Harry tried to keep calm as he stumbled in his room after his Uncle, who was pulling him by the ear.
"I'm tempted to not let you get dressed, boy!" Harry pulled on a pair of trousers he had worn earlier in the week. He retreated until his bare back hit the far wall next to his bed. He gazed nervously up at Vernon, who was obviously upset. He pounded over to where Harry was and grabbed him around the neck, and threw him face-first onto the bed.
Yeah, Harry was definitely starting to panic. He heard a belt being drawn out of the loops, and the rattle of the metal at the end. He then heard the whistle of the belt until crack! the belt split his back, and Harry bit his tongue to keep from crying out. Vernon growled at the response, and lifted the belt up again. Harry tried to fight back, but Vernon kicked his thigh and calf twice, making him collapse back onto the bed. What the heck was this?
By the time his Uncle had stopped, his mouth was bloody from biting his already ragged tongue. Harry gasped out in pain, almost choking, and he could almost smell Vernon smiling evilly. At least it was over. Well, turns out he was mistaken. Vernon flipped Harry over, harshly turning him over on his tattered back, causing him to gasp and hiss. He raised the belt again, just over his chest. This time, he shouted in pain every time. He didn't take so long on that side, because he was crying out in agony. Obviously, his chest was more sensitive than his back.
Eventually, the pain abated, and Harry took rough, obstructed breaths through his mouth. "You deserved that a long time ago," Vernon snarled. He sounded a bit tired, from his arm swinging like that. Harry shivered uncontrollably, crawling over to the back corner of his bed. He curled up into a ball, not even daring to glare at his Uncle.
Vernon stomped out of his room, slamming the door closed behind him, and locking the door. Harry heard him storming down the steps through the rushing of blood in his ears. He seemed to have lost his glasses, and everything was blurry. Harry whimpered in agony at his cuts and bruises complaining at being stretched, and uncurled just a bit.
Oooh, the pain! Harry hissed in another breath and determinedly laid down on his side, his back facing the door. Vernon never had gone this far, before. He had always stopped before he had broken skin and drawn blood. Now, Harry could feel it prickling down his back and chest.
Harry pulled in another sharp wheeze when his scar gave a particularly nasty twinge and started burning in harmony with the rest of his back.
It seemed like the only way to escape the pain was to sleep. He pulled his blanket (which was now dotted with blood) up over his shoulders and closed his eyes. Eventually, sleep did claim him, in a haze of red.
Immediately, his dreams centered around Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It seemed like the dark wizard had gained a lot more followers than what he had at the last Triwizard Task. He seemed to be in a large, ornate dining room that was dark and gloomy (of course). He was watching everything out of the Dark Lord's eyes, and he was speaking to the group as a whole.
"Today, my loyal followers, we will be attacking an Order member's house. We have managed to get the location after someone faithful managed to... convince a very helpful person to tell us where we were supposed to be going." He smiled nastily at a dark figure Harry presumed to be Bellatrix Lestrange. "This will bring a great blow to Dumbledore's side, for the home we are attacking is owned by none other than one Remus Lupin."
At that statement, a lot of the Death Eaters sat up straighter. One howled. Harry guessed that one to be Fenrir Greyback. He remembered someone in the Order mentioning him and his non-human qualities, how he was more wolf than human. This was bad! Really bad! Remus was about to be attacked and he couldn't do-
"Although," Voldemort stated, garnering everyone's utmost attention, "there is... a snake den, close to the house." Nagini curled up around his torso at that statement, tongue flicking out at the surrounding robed figures. "If anyone is to harm a scale on their backs..." everyone waited raptly. "Nagini has my permission to eat him or her alive."
It seemed like the whole room froze, even more so than it was already. No one seemed to breathe. Voldemort tilted his head, as if waiting for a response.
"Yes my Lord," rang through the cavernous space.
"Good. Now that we have that understood, let us apparate to 3487 Forestdale Drive, in Yorkshire." Voldemort stood up, and as if that were a cue, everyone else did as well. Harry felt like he was on the verge of another panic attack.
It seemed like someone was shaking him in real life. No! He needed to see the rest of this dream! He needed to see what happens to Remus!
Despite all of his protests, Harry woke with a pitiful moan. The hands shaking him were retracted immediately. Harry curled up on his side, and a voice behind him said, "Harry, I have to help you clean up your cuts. They could get infected."
Harry recognized that voice... Dudley! Harry started. What on earth was he doing here? Was he hallucinating? Harry got up on his elbows and flipped around with some difficulty. Nope, he wasn't hearing things. There he was, in all his glory, sitting there with a pile of rags and a bucket of water. He was in his pajamas, his typically impeccable hair mussed up.
What the heck?
Harry voiced his shock. Dudley just looked him straight in the eye and said, "Harry... I heard you screaming up here when Dad came up and... yeah. It's just that... you've never made a sound before, and I thought you must be getting a lot worse than you usually do." He took a deep breath, as if saying that took all his physical power. "I snuck downstairs to get this, and came back up to see you... and maybe help you?" he stated as a question.
Harry nodded for him to continue, though that movement caused his back to twinge painfully. "Well... I didn't expect it to be this bad..." he trailed off.
Harry grunted as his scar felt like it was being carved into his forehead again. That reminded him that he needed to get back to sleep to see what Voldemort and the Death Eaters were doing to Remus' house. Harry lowered onto his chest, closing his eyes.
Dudley mistook that for just plain pain and said, "Oh! I'm sorry, let me get this rag wet." Sorry? When did Dudley ever say sorry? Well, his brain supplied, when has Dudley done anything to help me remotely? That was a good question.
When he placed the freezing cold rag over Harry's back, he gasped and arched his back from the temperature of the cloth and the pain it brought with it. It seemed like he wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon. Dudley shifted around and said, "Harry, I have to do this. Your injuries might get bad if I don't."
"I know that, it just hurts, and I need to get back to sleep!" Harry hissed angrily, curling his fists in his crusty blanket and turning to look at Dudley again.
He just stared at him. "What?" Dudley asked, his face scrunching up.
"I was having a very important dream!"
"What? Why was it important?"
Harry pressed his face into the mattress, exasperated. "Dudley--well--I kind of have a mental connection with a certain dark wizard. Yes, the same one that killed my parents!"
"Why was it important?" Dudley repeated.
Harry huffed impatiently. "I was seeing Voldemort attack my friend's house."
Dudley gasped. "You mean... when you were screaming at night... you weren't... you know, having normal nightmares? You were seeing things? That were actually happening?"
"Yeah, usually Voldemort's torturing one of his victims when I wake up crying out," Harry said casually, flicking his wrist.
That just horrified Dudley even more. "What?!" he almost yelled.
"Shhh! Shh, keep it down!" Harry urged. "Your parents might hear us!"
Dudley, appearing sallow, swallowed and nodded. "Sorry, I'm just not used to this."
"Understandable. Now, can you please get a move on, cleaning my back and chest so I can get back to sleep?"
"Oh. Oh, yeah. Wait, chest? I didn't see that."
They spent the next several minutes wiping the blood off of him and cleaning the wounds. About ten minutes later, they were done, and Harry shooed Dudley out of the door. "Dudley, you have to go. I really appreciate what you've done, but I don't want either of us getting in trouble for this, and I need to get back to sleep."
He nodded, and closed the door, locking it to make it look like no one had came in. Harry turned over on his side again and curled up under his blanket.
Soon, sleep came to him, and immediately, his mind went to Voldemort's. He was standing in front of a burning cottage. Oh, no! Harry thought. Remus... Harry was too late. He had not seen the destruction. Out of the corner of Voldemort's eyes, Harry saw Nagini slither out from around the house.
"Sssso warm, ssssso bright. You kept your promisssse, massssster, no one hasssss touched my brethren."
"Yesssss, my beautiful. I would never lie to you," Voldemort hissed fondly. They both turned away from the house, which was burning to the ground. Suddenly, shouts and yells filled the air. Both whipped around and saw many people that were NOT Death Eaters running around. Spells were being thrown and the house was being doused with water.
"No, no, no!" Voldemort yelled. Everything was going wrong! ~How did the Order know? Do I have a spy amongst my ranks? If he wasn't mistaken, ~the werewolf hadn't even been killed in their efforts! Yes, there he is!~ Harry lost track of what were his thoughts and what were Voldemort's.
Voldemort started after Remus, who was running into the forest. "Avada kedavra!" Voldemort screamed. The bolt of emerald green whizzed past the sprinting man. ~I missed him. What?~ It had been ages since he had miscast a spell. The ~stupid werewolf~ was running farther and farther into the woods, Voldemort pursuing him. Remus stopped eventually, keeling over in exhaustion.
Voldemort, who was out of breath himself, raised his wand again, and Nagini, who had slithered alongside him said, "Masssster, massssster, NO!"
"BOMBARDA!" Voldemort screamed, while ~the idiot snake~ was still hissing, "No... no..."
Remus leapt aside as the ground around him erupted. Hissing and spitting broke out as soon as the forest floor settled. Voldemort looked around for the source of the intelligible noise, and his eyes rested on his serpent. Nagini.
"Nagini, what hassss you sssso agitated?" Voldemort was extremely confused. He didn't like that, it always made him feel ~helpless.~ At least the werewolf was nowhere to be seen.
"You. Never. Break. Your. Promisssssesssss." the snake seemed to be angry at him!
"You're right, Nagini, my precioussssss." Voldemort probably didn't know he was quoting a muggle movie.
"Don't call me that, you egg cracker! You sssssaid that you wouldn't harm my fellow sssssnakessssss!" Nagini accused.
Voldemort's brow creased. "I didn't, ssssssnake," he hissed angrily. How dare she speak so disrespectfully to the greatest wizard of this age, perhaps ever? Then he glanced back at the ground he had blown up. There were carcasses of large snakes lying around the hole in the ground. Oh, no. Nagini's brethren...
"Promisssesss..." whispered his snake, rearing back. The Dark Lord then remembered what promise he had made Nagini. He had said that she could eat anyone that had even gotten close to them!
"My snake," Voldemort started. "I do not want to hurt you, but you will force me to if you try to bite me."
Nagini stood so tall she could see straight into the Dark Lord's eyes. "I. Don't. Care. Do your worst, you oathbreaker."
Voldemort wasn't saddened in the slightest. He wasn't capable of true love, so all he felt was burning anger and offense. Harry's scar burned in his head. "How dare you!" Voldemort shrieked. "Apage anguis!" he screamed, causing Nagini to warp in on herself and vanish completely.
Voldemort then fell on his knees, screaming angrily into the sky. Harry's scar was now feeling like a hot iron was repeatedly pressing in on his head, all he knew was pain.
He was still screaming when Uncle Vernon woke him up.