The Huge Magical Snake Problem

Rescued

Lucius clearly remembered the night he had been initiated. The Dark Lord had whispered a low hiss at his forearm, and a large cobra that glowed a sickly yellow twined around his arm. It had bitten him savagely where he now displayed the Mark.

As he nodded in agreement, the wand neatly laid across Dumbledore's desk began buzzing intensely. The headmaster, suddenly seeming more concerned, snatched it up and waved it in a precise pattern. A map, with words and all, hovered in the air in front of them.

The wizard paled even further as he stood up abruptly. "Severus is in grave danger."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Dudley Dursley was in his family's kitchen. He was wandering around, terribly confused. He had to find his smelting stick - the fireplace needed it. He rummaged around the unfamiliar drawers, finding an ocean of kitchen utensils. He bent over as far as he could, feeling around until he touched a familiar piece of wood. As he was starting to retreat out of the kitchen and into the lounge, a huge bird crashed through a big window that was... supposed to be there.

Yes.

Dudley scrambled back with more agility than he thought he ever possessed. However, he couldn't escape the bird that was pecking the ground loudly. A big boom happened every time its beak hit the ground. It got closer and closer and closer until-

He jerked upright in his bed. His heart was racing at a pace that couldn't possibly be healthy. He calmed himself down as he realized what he had just experienced was just a dream. He scratched his voluminous stomach, getting the sense that something was wrong. Out of place.

Dudley cast a cursory glance over at Harry's bed. Not immediately seeing anything weird, he looked back at his lap.

Wait.

Where was Harry and that snake?

The boy stood up and tiptoed over to the seemingly empty bed. He peeked underneath the sheets to make sure what he was seeing wasn't an illusion. Sure enough, Harry and Nagini were gone.

Dudley faintly remembered the odd noises and sounds he had heard before drifting off to sleep, but he had thought them unimportant at the time. Well, at least less important than his rest. Now he was regretting not getting up to investigate.

Whoosh.

An actual noise echoed through the huge house.

Dudley froze in terror. After a few seconds, he shook his head calling himself a scaredy-cat. It was either the floorboards creaking under him or the house settling. Yes. Or it was just his imagination.

Then he heard people speaking in low voices.

He swore he could feel his heart drop to his toes. He debated internally on what to do, what to do. It was at this moment he realized, not for the first time, how brave and courageous Harry was. Dudley had no doubt in his mind that his cousin would have gone downstairs and faced the intruders head-on.

However, Dudley was not Harry.

It was probably a futile action, for obvious reasons, but Dudley burrowed under his covers for the illusion of safety. He tried to keep himself from shaking, because it made his entire bed frame quake. (He was unsuccessful.)

Some of the whispering voices started walking up the stairs rather quickly. Dudley cowered against the wall next to his bed, more terrified now than ever. He heard footsteps stop at the first door in the hallway, open the door, and after what seemed like a few seconds, shut it. He ducked his head under the blankets when the doorknob turned and someone peeked in.