Clodagh Gabbers - Finding Companionship

"They don't like me. Your friends." Dudley looked sadly at his cousin, his girlfriend, and two best friends climbing up the stairs.

"I don't think so. It's just that you're new here. You yourself told me that yesterday." Chloe said. "Besides, I'm sure they would be your friends too if you also put in the effort to befriend them. Isn't Potter your cousin?"

Dudley's eyes watered. "I am a horrible being, Chloe. These people do not hate me for no reason. If you knew what my family and I did to Harry, you'd never talk to me again."

"Not true. You have been nothing but kind and understanding to me. I must have bored you to death with all that talk about my primary school, my old village, and my Hogwarts days. And yet you listened to me." Chloe held Dudley's hand.

"First of all, you are not boring. Secondly, your stories about Hogwarts gave me the information I need about Harry so I can get to know him better." Dudley gripped Chloe's hand in reassurance.

"Why not ask him or his friends directly?" Chloe looked into his watery, blue eyes.

"Because they hate me. And rightfully so, after how much of a bully I have been, and how much my family abused and ignored Harry!" Dudley could no longer meet her eyes.

"There's so much I don't know about you. I have been so selfish! Only talking about myself. What kind of a friend am I?" Chloe lamented. "You'll be off tomorrow and I wouldn't know a thing about you!"

Her eyes watered as she bit her lip. Dudley wiped a tear, "No, please, don't."

With a sob, Chloe said, "I want to hear everything about you, Dudley. Everything that you claim to have been, all that I need to know..."

"And lose the first non judgmental friend I've ever made in my life, let alone in the wizarding world?" Dudley gave a bark laugh. "You and me did not meet here first, Chloe. I was working at George's joke shop. Long story short. I was in probably a much worse position then than now. And that is when you came in, handed me that card, and left. I still have it with me. I didn't think I'd meet you again. I could not find you. I did not know a thing about you - not even your name. You're the only one who has ever treated me with zero judgement. Everybody in the wizarding world judges me. Either for my past connection with Harry, or because I am beneath them!"

At this, Chloe began sobbing. "I am beneath them, a Mudblood, not you."

"Well, I am worse!" Dudley said. "Please don't cry. I just want to tell you that you're far better than everyone around here."

"Just... Tell... Me... Everything..." Chloe cried.

With a heavy heart, Dudley started narrating the past painfully. He started with the prophecy, covered Wormtail's betrayal, and spoke about how Harry had been abandoned at the Dursleys'. For nearly seventeen years, the mistreatment of Harry before and after Hogwarts at the hands of the Dursleys - everything was revealed. While Dudley cried and never dared meet Chloe's eyes, he could hear Chloe's silent sobs. He knew she was shocked. He could sense her disgust. His guilt showed clearly on his face.

Chloe, however, felt righteous anger and disgust at first. As the clock chimed midnight, she collapsed into a chair, allowing Dudley to finish narrating how he ended up working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She found Dudley standing - leaning against the wall, but still standing. It was as if he had no courage to stand in her presence or look into her eyes. She could sense his feeling of nakedness coming from him.

Why would this random muggle she had met not 24 hours back expose all his vulnerabilities in front of her?

She did not have an answer. But didn't Professor Dumbledore believe in second chances? According to Potter, Professor Dumbledore had given second chances to many people, including Professor Snape. Even Potter seemed to have forgiven Dudley and was giving him a second chance. Not just with Dudley, he had requested for the Malfoy's punishment to be reduced too.

"CHLOE?"

Chloe and Dudley jumped.

"What did you do to her?" Luna demanded furiously. "I wondered why Chloe had not joined Ginny, Hermione, and me at Ginny's room for the girls night!"

"I-I swear... Nothing!" Dudley pleaded.

"Yeah, really. We were discussing the war." Chloe said. Luna didn't look convinced.

"Dudley asked why I wasn't attending Hogwarts with you. Like you know, I have finished my O.W.L. exams and do not wish to continue my magical education. That is what I have been telling him." Chloe said.

"But, what do you plan on doing next?" Dudley was genuinely curious.

"Travel and social work." Chloe replied. Luna, however, was not going to wait any longer.

"Come, Chloe!" Luna dragged Chloe away. But Chloe could not shake away the despair and sincerity in Dudley's eyes as Luna took her over to the fireplace, from where they would go to the tiny hut they had rebuilt from the remains of Xenophilius' house.

As January wore on, Luna's owls from Hogwarts told Chloe nothing more than additional homework and assignments, N.E.W.T. preparations (which mostly included Hermione's strict timetable for Luna, Ginny, and some other friends for revision), prefect duties, and some odd cases of breakdowns or duels over the war or over blood purity and status now and then.

The sun was shining weakly outside, but the loneliness inside her was growing stronger with every passing moment. The emptiness of her room mirrored the emptiness she felt within. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway resonated like a somber heartbeat, accentuating the quietness that enveloped the space. Her footsteps always echoed down the hallway, bouncing off the walls like ghosts of her past times with Luna. But Luna was at Hogwarts, with her friends Granger and Weasley. Her other friends, Weasley and Potter were also at Auror training.

The room she and Luna shared held memories of their time. She watched as the image of Luna was joined by the woman in the photograph on Luna's headrest - her mother. She watched as Xenophilius joined the two, planting kisses on his wife and daughter, and turning to wave at her. Goosebumps erupted within her, as she remembered his brave sacrifice in the face of certain death. Tears welled up in her eyes as the image of her parents seemed to join that of Luna's parents.

It was as though the vibrant colors of life had faded to shades of gray. A fleeting encounter that left behind a void that seemed to grow with each passing day. Her heart ached for the companionship she had once known, and the emptiness that had nestled within her seemed to have a life of its own.

It was then that she saw him. She heard his bark-like laughter - so annoying to Luna and the others, but music to her ears! His look of concern, his genuine care for her, and his strong arms made her cheeks go pink. His innocent questions about the wizarding world made her stomach flutter. She found her heartbeat increasing rapidly, but her unease and loneliness disappeared. That blonde cousin of Potter's might not be magical himself, but seemed to have performed a charm on her. Finally making a decision, she stood up suddenly. The chair she sat on, fell backward with a loud crash that brought back horrifying memories of the war, making her let out a short scream. Yet again, his comforting presence came up in her mind, and she yearned for his presence.

By the end of January, Luna sat in the Ravenclaw Common Room one evening when an owl flew in and landed in front of her.

"Lovegood has received an owl." A fellow Ravenclaw pointed out, grabbing Luna's attention. So, she turned to the owl and took the parchment tied to the owl's leg.

"Dear Luna,

Chloe here. You know I like traveling and doing social work. Besides, I have been getting bored. I have been missing some of my friends too. I write to inform you that I will be traveling to Elm St. Edmund and some other places. I promise to keep you updated regularly.

Signing off,

Clodagh Gabbers."

Busy with her N.E.W.T. preparations, Luna did not dwell on the matter for long. She took out her quill, and wrote, "Remember, Chloe. Take care, stay safe, and keep in regular contact!"