Luna Lovegood

**Luna Lovegood** (born 13 February, 1981) was an Irish witch, the only child and daughter of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood. She was born in Kinvara, County Galway, Ireland, but moved to Ottery, Devon, when she was nine years old. Luna was raised by her father, editor of the magazine The Quibbler, in a rook-like house near the village of Ottery St Catchpole in Devon.

Her mother accidentally died while experimenting with spells when Luna was nine.

Luna attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from September 1992 to June 1999 and was sorted into Ravenclaw House.

## Biography

#### Early life (1980s)

Luna was born on 13 February, 1981, the only child of Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood. She was born in Kinvara, County Galway, Ireland. Kinvara is a sea port village located in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland.

Luna's mother was accidentally killed while experimenting with a spell that she created when Luna was nine years old. Thus, Luna was subsequently raised by her father, and they moved to a Lovegood-owned home in Ottery, Devon. As she witnessed her mother's death, she was able to see Thestrals, the magical skeletal horses that led the Hogwarts carriages, from that point onward.

#### Hogwarts years (1990s)

Luna received her Hogwarts letter in the summer of 1992. That summer, she purchased a wand made of hornbeam and unicorn hair at Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley. She was sorted into Ravenclaw House. One year behind the famous Harry Potter, she noticed Thestrals on her very first day of school, 1 September 1992.

During her years at Hogwarts, she was often teased by many of the other students due to her strange behaviour and odd beliefs. Some time during her early years, her dorm-mates, Alexandra Davies and Mary Lennox, had also taken to calling her "Loony Lovegood". She was a tentative friend of Marnie Hargrave and Bertram Aubrey Jnr's.

Luna also met and became a friend of Ginny Weasley and Aquila Black, who were in the same year as her. In the summer of 1994, she went to the Quidditch World Cup with her father.

In Luna's fourth year, she met and befriended Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. She believed Harry's declaration that Lord Voldemort was back. As the year progressed, she was invited to join an underground Defence Against the Dark Arts group called Dumbledore's Army, that was taught and led by Harry Potter. This organisation was to teach practical defence. She eagerly accepted, working hard along with the others and enjoying their company. In an effort to make people believe Harry's story, Hermione arranged an interview for him with Rita Skeeter at the Three Broomsticks — Luna accompanied them so as to persuade her father to publish the interview in The Quibbler. The copy sold out, every Hogwarts student and possibly every professor as well, read the copy because of the Education Decree that stated that it was banned on school grounds.

## Personality and traits

Luna was an extremely quirky girl, with a serene disposition and many eccentric beliefs and qualities. She was a complete nonconformist; she lacked self-consciousness and was not afraid to show who she truly was. Luna was also intelligent and unusually perceptive, having been sorted into Ravenclaw, "where those of wit and learning will always find their kind." A prime example of Luna’s perceptiveness was when she pointed out the ironically drastic measures taken against Sirius Black when he escaped Azkaban, but when ten Death Eaters (including Bellatrix Lestrange) escaped, barely any measures were taken to recapture them.

Luna's demeanour and voice were often distant and dreamy; she would drift away from a conversation she did not find interesting. However, whenever someone made fun of her father or his magazine The Quibbler, the dreamy quality in her voice would vanish and be replaced by one of steel, and she would immediately become very angry. She had an uncanny way of making others uncomfortable by being bluntly honest — Harry Potter described her as having a "knack for embarrassing honesty".

Luna was often the subject of ridicule and had difficulty making friends. Alexandra Davies and Mary Lennox gave her the nickname of "Loony Lovegood" and even stole and hid her things. She was unfazed by this, and instead chose to be nonjudgmental and accepting of those around her.

Luna seemed to have enjoyed artistic pursuits in her free time; her house was filled with various things that she painted. She even painted very life-like portraits of her friends that seemed to breathe. Luna was very loyal to the few friends she had — supporting Harry even when he was outlawed by the Ministry of Magic. Ron stated that she certainly has far more courage than her father, who was at the time stressed when under duress.

## Magical abilities and skills

Luna was shown to be a very talented and powerful witch. At the age of fourteen she was able to conjure a corporeal Patronus — a very advanced piece of magic and proof that she possessed superior magical ability.

* **Defence Against the Dark Arts**: As a committed member of Dumbledore's Army, Luna learned how to cast numerous defensive and offensive spells under the instruction of Harry Potter.

* **Duelling**: Despite her young age, Luna was a very competent duellist. At the age of fifteen, she participated in and survived the Battle of the Department of Mysteries with no more than a few minor injuries.
* **Charms**: In her fourth year, Luna learned how to conjure a corporeal Patronus in the form of a hare, which is an incredibly advanced and powerful and protective charm and a mark of superior magical ability and talent, implying Luna was highly proficient in charm-work overall.
* **Study of Ancient Runes**: In the July/August edition of The Quibbler in 1995, Luna was capable of reading that issue's segment written in Ancient Runes upside down, heavily implying she was able to understand and translate such Runes. This also implies that she may have studied the subject at Hogwarts.
* **Creativity**: Luna was a very creative and artistic witch. She invented a lion-shaped hat that, with a tap of a wand, made a realistic roar. She also made a flapping eagle hat, showing her impressive skills as an artist.

## Relationships

#### Xenophilius Lovegood

*"They took my Luna because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I-If I help; I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."*
—Xenophilius Lovegood talking to Harry, Ron, and Hermione
With the death of her mother when she was nine years old, Luna was raised solely by her father. Because of this, she was an only child and the two were very close. Xenophilius raised his daughter to share many of his unusual beliefs, and the two enjoyed going on holidays to look for creatures such as Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in Sweden. Luna believed anything her father wrote in The Quibbler magazine, and came to his defence when Hermione Grangerclaimed the magazine was "rubbish."

#### Harry Potter

When Harry Potter first met Luna in 1995, he found her rather odd, but was grateful that she was one of the few people to believe his story that Lord Voldemort had returned, and sympathised with the loss of her mother and her status as an outcast.

#### Hermione Granger

Luna and Hermione Granger did not have an ideal first meeting, as Hermione called The Quibbler "rubbish" without knowing that Luna's father was the editor. She was initially frustrated with Luna's belief in all manner of things without logical grounds or proof. However, she invited Luna to Dumbledore's Army and the two became friends.

#### Ron Weasley

At the beginning of their acquaintance, Ron Weasley thought Luna was weird and was not particularly interested in knowing her, even occasionally referring to her as "Loony." Luna, on the other hand, seemed to find Ron very funny but rather insensitive in his relationships at times. Ron eventually grew fonder of Luna, marking her as his good friend, after getting to know her better through Dumbledore's Army.

#### Ginny Weasley

Luna and Ginny Weasley were in the same year at Hogwarts, though in different houses; Ginny was in Gryffindor whereas Luna was in Ravenclaw. Ginny seemed to find Luna rather peculiar, as she first referred to Luna as "Loony Lovegood" (though in an affectionate way). The two were very friendly, as Ginny led Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom into her train compartment in 1995, conversing politely with her.

#### Aquila Black

Luna became one of Aquila's friends through Dumbledore's Army, and Aquila began telling others not to call Luna "Loony," prompting Luna to randomly state during her Quidditch commentary that Aquila was nice and she liked her. They got to know each other better through these meetings. Luna and Aquila could both see Thestrals, and they fed them together when Aquila and Ginny were fighting, and Luna made Aquila feel a lot better. They discussed the death of Altair Black and the possibility of an afterlife. Aquila *"found that the terrible weight in her stomach seemed to have lessened slightly."*

#### Neville Longbottom

Luna and Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor student, first met on the Hogwarts Express, in 1995. Neville found Luna a bit "odd," as she believed in the existence of strange, mythical creatures, had a tendency to read magazines upside down, and wore earrings that appeared to be made of radishes. Luna, like Harry and Neville, had the ability to see Thestrals, as they had all seen someone die. Neville fought alongside Luna at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts.

## Etymology

* Luna means "Moon" in Latin (as well as in Italian, Russian, Spanish, Bulgarian and Romanian). People believed that the moon caused craziness, which may be why she's the way she is. Her nickname, "Loony," also references the moon and its ties with insanity, as it is short for "lunatic."
* Lovegood is a real surname and a compound word (Love and Good). Speaking in accordance of her having good feelings for every person she knew, hence Lovegood.
* Luna Lovegood is also alliterative, for effect.