Ron Weasley - What's up with 'Big D'?

While he, Harry, and Hermione were never fond of Xenophilius Lovegood, they had to admit one thing. The man was kind, and so was his daughter.

Chloe was like any other girl from an ordinary muggle village. The sole daughter of a cobbler who barely made ends meet, Mr. Gabbers was a kind, old man who never hurt anyone, always minded his business, and doted on his wife and daughter. Chloe, the miniature of Mrs. Gabbers, attended a local school like everyone her age. Everything changed when she turned eleven. It turned out she was magical, and could attend a special boarding school called Hogwarts where you were taught to use your magic properly, and control your magic.

Her future seemed safe and secure. Even with all the danger at Hogwarts. Starting from the Chamber of Secrets being opened in her first year, to Umbridge's tyranny in her fourth year, to her one year of hiding in what was supposed to be her sixth year, Chloe always had her parents with her. But the last time she'd ever see her parents was during her fifth year. When her parents had come to Kings Cross to pick her up, amidst news of Albus Dumbeldore's murder at the hands of one Severus Snape, some rogue Death Eaters had kidnapped them. Chloe only ever heard of the Dark Mark 'mysteriously' appearing in her village, and thus knew her parents were no more.

It was at this time that Xenophilius took in Chloe when she and Luna showed up in front of him. Chloe was hidden with the Disillusionment Charm whenever the Lovegoods met anyone - be it at their house or outside.

The situation grew more complex when Luna, Ginny, and Neville restarted the D.A. at Hogwarts, after which one incident after the other led to Luna's kidnap by the Death Eaters. The room Luna used, which Harry had seen in a dusty, unused state, was intentionally placed like that to avoid suspicion that somebody else lived there other than Luna.

Chloe had stood quietly in the corner watching her friend's father explain the Deathly Hallows to the trio. And when the trio escaped, Xenophilius blocked the Death Eaters from getting to the place he knew Chloe was hidden. He sacrificed his life, giving Chloe the much needed time to escape.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Clodagh Gabbers sneaked in with Colin Creevey (who had shown her the way in) and savagely fought with all her sorrow converted into rage and thirst for revenge. Colin's death broke her heart, but before she could get to him, a huge explosion had thrown her far off from Colin, after which she had to continue fighting as there were Death Eaters in that corridor. That explosion, she had learnt later, was where Fred Weasley had met his demise.

Luna had brought Chloe back to her house after the Battle, and the two nursed themselves to health during the time Dudley had been working in George's shop. One of the ways the girls would cope is to walk up to random shops or stores and give them simple cards that assured them that all would get better.

Ron could feel Hermione shaking. Her head was nestled against his collar bone and her shoulders shook. He put an arm around her and swiped at his own running eyes and nose. Hermione, like Chloe, was a muggleborn girl who was hated for who she was and hunted down. But unlike Hermione, Chloe did not have the means or the opportunity to safeguard her parents. They were muggles, with no idea of what the wizarding world was. They lived in poverty all their lives, unlike the Grangers who were well off financially. And when the future seemed promising to their family, fate took away Chloe's parents from her. Ron involuntarily shuddered imagining the horror of how Chloe's parents were murdered. Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed his forehead, "Oh, Ron. Don't worry. I am here!" He smiled at her and she leaned against him again, as he looked around.

His sister was in the arms of his bestfriend as she wept against Harry's shoulder. Harry was crying too. He looked like a man who had lived decades of misery. Ron's heart went out to his best friend. Being the Chosen One was such a huge burden. No child deserved to be put in that position. But there was company for Harry there. Neville sat silently, his jaw looking firm. He looked like he was trying not to break. But Ron could see he was crying too. Luna had hugged Chloe while the two girls wept together.

Perhaps what surprised Ron the most was that Harry's muggle cousin stood at the doorway leading to the kitchen. He was kneeling down on the mat, leaning against the wall. His eyes looked misty and he looked every inch like someone who hadn't cried in a long time. Ron didn't understand how an insensitive jerk that had nothing to do with the magical world or its people could suddenly get so emotional about the happenings in the same wizarding world.

Ron cleared his throat and excused himself. He walked past Dudley into the kitchen. He noticed that his father and brothers had vacated the kitchen. He wasn't sure where they went, though. After some time, he came out of the kitchen.

"Here." He said, as he passed a cup of hot chocolate to Dudley. "Join the group."

He passed Hot Chocolate to Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Neville, Luna, and Chloe, before taking his own cup and sitting beside Hermione and watching as Dudley warily took a seat beside and behind Harry.

"What's up, Big D?" Harry asked his cousin.

"Oh, and Chloe. This is my cousin, Dudley Dursley. Big D, this is our friend, Clodagh Gabbers!"

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about what happened to your parents. And sorry for eavesdropping. I didn't mean to but I was bored." Dudley said.

"No problem." Chloe shrugged.

"Which village did you say you were from?" Dudley asked.

"Elm. St. Edmund. Although since I turned eleven, I have lived at Hogwarts, and during the holidays, I would stay with Luna. I would visit home only during the summers." Chloe said.

That explained why the Dursleys hadn't met Chloe and her family before. Ron could tell Dudley was connecting the dots in his mind. When he caught his eye, Dudley shrugged, "Thanks for the Hot Chocolate."

"Yeah, really. It means so much!" Chloe said.

"Eh, no need." Ron said, his ears turning red. "Mum always gives hot tea to people when they're serious or upset. And Hermione's been teaching me to make Hot Chocolate, so I decided to try my luck."

"But it's really good, Ron. You have done it perfectly." Hermione almost purred. That made Ron's day and he forgot about Harry's cousin or the weird way he stared at Luna and Chloe. The prospect of spending time with Hermione after this was far more inviting.