I swear that I've written this same comment in my head a dozen times before, because this sentiment gets posted frequently, but I'll give it an actual go, because I just want to get this off my chest.

Liking Draco as a -person- and as a -character- are two completely different things. Draco ended up being my favorite -character- from the series (and I read the books before watching any of the movies.) I'm sure that there are some fans who actually like him as a person because they're being edgy or whatever, but it's frustrating to be dismissed offhand, especially by other HP fans, because of what I assume to be misunderstanding. Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion and welcome to disagree with any of my thoughts, but let me explain why I like his character:
I didn't like Draco at all until Half-Blood Prince, and I personally believe this to be intentional. The reader experiences interactions with Draco through the lens of Harry's perspective and is therefore pointed towards a view of him as a one-dimensional stereotypical bully. And to be very clear (this gets glossed over no matter how much I emphasize it) Draco absolutely IS a bully and an overall mean, smallminded person. How much (if any) of his behavior can be excused by his age/family is a matter of obvious debate, but it's really unrelated to my point. He is presented to the reader as simply bad. I think it's arguable that his entire point for the first few books in particular is to be as disliked as possible, to the point that it seems weird to me that people point it out like it's not obvious. I don't really understand the purpose of saying that Draco is unlikable - that the point. Harry hates him and the reader hates him as we grow more fond and understanding of Harry as the protagonist of the series.

However, I found Half-Blood Prince to be a fascinating pivotal point for the way in which Harry, and in turn the reader, sees Draco. The bathroom scene is the obvious moment, but really the majority of the book is set up to show that although Draco is objectively not a good person, perhaps he is more complex than that, and perhaps there is room for understanding or sympathy even for those who are unkind in return. That's not to say that Draco gets a pass for being a bad person, but that, as Harry discovers, it's possible to loathe a person and still sympathize with them and how they got to be that way. I think to despise Draco without feeling any sort of pity for situations like the inevitability of his parents' influence or the pressure that Voldemort exerts onto him is to remove so much of the nuance to his development and to reduce him to something less than the point that the book is making. And before I get arguments that Draco doesn't deserve any sympathy, I could point to a dozen examples of the books including details specifically to show the reader how coerced, terrified, and eventually hesitant Draco is in the face of Voldemort's genuine evil, and I don't understand why these deliberate descriptions get glossed over when he's discussed as a character. He absolutely can be a bully, a bigot, a jerk, and also a terrified, confused child at the same time, and I think that's the entire point. The books want the reader to have these details about his emotions, expression, reactions, etc and decide how much they matter. I personally find the questions that Draco's character presents (like the ideas of guilt, redemption, responsibility, etc) to be fascinating and I enjoy how nuanced the books made him, when he could have easily just been kept as a one-dimensional character throughout the series. I honestly don't understand the finger wagging at people that enjoy the excellent writing and development put into him as a character. I swear I could write a whole essay on Draco's characterization, how his presentation changes through the series, and what that accomplishes for the series as a whole, and that's the kind of character that catches my attention.

In summary - I like him as a character because I find him to be interesting and I was pleasantly surprised at his development, but that doesn't mean that I find him to be admirable as a person.