Character Analysis
Ah, that human ferret we ordered has arrived right on time.
Draco Malfoy doesn't quite qualify for villain status. He's too snotty, too bratty, and he really doesn't scare us the way Voldemort does. Malfoy's purpose in the story becomes more apparent in later chapters, but for now, it's enough to have someone Harry's age to serve as an adversary on the schoolyard level.
But that doesn't make him any less irritating.
As the member of a prestigious family, Malfoy comes with the snooty superiority complex pre-installed. He uses his status as an excuse to lord it over wrong-side-of-the-tracks types like Ron, and generally look down his nose at the hoi-polloi. Almost as soon as we meet him—the first night at Hogwarts, just before the big feast—he's ready to start drawing lines and judging people:
DRACO: You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.
This is Draco to a T: status obsessed, grandiose, and smarmy. Stay classy, you little punk.
When Harry decides not to become part of Team Malfoy, Draco makes it his business to snitch on Harry and his friends whenever possible, cementing his status as a grade-A weasel and turning chicken the minute he faces any real danger out in the forest.
Naturally, you know he'll just pop back with that smug smile on his face, ready to make life miserable for Harry and his friends all over again.