Draco Malfoy is one of the most complex antagonists of the Harry Potter series. Similarly to Snape, he does a lot of awful things, but then, he has moments that are redeeming. Draco is also very popular amongst fans because many people feel he could have been given a more in-depth redemption arc.
Draco was raised in a household where he was exposed to a lot of evil, so in some ways, he was a victim, but he’s also a bully and quite problematic. He did a lot of bad things throughout the series that are somewhat unforgivable.
Bought his way onto the quidditch team
This is the most benign entry on this list overall, but it's’ still worth noting. Draco comes from a rich family that has a lot of social status, so he’s used to always getting his way.
He doesn’t always have to work for things, and he is rather entitled. He has his father buy the entire Slytherin Quidditch team new top of the line brooms so that he’s ensured a place as the new Seeker.
Bullied other students like Neville
Draco uses the fact that he’s privileged and popular to hurt other people who aren't as well-liked as him. He’s a major bully, and while he isn’t too picky about who he will pick on, he definitely likes to make fun of those that he sees as inferior to him.
While these behaviors likely stem from his own insecurities, he was just an unpleasant and mean person.
Threatened the trio, especially Hermione, with harm
From the moment Harry tells Draco he can pick his own friends, the two become enemies. While neither one likes the other, Draco takes things way too far over and over. Harry might not like Draco, but he’s not as malicious of a person. Draco makes many threats to the trio over the years, and he sometimes makes jokes about them getting hurt or even killed.
One of the worst examples of this is when he tells Hermione that she’s going to end up like the Muggles who are being tortured at the World Cup. This is such a disgusting comment that it’s hard to forgive.
Mocked Ron and his family
Seeing as how Draco comes from an upper-class background, he never has to worry about money and material things. He’s the only child, and he gets everything he wants. Ron, on the other hand, doesn’t have rich parents and comes from a big family.
Draco is always making comments about the Weasleys and their lack of money, and he mocks Ron’s appearance multiple times, too.
Called Hermione a mudblood multiple times
While Draco is cruel and rude to many people, including Harry and Ron, the things he says to Hermione are particularly troubling. As a muggle-born, Hermione is a person who is looked down on by some people in the wizarding world. Draco clearly believes that she and other people like her are inferior, and he calls her horrible names that are considered slurs in wizarding society.
These comments are definitely a type of violence, and while Hermione is luckily a strong person, she didn’t deserve to be treated this way by anyone.
Tried to get Hagrid fired and Buckbeak murdered
One of the best examples of Draco’s true character is how he acts in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. After ignoring Hagrid’s instructions and getting a minor injury from Buckbeak, he uses his father’s political and social power to try to ruin Hagrid’s life by getting him fired.
He also wants to have Buckbeak executed. This just goes to show that Draco is spiteful and lacking in any sympathy for other people except himself. He was fine with an innocent animal losing its life.
Became part of the Inquisitorial Squad
Given Draco’s love of bullying others and feeling superior, it’s not really that surprising that he likes Umbridge. He and many of his friends join Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad where they enforce Umbridge’s strict and cruel rules.
They go so far as to get Harry and his friends caught by Udbridge knowing full well that she will try to inflict physical harm on them.
Almost got multiple people killed in his sixth year
Draco doesn’t necessarily want to kill Dumbledore, and the situation that he’s put in by Voldemort shows the kind of evil that Voldemort was. However, in his pursuit of this impossible task, he also got many other innocent people killed. From Katie Bell to Ron, Draco left a lot of people injured and almost dead in his wake.
Maybe he didn’t mean to necessarily hurt these people, but he also wasn’t particularly concerned about it.
Became a Death Eater
For most of his young life, Draco definitely parrots the beliefs of his parents and the other Death Eaters he was raised around. He has no issues with their violent ideology, and he reminds others around him that he agrees.
However, becoming a Death Eater is taking things that much further. Draco might not have necessarily wanted to be treated how he was by Voldemort, but he was also proud of being able to join up.
Tried to capture Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts
While many fans point to Draco being less vile later on after he failed to kill Dumbledore, he isn’t suddenly a good person. He might not identify Harry to the Death Eaters in Malfoy Manor, but he does try to capture Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts.
His exact motivations for finding Harry in the Room of Requirement are unclear, he definitely wasn’t altruistic.