Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat quoted Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore as he channeled his inner wizard during tonight's leadership debate.
The word "Dumbledore" was soon trending on Twitter when the former military officer quoted JK Rowling's character by saying it's hard to "stand up to your friends".
Asked whether the public should trust those standing to be PM, Mr Tugendhat, responded: "It's easy to stand up to your enemies - it's sometimes harder to stand up to your friends."
It bears an uncanny resemblance to a line from The Philosopher's Stone - and many were quick to pick up on it.
Mr Tugendhat spoke while acknowledging "trust in politics has been collapsing, trust in our party has been collapsing", and added: "I've been holding a mirror to many of our actions and asking those in our party, those in our leadership positions, to ask themselves 'is that what the public really expects?'
"Are you serving the people of the United Kingdom or are you serving your career? Because that's the real question tonight.
"That's the real question for all of us."
Twitter users were quick to notice the similarity to Dumbledore's famous quote, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends".
In the first instalment of the popular franchise, the headmaster uttered the line before awarding pupil Neville Longbottom with 10 points for Gryffindor.
"Is Tom Tugendhat a Harry Potter fan?" one person wrote.
"Don't think any of us expected Tom Tugendhat to be straight out of the gate with a direct quote from Dumbledore," another said.
Mr Tugendhat joined fellow Tory leadership contenders Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss at the debate on Friday, hosted by Krishan Guru-Murthy.
Tory MPs hoping to succeed Boris Johnson floundered on live TV when asked if the current PM is honest - as they clashed in an often tense debate.
The five remaining leadership candidates, who locked horns in a Channel 4 hustings in front of 'swing' voters, were grilled over a string of issues including Mr Johnson's conduct.
In a damning moment, not a single audience member held up their hand when asked by host Krishnan Guru-Murthy whether they trusted politicians - highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the winner.
And just three said the government is doing enough to tackle the cost of living crisis as candidates clashed over economic policies - with Rishi Sunak likening Liz Truss' plans to a "fairy tale".
Only 10 audience members raised their hands when asked if they were more likely to vote Conservative after hearing their answers.
