By late 1996, Draco joined the Death Eaters, having replaced his incarcerated father. He bragged about having been given a mission to his fellow Slytherin students on his way to school on the Hogwarts Express. However, as the year dragged on, Draco became increasingly afraid that he would fail in his seemingly impossible task — to kill Albus Dumbledore. It is implied that Draco was expected to fail and that Voldemort assigned him the task with the intention of punishing Lucius Malfoy for his failure at the Department of Mysteries. The safety of his family rested on Draco's success with his mission. When Harry overhead some parts of Draco's conversation with his fellow Slytherins about the mission, Draco used a Full Body-Bind Curse to paralyse Harry and stomped hard on his face, crushing his nose, in revenge for imprisoning his father, Lucius, causing Harry to hate Draco more than ever, while disregarding what Harry heard as not important enough to condemn him. [19] Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased, to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione's had done." — Harry Potter using the wand [src]

In J. K. Rowling's early drafts of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Draco's surname was 'Spungen', 'SpinksDraco is drawn into Death-Eaters' activities more directly in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Because of Lucius' arrest and fall from Voldemort's favour, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Snape at his home to discuss a dangerous task that Voldemort has assigned Draco. Narcissa, deeply worried that her son will be killed in his attempt to complete it, begs Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow to aid Draco with this task and protect him at all costs, and if Draco fails to complete the mission, he will complete it himself; he agrees. After Voldemort's defeat, Draco and his parents sat in the Great Hall, looking uncertain of their place during the victory celebrations. [21] After Hogwarts (1998–2006) Ironically enough, it was Draco's wand that Harry used in his final duel with Voldemort, though it had changed its allegiance to Harry by that point. However, as it was the rebounding spell of the Elder Wand that killed Voldemort, Draco's wand did not vanquish Riddle.

The teacher Draco initially respected the most was Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. Snape, in turn, took Draco as his favourite student and showed him undeserved lenience on several occasions, which likely had something to do with Snape's long-time comradeship with Draco's father, or on the pretext of it, given that Snape defected from the Death Eaters. Draco even stated that Snape should apply for the position of Headmaster, after Dumbledore was suspended. The play also explores some of Draco's later life after the second wizarding war and prior to the events of the play. Due to the harrowing experiences he had during his time with the Death Eaters and his remorse over his criminal acts as a Death Eater, Draco had realised the error in his ways and thus abandoned the old pure-blood beliefs he was raised to adopt and believe in. This notably caused friction between him and his parents (who maintained these beliefs despite having defected from Voldemort). As he slowly grew into adulthood, Draco fell in love with a fellow Slytherin Astoria Greengrass, who also witnessed the carnage and horrors which the war and the old beliefs brought about (though lesser than Draco). This romance and eventual marriage would disappoint Draco's parents further given that they expected a more suitable candidate from one of the wizarding world's oldest pure-blood families and also an individual who had the embodiment of the old pure-blood beliefs. Despite having lost the favour of his parents, he still inherits the massive fortune of the Malfoy family, which made him independently wealthy and having no need to work. The inheritance also included his father's collection of Dark Arts artefacts.At some point between 2000 and 2005, she eventually married Draco Malfoy, who was two years ahead of her and was a classmate of her older sister, Daphne Greengrass. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had "disapproved" of Draco's choice to take her as a wife, but he chose her anyway and stood up to both of them. This was something which Astoria once told her son " was one of the most courageous things she'd ever seen". Draco joined the Death Eaters at age sixteen, when Lord Voldemort threatened to kill his parents if he failed in his mission to assassinate Albus Dumbledore. In fact, Voldemort wanted to punish Lucius Malfoy for not retrieving a Prophecy from the Department of Mysteries in his assumption that Draco would fail and have to be punished accordingly. Draco fought in several battles for Voldemort, including the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. After Voldemort's final defeat, Draco was not imprisoned, as he and his family had deserted the Death Eaters prior to Voldemort's defeat. a b Brady, Shaun (28 November 2006). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News . Retrieved 27 February 2007. [ dead link]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets wins Best DVD, archived from the original on 7 November 2021 , retrieved 13 November 2019 However, when Draco was finally given the opportunity to kill Dumbledore, who had just expressed his willingness to protect Draco and his family were they to 'come over to the right side', he could not bring himself to commit murder; considering that they spent the few minutes of alone time to discuss how Draco smuggled his accomplices into the castle, Dumbledore concluded that Draco would find committing murder impossible. As predicted, Draco ultimately was unable to do it, instead lowering his wand. Snape, who had made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to step in if Draco failed in his task, used the Killing Curse on the Headmaster. Snape then promptly led Draco out of the school grounds, presumably to safety, but really to get to a safe distance to disapparate to Lord Voldemort. [19] Albus Dumbledore: " Draco, Draco, you are not a killer." Draco Malfoy: " How do you know? You don't know what I'm capable of, you don't know what I've done!" — Draco and Albus Dumbledore in 1997 [src] Ironically, Draco was the reason why Slytherin lost to Gryffindor that year in Quidditch, because he was unaware that the Golden Snitch was hovering inches above his own left ear--too busy insulting Harry Potter to notice. Harry took advantage of the lapse in concentration, allowing Gryffindor to win the match and Draco to be reprimanded by the team captain Marcus Flint for his stupidity, which was witnessed by George Weasley. [13]Nimbus 2001: Draco's father bought the entire Slytherin Quidditch team Nimbus 2001s in exchange for his son being played as Seeker. The two had a son together, named Scorpius Malfoy, who was raised by his mother not to believe that Muggles and Muggle-borns were scum; as such, family gatherings were fraught with tension. [1] Draco raised Scorpius to be a much kinder and more accepting Malfoy than he was in his youth. [1]