The next few drearily rainy days were as mundane as foggy London itself. It had ceased to stop raining for the past few days and trudging to and from Herbology was simply disgusting in the mud and murky water. But Luna didn’t seem to mind, not one bit. She relished the sweet taste of the rain on her lips and smiled up at the gray clouds, not a single ray of sunshine able to break through their impenetrable boundaries. Her book bag she kept tucked inside her robes against the drizzle, but the rest of her didn’t mind the unexpectedly expected shower. Luna had a loose, blond knot tied to the top of her head that was utterly soaked and had most likely made her head gain ten pounds as it was soggy and drooping. It bobbed up and down with each bouncing step and her orange earrings swung back and forth.
The news had been spreading that Harry had announced to his Defense Against the Dark Arts class that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back and he killed Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff from the Triwizard Tournament the previous year. Of course Luna knew this was all true. She and her father had discussed this at great lengths over the summer and had come to the conclusion that Harry Potter was indeed telling the truth. Luna was just waiting to tell Harry her thoughts the next time she saw him.
And then, there he was, walking from the school with Hermione and Ron as she walked back just behind Ginny. She saw Harry smile at Ginny as she walked by them and Luna took this moment to rush up to him.
“Harry!” she half-shouted, then regretted it as everyone was now staring. Never mind them, she thought. This was too important.
He looked slightly startled but quickly returned her enthusiastic face with a small grimace that was most likely meant to be a smile. “Harry,” she repeated again, this time in a whisper. “I just wanted you to know, that my father and I believe you; we know that You-Know-Who is back and that he killed Cedric and you battled him and escaped.” She was practically breathless now as the rush of words streamed out of her.
“Er, um, yeah,” Harry muttered, looking slightly uncomfortable. Just then, two fifth year Gryffindor girls burst into a fit of giggles behind Harry. Luna peered over his shoulder to find them pointing at her earrings at laughing. But Luna didn’t realize this was what they were laughing about. She thought they had heard her whispered confession.
“You can laugh!” she said hotly. “People used to believe there were no such things as Blibbering Humdingers and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!”
“But they were right, weren’t they, Luna?” Hermione chimed in. “There weren’t such things as those.”
Luna turned to glare at Hermione shortly and as a new chorus of laughter erupted behind her, she began to walk away. But she did not miss the conversation that followed her exit:
“Do you mind not offending the only people who believe me?” Harry was saying.
“Oh, Harry, you can do better than her.” Luna swiped at the tears that were forming in the corner of her gray-blue eyes. “…wouldn’t expect anything else from someone whose father runs The Quibbler.” Hermione’s voice said, fading as their group walked in the opposite direction of Luna.
Luna did not go inside to Charms. Instead she veered off to the left of the cobblestone path and made her way over to a quiet park bench. With the sweep of her wand, the dried the bench and quickly sat down, not that it made any difference; she was already sopping wet. And there she sat with her legs curled up under her, strands of damp hair framing her face, sobbing. She was tired of being picked on, tired of being called crazy and “Loony Lovegood”. She was just so tired, tired of it all. She couldn’t stay strong forever; it wasn’t humanly possible, even for her and her bullet proof armor.
A few damp hours later, the rain had subsided into a hazy gloom and Luna headed to the Ravenclaw tower. Sitting before the common room fireplace, wet hair hanging, and wrapped in a blue and silver quilt, Luna stared at the flames, jealous of their luminosity and free energy. She loved how they bounced around, cracking and eating away at the burning logs. Flames provided light and warmth. Fire provided life. Luna wanted to be like a fire, providing life to those she met; it was what she had been taught to do. But currently, her occupation was only providing entertainment for others at her own expense. She didn’t like her job. But it was the only one she’s got.
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Luna Lovegood
Fanfiction[BOOK ONE] Loony Lovegood--the girl everyone made fun of. The girl with more to her than what meets the eye. She's different, you know (although I presume you already figured that out for yourself). She's special, and she has a story, too. Foll...
