Draco Lucius Malfoy was born on the 5th of June 1980, the only son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy who were both born into old, wealthy pure-blood families. Both the Malfoys' and the Blacks had traditionally been in Slytherin House for centuries and strongly disapproved of any relatives who did not follow in this tradition, such as Sirius Black. From a young age, he was given the message by his parents that they were Pure-bloods, and that they were "superior" to everyone else, and so on. Draco was raised to strongly believe in the importance of blood purity. Draco was raised in an atmosphere of regret that the Lord Voldemort had not succeeded in taking command of the wizarding community, although he was prudently reminded that such sentiments ought not to be expressed outside the small circle of the family and their close friends 'or Daddy might get into trouble'.

The Malfoys spoiled their son, giving him the best of everything as far as material possessions go. The only two hand-me-down things Draco ever received were the old family prejudice against Muggles, Muggle-borns, half-breeds, and blood traitors — in short, prejudice against anyone who was not a pure-blood wizardkind, or anyone who supports these types of people — and the Malfoy family's waste collection of powerful dark artefacts harking back to the family history.

He didn't have many happy memories in childhood, as it is known he couldn't produce the Patronus Charm as he didn't have enough happy memories. This goes to show that he didn't have a very good childhood.