The minute the door to Dudley's second bedroom closed and he was finally alone, Draco sat down on the bed to think about all that he had just witnessed. He'd never pictured Vernon Dursley to be anything like the person he'd just met. Rather, from the descriptions he'd gotten from Dudley, Draco had pictured Vernon as a big, clumsy, harmless oaf, rather like Hagrid. Good for an occasional laugh, but easily ignored most of the time. But that had not been what he'd seen at all.
Draco wished he could say he'd never met anyone like Vernon Dursley before, but unfortunately that wasn't true. The more he thought about it, the more familiar it sounded. "Adoring" wife who was really just afraid of him and tried to cater to his every whim. Check. Spoiled son who had never had a chance to learn to think for himself. Check. Perfect home valued more for its worth as a status symbol than as a refuge for the family. Check. Complete and utter hatred of anyone who was different in any way. Check. Yes, they were two peas in a pod—Vernon Dursley and Lucius Malfoy. Draco snorted. He was sure that either of them would be horrified to realize anyone thought them alike in any way.
Now that his thoughts were in order for the moment, Draco could take time to explore Dudley's second bedroom. Honestly, with all the rooms in Malfoy Manor, even Draco only had one bedroom. Why would anyone need two? But a quick perusal of the room's contents told him that maybe Dudley wasn't the room's real occupant. The Hogwarts school trunk and owl cage were strong clues, but it was the Firebolt casually leaning in the corner that was the dead giveaway. This was Potter's room! He'd have to explore it more carefully later, but for right now, it was time for him to get some sleep. It had been a very long day, and he had a feeling the next week was only going to get worse.
The smell of bacon frying awakened him the next morning. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was 8:00. At Malfoy Manor, the house elves usually brought breakfast to his room, but Draco imagined that he would have to go downstairs and eat at the common table with the family.
Once washed and dressed in the Mugglest outfit he owned (no use in making Vernon more suspicious than he already was), Draco went downstairs to the kitchen, where he immediately saw several things that made the eyes bug out of his head. The first thing he noticed was that the kitchen was full of white, whirring things. Most of them gave off a persistent whining noise that made his head hurt. He'd have to learn more about them later. The second thing he saw was Harry Potter standing at the stove cooking breakfast. Draco realized that Muggles never used house elves and that the Dursleys probably wouldn't be able to afford servants, but in Muggle Studies he'd learned that in the typical Muggle household, the mother was in charge of cooking.
But the third thing Draco saw was so surprising that it made him forget the first two. The entire dining room table was covered with packages of all sizes wrapped in brightly-colored paper. Dudley was standing over them with a maniacal gleam in his eye, looking rather too much like Aunt Bellatrix for Draco's taste. "Hi, Draco," Dudley exclaimed. "What did you get me for my birthday?"
Draco's first impulse was to laugh. Did the kid really think that Draco knew about his birthday, let alone cared enough to buy him a present? But then he remembered that for the next week, Dudley was the only person actually on his side. It would be best not to alienate him.
"I left it in my trunk," Draco said smoothly. "I'll be right back." Dashing up the stairs, he grabbed the first thing he saw (a pencil box that Harry had owned since kindergarten) and transfigured it into a model ship. He hastily wrapped it up and brought it back downstairs, where he handed it to Dudley. "Happy birthday, Dudley," was all he could think to say, but since Dudley was still gleaming manically at the presents, it didn't really matter.