It's a truth universally acknowledged that Neville Longbottom actor Matthew Lewis has undergone the mother of all glow-ups down the intervening years from his first appearance in the Harry Potter films.

Cast as the hapless, accident-prone Neville, Matthew Lewis was excellent in the films, portraying Neville as a kindly but ultimately blundering influence on life in Gryffindor Tower and Hogwarts at large.

Neville isn't the only one who got ripped after starring in Potter, check out this Harry Potter star flexing his muscles:

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Terrified of Professor Snape, far from a high flier in class and perennially finding strife and bother round every corner due to his bad memory, Neville was not necessarily a character Potter fans ever expected to be falling head over heels for one day.

And yet.

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Here we are.

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Head over heels.

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For Neville Longbottom.

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Essentially, if there were to be a poster board for ageing in the most jaw-droppingly handsome manner possible, Matthew Lewis would be front and centre, all jaunty grins and washboard abs.

Anyway, we got distracted there, didn't we?

Back to the matter at hand.

On Friday, Tom Felton posted a hilarious picture to Instagram of himself, replete in Slytherin robes, posing alongside a portrait of his famous character, Draco Malfoy.

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Frankly, we think Felton looks utterly dashing these days, but he's obviously more than happy to poke a little fun at himself for the 'gram, and that's great.

But resident Hogwarts expert-on-going-through-puberty Matthew Lewis just had to chime in with the perfect response to Felton's upload.

He commented "Speak for yourself lad!", much to the internet's amusement.

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The comment wasn't missed by those hawk-eyed folk over at the Comments by Celebs Instagram page, who pointed out the hilarious badinage to their own followers.

Relive this classic Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger moment in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

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So, what do you know? Neville Longbottom and Draco Malfoy ended up as friends after all, and fans are still being treated to premium Potter content more than 20 years after the first book was published.

It's safe to say that, in Harry Potter, JK Rowling created a story and a universe that inspired a generation of both children and adults alike. And while film adaptions tend to struggle to stand up against the original novels, the same cannot be said for the Harry Potter movies, which were unbelievable stories in their own right. Of course, the magic of books is that you can create your own universes: you paint the picture of the characters and how they speak and sometimes films can struggle to match up to your expectations. But the casting team behind the Harry Potter series got every character bang on. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BVzpf-GnLed/?hl=en&taken-by=harrypotterfilm]] In the same way that my generation grew up on the Harry Potter books, the cast grew up bringing them to life. Seeing as they spent the best part of their teenage years in each other's company, it hardly comes as a surprise that several members of the cast had crushes on each other during the filming process. Speaking in 2011, Emma Watson admitted to having the hots for Tom Felton (Draco), saying that he was her first crush. "For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush," she told Seventeen. "He totally knows. We talked about it – we still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that's cool." However, despite the fact that he was getting crushed on by literally every teenage boy's dream girl, Tom claims that he was oblivious to the whole thing and instead recalls the time when she seemed more than happy to smack him across the face. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BQjt_pcBjEm/?hl=en&taken-by=draco_.malfoy]] "I remember in the second film when I knew this was going to happen I went up to her and told her to slap me (it was slap at the time), to rehearse it. Course she just walked up and slapped me across the face," he said, laughing. "My male ego didn't quite know what to do with it." And then when did it go from a slap to a punch? "I'm not sure! Somewhere between that and the third film, it got a little bit more violent. Luckily she didn't actually clock me with her fist. She's got a bit of a mean right hook, Emma Watson." However, one man who does recall the romance on set is Matthew Lewis (AKA Neville Longbottom). Lewis' character may have been a bit of a joke in the film, but he is something of a hunk in real life. It seems like Neville's new found bravery and desire rubbed off on Matthew, who has since gone on to get muscular and star in a variety of different movies. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BdlC0pjAkE5/?hl=en&taken-by=mattdavelewis]] The 28-year-old may have plenty of suitors now, but he recalls how during his time of set he only had eyes for one girl. We started tutoring on set and we were on set all the time, so I think everyone had crushes on everyone else at some point. There was always Valentine’s Day – everyone would write secret Valentine’s cards to different people. I think on the second [film] there was like love notes and love letters flying around. I probably had a crush on Emma for a couple of years, until I was 13 or 14 – something like that. I mean nothing ever came of it, anyway. It never went anywhere. Neville and Hermoine; what a couple that would've been. Don't worry though, Matthew, we all had crushes on Emma Watson so you're not alone in that company. I'm sure he's over it anyway, seeing as he got engaged to his girlfriend just a year ago. Tough luck Emma!

It is now more than 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published. In the space of seven books, JK Rowling created a world that has resonated far beyond the storied corridors of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. For those of us who were lucky enough to grow up in parallel to Harry, Ron, Hermione et al, the books represent a significant part our childhood and conjured vivid imaginings of how our own magical education would play out. Part of what made the books so successful was the way in which they tackled ostensibly adult themes like death, torture, betrayal and love in a manner that was sensitive and understandable to children, as well as older readers. Though Potter represents a beautiful parallel universe we all hope is reality (it definitely is), for the actors who portrayed our favourite Hogwarts heroes and heroines, filming the Harry Potter movies took up a considerable chunk of their childhood. The Boy Who Lived may have grown up in the chastening surrounds of Privet Drive as a result of his parents’ deaths; with his cantankerous Uncle Vernon, insipid, highly strung Aunt Petunia and rotund bully of a cousin, Dudley. But the cast of Potter grew up on the sets of Leavesden studios, and so it is perhaps inevitable that they developed feelings for one another over the course of months and years of such close proximity. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BdlC0pjAkE5/?utm_source=ig_embed]] Indeed, we recently learned that Matthew Lewis - the actor who portrayed Neville Longbottom in the franchise - harboured lovelorn hankerings for none other than Emma Watson, as he recalls; "We started tutoring on set and we were on set all the time, so I think everyone had crushes on everyone else at some point. There was always Valentine’s Day – everyone would write secret Valentine’s cards to different people. I think on the second [film] there was like love notes and love letters flying around. "I probably had a crush on Emma for a couple of years, until I was 13 or 14 – something like that. I mean nothing ever came of it, anyway. It never went anywhere." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd9kvE7hUUd/?hl=en&taken-by=emmawatson]] Now, fans might already be aware that Emma Watson had, in turn, developed a rather significant crush on her co-star Tom Felton - who portrayed greasy posho Draco Malfoy - as she told Seventeen; "For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush. "He totally knows. We talked about it – we still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that's cool." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BeVUFVgFHqG/?hl=en&taken-by=t22felton]] Tom Felton, though, has been rather more coquettish about the whole situation - until now - when Seventeen caught up with the star to ask him about Watson's remarks. When asked if the feelings were mutual at the time he replied, "Er, uh, um, no," and when asked if he knew of Watson's feelings back then he hesitantly said "no" before erupting into nervous laughter and adding, "Sorry I'm being a bit aloof with my answers." So it seems there was never any possibility of relations between Gryffindor and Slytherin house during Hermione and Draco's youth. Hermione did get to punch Draco in the face, though, so who's the real winner here?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has continued to enchant and delight since its conception in 1997. Yes, it's safe to say that the Millennial generation grew up obsessed with the franchise; many of us have accounts on Pottermore, well aware of what house we would be sorted to if only we weren't muggles, and I even happen to know what my Patronus would be (it's a black cat, thank you very much). Now, I don't know about you - but I have been known to get into heated debates with my friends when someone dares to insinuate that Chamber of Secrets is too long, and when discussing the redeeming qualities of Slytherin house. However, there's one thing that no one could possibly disagree with and it's to do with how attractive Neville Longbottom has become. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/f7uLR_IB_q/?hl=en&taken-by=neville___longbottom_]] While Neville Longbottom, also known as Matthew Lewis, was known for being shy and bumbling in the Harry Potter books and films, it appears that he's truly blossomed. Puberty, folks, can do wonders. Certainly, Matthew Lewis's ascent to teen heartthrob has been well documented throughout the years. And it apparently culminated when he stripped off on Wednesday for ITV's Girlfriends. And of course, the people of Twitter got rather hot and heavy about the whole thing. One Twitter user wrote, "It just feels wrong finding Neville Longbottom so attractive " while another corroborated "Aaaaand Neville Longbottom continues to be the hottest alumnus of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ClareToHere/status/948672221983191040]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Moore_27Chris/status/948678924959145984]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/laviniabramwell/status/948664454753013760]]

I'd like it placed on record that I'm willing to put my Harry Potter knowledge to the test against any fellow fan, any time, any place.

I've read the books countless times, watched the films so religiously that I could quote you the dialogue line by line, and listened to Stephen Fry's dulcet tones narrating the audiobooks, too. In short, I'm something of a Harry Potter fan.

I think this is probably because I grew up in tandem with the books, my age coinciding with that of the triumvirate of the series: Harry, Ron and Hermione.

You can imagine then, that to such a fanatic, the news that Tom Felton, he of bleached blonde, slicked-back hair and narrowed eyed bully Draco Malfoy fame has only seen each Harry Potter film once came as something of a shock.

Was he just not really interested in the films after working on them for the bulk of his childhood? Did he have a case of the can't-watch-yourself-on-screens? Had he fallen out with Daniel Radcliffe for real, perhaps over who was the better 11-year-old child actor?

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Well, no, actually, there's a really sweet reason that Tom Felton has only watched each of the films once (at the premiere of each movie), as he explained in an interview with People magazine;

“I have seen the Potter films during the premieres, but other than that no — never! I’m saving that for a sacred day.

“I have visions of doing that with my two kids when I’m a little bit older.”

He also spoke about his relationship with his co-stars, joking;

“It’s all a lie, we hate each other and we’re all absolute b******s!

“No, everyone is really sweet. I was lucky enough the last few months to see Daniel [Radcliffe] on Broadway, he’s doing well. He is always inspiring with his work choices and his outlook on life. I saw Emma [Watson] recently and had a little day on the beach.” 

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Felton, best known for his excellent portrayal of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, is now starring in American science fiction drama Origin, which he describes thus, "I definitely think it’s a unique show. I don’t think there’s been anything really like this before."

Felton recently met up with fellow Potter star Emma Watson, something that sent fans into something of a meltdown considering old rumours that the pair once had the hots for each other. Watson, though, was more interested in plugging her old friend's new show, taking to Twitter to write;

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It's great to see the old guard are still firm friends and enjoying their lives after Harry Potter, and we're sure that when the days comes for Tom Felton to sit down and watch the movies with his kids, the magic will come back all over again.