy as minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge," Isaacs captioned the above photos, which were taken in 2003. "Wide of eye and smooth of skin.. LOOK HOW HAVING CHILDREN HAS RUINED ME!!"

"#FBF A year ago in Florida," he captioned this one. "Two of the most popular #HarryPotter characters prop up the one that hasn't aged well. #thosewerethedaysmyfriends"

And then there's this gem:

"#TBT Me and the scene-stealing elfin superhero formerly known as Dobby (pre-sockgate). Now current Attorney General of the USA, oddly. Thought I'd killed the little b*****d."

As mean as he may have seemed on screen, then, it's very clear that Jason Isaacs is actually just a big sweetheart in real life.