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Luna Lovegood

" ...people used to believe there were no such things as the Blibbering Humdinger or the Crumple-Horned Snorkack!"
-- Luna (OP13)

Luna Lovegood

Luna Lovegood is a witch in Ginny Weasley’s year, a brave member of Dumbledore’s Army and a Ravenclaw, who is considered a bit weird by her classmates. She comes by this reputation honestly: Luna simply isn’t like the other kids at all. She dresses unusually, she proclaims her strange beliefs openly, and in some ways she seems to be completely out of touch with what’s going on around her. She has a somewhat bizarre sense of appropriate social behavior. For example, for a Quidditch match where the students wave banners and wear rosettes in team colors, Luna sports a hat with a life-sized lion’s head on it which roars very realistically (OP19). While commentating a match she ignored such mundane things as the score and speculated on possible ailments afflicting the players (HBP19).

Luna takes after her father in having a very open mind and consequently a number of unusual beliefs. Luna also has some unusual habits: putting her wand behind her ear for safekeeping, wearing odd items as jewelry such as a necklace of butterbeer corks and radishes for earrings. As it turns out, the “radishes” are Dirigible Plums, which the Lovegoods cultivate and believe to “enhance the ability to accept the extraordinary” (DH20).

Luna wearing lion hat, copyright Marta T.

Luna is often the butt of jokes. Her peculiar habits and odd beliefs make her the target of teasing and ridicule. She is called Loony Lovegood behind her back. Others steal her possessions all through the year and she is forced to put up notices on the last day of term, asking for her things back. Through it all, Luna is surprisingly patient and accepting. She doesn’t fight back or even seem to notice, although she is certainly aware of much of the teasing. She knows that her nickname is Loony, for example, but mentions it to Harry in a very matter-of-fact way (OP38).

Harry met Luna for the first time aboard the Hogwarts Express on September 1, 1995. He, Ginny, and Neville shared a compartment with her on the train (OP10). She was reading a copy of The Quibbler magazine upside down. She informed the others that her father is the editor of The Quibbler, a magazine which most in the Wizarding World consider a joke. Luna Lovegood, copyright Mary GrandPre.She laughed a little too loud; she stared at the other kids, and generally made an odd traveling companion. Harry privately thought, when Cho Chang happened by their compartment to say hello, that he would much rather have been sitting with “cooler” kids than Luna and Neville.

Luna can see Thestrals (OP10), having witnessed her mother’s death when she was nine (OP38). Harry was unsure about her, especially when it turned out that she was the only one that he knew who could see the Thestrals. She told him that he was as sane as she was, which wasn’t all that comforting to hear. Over the course of the year, Luna proved to be a faithful friend to Harry and his friends. She supported the Gryffindor team against every other house except Ravenclaw. She took a stand in favor of believing Harry in front of a group of other fourth and fifth year students. She joined Dumbledore’s Army and worked hard. That training paid off in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, during which she fought bravely against the Death Eaters in June 1996 — the only non-Gryffindor member to do so (OP35).

Luna Lovegood, copyright2007 Sloan de Forest.Perhaps Luna’s greatest moment, however, came at the very end of the 1995-1996 school year. Harry was suffering terribly from the loss of his godfather and he spent a frantic few hours trying to find some way to contact Sirius. He tried methods similar to séances and contacted ghosts to try to talk to the dead but found comfort in none of these things. When Luna encountered Harry, she spoke of the comfort which she has in knowing that she will see her dead mother again, which brought true comfort to Harry (OP38). Just like being able to see Thestrals, Luna and Harry both heard whispers from behind the veil in the Department of Mysteries (OP35).

Luna seems to be more serene and composed than most of her peers. She often stares off into the distance and seems detached from what is going on around her. Her deeply-held beliefs, although not understood or accepted by those around her, do give her a certain dignity. By the end of the 1995-1996 school year, she was much more accepted as a friend and comrade by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Luna lives with her father Xenophilius Lovegood, in a house shaped like a “rook” or round castle tower, near Ottery St. Catchpole. The interior is decorated eccentrically as one would expect from Luna, with bright paintings on everything. On her bedroom ceiling she painted pictures of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville’s faces and entwined them with a golden chain of the repeated word “friends”. This touched Harry deeply (DH20).

Her mother was a “quite extraordinary” witch who loved to experiment. When Luna was nine years old, one of her mother’s spells went rather horribly wrong and she was killed. Luna still misses her terribly sometimes, but she finds comfort knowing that she’ll see her again one day in the afterlife (OP38). Luna resembles her mother (DH20).

Luna, by Tealin Raintree.Luna came into her own during her sixth year at Hogwarts. With Harry, Ron, and Hermione gone from school, she joined Ginny and Neville to revive Dumbledore’s Army and resist the Death Eaters‘ influence at Hogwarts. She was kidnapped on the Hogwarts Express on her way home for the Christmas holidays (DH25) because of what Mr. Lovegood had been writing in The Quibbler, and imprisoned in the cellar at the Malfoy Mansion along with Ollivander. She was helpful in their efforts to escape the Malfoy Mansion, and then fought bravely, again, at the Battle of Hogwarts (DH31).

It was Luna who suggested the lost diadem of Ravenclaw might be the remaining Horcrux (DH29). She was fond of reciting the phrase that is inscribed on the diadem: “Wit without measure is man’s greatest treasure.” Perhaps in Luna’s case, the phrase would be better quoted as “Wit and faith and love are man’s greatest treasure. (OP10)” Luna possesses all of these without measure and has proven to be a treasure indeed.

During her sixth year at Hogwarts, Luna, Ginny and Neville tried to steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Headmaster Snape’s office; for punishment they were told to help Hagrid with something in the Forbidden Forest (DH15).

After leaving Hogwarts, Luna went on to become a very famous wizarding naturalist, studying new species of creatures and marrying a fellow naturalist, named Rolf, a grandson of the great Newt Scamander, and had twin boys named Lorcan and Lysander (BLC, YL).

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Ravenclaw, (1992-1999).
Hair: dirty blonde, waist-length and straggly.
Eyes: protuberant silvery grey eyes with very faint eyebrows that give her a permanently surprised look, particularly since she doesn't seem to blink as much as a 'normal' person.
Distinguishing features: dreamy look, often seems to have turned up wherever she is completely by accident.

Father: Xenophilius Lovegood (DH8).
Mother: Pandora Lovegood (DL), who died c. 1990, when Luna was nine years old.
Siblings: None.
Spouse: Late in life, Luna married Rolf Scamander, the grandson of naturalist Newt Scamander (BLC).
Children: Twin sons, Lorcan and Lysander (YL, Pm).
Home: A "great black cylinder" that "looks like a giant rook" on the top of a hill a several miles to the north of the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, where the Weasley family lives at The Burrow.
Birthdate: c. 1981.
House: Ravenclaw, same year as Ginny.
Patronus: Hare (DH32).
Wand: unknown, but after Luna befriended Mr. Ollivander in the basement at Malfoy Manor while they were prisoners, he made her a new wand and sent it to her at Shell Cottage (DH26)
Interests: Like Hagrid, Luna is fascinated by magical beasts.
Battles: Luna fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Tower, and the Battle of Hogwarts.
Notes: During her sixth year at Hogwarts, Luna, Ginny and Neville tried to steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Headmaster Snape's office; for punishment they were told to help Hagrid with something in the Forbidden Forest (DH15).
Career: Luna became a famous naturalist, and discovered and classified many new species of animals during her career. She never found a Crumple-Horned Snorkack (BLC).

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Family

Luna's husband Rolf Scamander is the grandson of naturalist Newt Scamander (BLC).

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Skills

Like Hagrid, Luna is fascinated by magical beasts.
Battles: Luna fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Tower, and the Battle of Hogwarts.
Luna has a unique ability to maintain and radiate calm even in the most challenging situation.

Luna Lovegood
Gender Female
Species / Race Witch
Blood Status Pure blood
Other Names Loony
Hair Dirty blonde, waist-length and straggly.
Eyes Protuberant silvery grey eyes with very faint eyebrows that give her a permanently surprised look, particularly since she doesn't seem to blink as much as a 'normal' person.
Distinguishing Features Dreamy look, often seems to have turned up wherever she is completely by accident.
Patronus hare (DH32)
School Hogwarts - Ravenclaw
Profession Luna became a famous naturalist, and discovered and classified many new species of animals during her career. She never found a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. (BLC)
First Introduced OP10: Luna Lovegood

Commentary

Etymology

loony Engl. slang - 'crazy,' from "lunatic", which is from luna = Latin, 'moon', derived from the belief that sanity is affected by the phase of the moon.

love + good could refer to the fact that Luna shows the rather peculiar but admirable quality of loving those who don't show much affection toward her (judging by the way she acts towards those she knows are ridiculing her and stealing her things).

Notes

Rowling on Luna:

"I don’t know where she came from but I really like Luna – really fun to write. She’s slightly out of step in many ways but she’s the anti-Hermione. Hermione’s so logical and inflexible in so many ways and Luna is likely to believe 10 impossible things before breakfast…" (RAH)

Rita Skeeter delights in saying horrible things about Luna, including that her rainbow, spangle wedding dress with unicorn horn tiara was voted "Most Hideous Outfit of the Year" by Rita's readers and that Luna's twin sons Lorcan and Lysander are "too disturbed to be seen in public".

Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, copyright 2006 Warner Brothers.In the films, the character of Luna is played by Evanna Lynch (IMDb).

From the Web

MuggleNet:

The Rowling Library, TRL Magazine Issue #38, article on page 8: Lots of Love for Luna Lovegood by Demi Schwartz

Wizards and Whatnot (Fansided): Harry Potter and the Order of Archetypes: Luna Lovegood, the Fool by Katie Majka

Harry Potter Wiki: Luna Lovegood

DwellingOnDreams podcast and blog: Ep. 15: Lovegoods, Patronuses, and Intellectual Arrogance

WizardingWorld (Pottermore) features:

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Tags: animals death fanciful friendship imaginary kidnap Luna Remembrall stolen strange unusual whimsy

Editors: and