Disclaimer: These characters are owned by J.K. Rowling and some of the dialogue between certain characters is hers as well.
Luna ran through the front hall and out the door. To some she may have only seemed a blonde streak rushing by. She did indeed have long, blonde hair that crinkled at the ends and would often times get quite frizzy at the end of a humid day. She had startling gray eyes. One could not look into them without curiosity, or the longing to look deeper within them. Her light brown eyebrows curved up in an ever-present questioning look. Her bright red hoodie matched her red sneakers and she wore a tattered pair of blue skinny jeans. There was a messy bun formed from her thick hair that bobbed up and down as she ran towards her father and into the car.
“Hello, darling? Got everything?” Her father said, dressed in a bright, fairly obnoxious, yellow suit. He started the car.
“Yes, Daddy, and I just managed to avoid the nargles on my way out,” she replied with a pleasant smile as they began driving down the road, her voice like a dreamy whisper.
“That’s my girl.” They sat in silence for a few moments before her father said, “So, Luna, are you ready for your fourth year at Hogwarts?” Hogwarts was the boarding school that Luna attended. But it wasn’t an ordinary school, like the ones in London, it was Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes, Luna Lovegood was a witch.
“Why of course, Father! This year is going to be absolutely wonderful! I just know it.”
“Maybe this year you can bring back a picture of some of the friends you’ve been writing to me about.”
Luna nodded and smiled, avoiding her father’s gaze. Truth be told: Luna had no friends. She had just been telling her father she did because she didn’t want him to be concerned. He had a difficult job as sole editor of The Quibbler. She didn’t want to bother him, but people just didn’t seem to like her; they thought she was weird. Some people even called her Loony Lovegood. Ahh, well, she could handle it. But she did so wish that she could perhaps bring Daddy home some pictures of actual friends. And Luna really, truly did want friends.
Soon enough they had arrived at King’s Cross and unloaded Luna’s crates and boxes onto a cart. As the odd pair walked through the passages at the train station, Luna spotted the occasional child and parents with great crates and carts like hers. But they all avoided her gaze. With her orange turnip earring swinging back and forth with each step, Luna thought she might know why.
Luna frowned to her own disappointed thoughts. She must not let others get her down. She must be proud of who she was. It was what Mum would have wanted her to do. She would be proud.
As she and her father approached platforms 9 and 10, Luna pulled out her train ticket and smiled down at the familiar words: Platform 9 ¾. Then, without hesitation, Luna sprinted forward at a brick column. Many would expect a complete wipe-out, connection with solid wall, etc. But instead she found herself on a lively Platform 9 ¾, bustling with witches and wizards. Some were dressed in Muggle clothing, like her, and others had already changed into their Hogwarts robes. Luna grabbed her satchel that contained her uniform, a few silver sickles and a Quibbler and left her luggage with her father as she dashed off to a ladies room to change.
She came back in a black skirt, tights and shoes. Luna was also wearing her white blouse with her gray cardigan and a blue and silver striped tie. Her long black and blue robe with the Ravenclaw crest rested in the crook of her arm and her bag hung limp from her shoulder, with less bulk than before. Luna smiled up at her teary-eyed father.
“I’ll miss you, Daddy,” she said as she wrapped him in a hug, his larger arms surrounding her.
“I’ll write to you every day, sweetie. And I’ll make sure a Quibbler gets to you every month. I love you, honey.”
“I love you too, Dad,” she said, as she pulled herself free of his tight grasp. Luna blew him a kiss and a smile over her shoulder as she walked away.
Once on board the Hogwarts express, Luna found it difficult to find a compartment to sit in as every door she passed slammed shut. She felt a pang of sadness in her heart but pushed the depressing thoughts aside. Finally, she reached a compartment in the very back of the train that wasn’t taken. Leaving the door open, she plopped herself down at a window seat and pulled out her Quibbler. She flipped it upside-down. There were reasons why the Sorting Hat placed her in Ravenclaw. She was brighter than most of her peers cared to realize.
After several minutes, Luna heard people walking down the aisle, trying to find a seat. Soon enough, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, and another boy walked in.
“Hi, Luna,” Ginny said politely. “Is it okay if we take these seats?” She gestured to the empty seats across from Luna.
She nodded.
“Thanks. So… How was your summer, Luna?” Ginny asked, trying to make conversation.
Luna lay down her paper and said, “Yes, yes it was quite enjoyable, you know.” Then she looked at Harry. “You’re Harry Potter.”
“I know I am,” he mumbled. Luna stared at him intently for a moment, taking in his lightning scar and scruffy black hair. So this was the famous Boy Who Lived. She wondered if he would make a good friend. But then Luna turned to the other boy who was holding a strange plant.
“And I don’t know who you are.”
“I’m nobody,” he replied quickly. Luna saw Ginny scowl.
“No, you’re not.” Ginny said insistently. “Neville Longbottom-Luna Lovegood. Luna’s in my year, but in Ravenclaw.” Ginny was in Gryffindor. This Neville boy was probably also in Gryffindor, but in Harry’s year-5th.
“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure,” Luna recited in a sing-song voice the old Ravenclaw saying. As the others began a low conversation she pulled out her paper and began reading again on page 24, upside-down, of course. After awhile the witch with the cart of snacks and sweets came by and Luna pulled out a sickle and bought a cauldron cake. The others bought some sweets and they all munched happily. Once Luna was done she again pulled out her Quibbler. It was a routine thing for her. Over the course of a month before the next one arrived, she would have read this edition 47 times.
The other three left Luna for a short time and came back all dressed in their Gryffindor robes. They began quietly chatting again. After a bit, Luna peered over the edge of her paper as the boy Neville was gesturing to his plant which he called Mimbulus mimbletonia. He said it was quite rare. After that, he began rambling and Luna lost interest and was reading again when suddenly,
SPLAT!
Gooey, green pus-like liquid squirted out of each indentation on Neville’s plant. In a matter of seconds, Luna’s hair was matted with it and robes were covered, as well as her Quibbler. A disappointed frown formed on her lips; she would have to ask Daddy for a new one. She looked up to see that everyone else was covered as well. Meanwhile, Neville was stammering:
“S-Sorry! I haven’t tried that before. Didn’t realize it would be quite so…Don’t worry though, Stinksap’s not poisonous.” Stinksap was a good term for the stuff, Luna thought. Fore it did repel a quite repugnant odor, causing them all to crinkle their noses in dismay.
The door to the compartment opened and Cho Chang poked her head in, looked slightly repulsed, but quickly cleared her face to only a look of surprise. Cho was a pretty Asian girl who was also a 6th year Ravenclaw. She also happened to be the girlfriend of Cedric Diggory, the boy who died last year in a maze at a Wizarding Contest between Hogwarts and two other Schools of Magic. But Luna had believed Harry and the Headmaster Dumbledore. She didn’t believe that his death was an accident. Luna believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was back, that he killed Cedric, and Harry Potter had fought and beat him in the flesh. She didn’t believe The Daily Prophet, a competing newspaper to The Quibbler that this was all lies. Her daddy believed as well.
“Ah, hello…Harry. Bad time?” Cho asked tentatively.
“Uh…Hi,” was all Harry could say.
“I, uh, um…just thought I’d say…uh, hello. Well, bye now,” she said quickly and left. Harry’s cheeks appeared to be burning bright red, but it was hard to tell with green goo all over him. But Ginny saved him further embarrassment by saying:
“Scourgify!” All of the Stinksap disappeared from everyone’s robes, hair and bags. “See?” she said to Neville. “It’s alright.”
“Sorry,” Neville mumbled.
Luna then found her page in her newly cleaned Quibbler, found her page and again resumed her reading. The Hogwarts Express continued on its way, when yet again the compartment door slid open and a red haired boy and frizzy brown haired girl both came in and sat down in the empty seats by Luna, looking quizzically at her. She had often seen this pair in the halls with Harry. She guessed them to be more of his friends, because of their Gryffindor robes and she did not recognize them as students from her own year.
The red haired boy reached across to Harry and stole one of his unopened chocolate frogs. With an exclamation of “Ron!” from Harry, he tried to wrestle the frog from Ron with little success. Luna put down her paper as Ginny turned to the other girl and said,
“So, how was prefect duty, Hermione?”
Hermione sighed. “Well, we found out who the other prefects are,” she said with a matter-of-fact kind of voice. Luna identified the shiny prefect pins attached to Hermione and Ron’s robes. “Hufflepuff’s are Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott.”
Then Ron spoke with a mouthful of chocolate, “Fow Ravenmcwaw it’s Anthomy Gowlstein an’ Pama Padil.”
Hermione scoffed. “He means Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, if you didn’t understand Ronald because he was being a pig,” she corrected him.
“What about Slytherin?” Harry asked about the final house.
“Guess,” Hermione pouted as she stuck out her bottom lip slightly and crosser her arms.
“Malfoy?”
“’Course,” Neville muttered grumpily. Luna knew who Draco Malfoy was. He often took pleasure in tripping her in the hallways on her way to class. He was a tall boy with white blond hair and was indeed in Slytherin. She did not particularly like him. It seemed to Luna that the others didn’t either.
“And Pansy Parkinson. Ugg!” Hermione exclaimed angrily. “What idiot named her Pansy? That cow.” Luna easily sensed Hermione’s utter dislike for the Slytherin girl.
Luna tilted her head towards Ron, realizing something. “You went to the Yule Ball with Padma.”
“Yeah, I did,” he stated simply.
“She didn’t seem to enjoy it very much. She doesn’t think you treated her very well, because you didn’t dance with her.” Luna remembered this particular conversation topic in the Ravenclaw common room that lasted until the holiday break. “I don’t think I’d have minded, though. I don’t care for dancing that much.”
As the others looked at each other in dismay as Luna began daydreaming. How wonderful it would be to have friend who invited you to parties… But she drifted back into reality and into the middle of a conversation. Ron was saying,
“I’ll make Goyle do lines. It’ll kill him, he hates writing.” Then, while imitating Goyle’s (one of Malfoy’s minions) ruff voice he said, “I must not look like a baboon’s backside.”
The carriage exploded with laughter but Luna laughed the loudest. The others stopped and stared at her, but she couldn’t stop laughing.
“That,” she laughed, brushing a tear from her eye, “was funny!” When she finally calmed herself and stopped laughing, she thought about how wonderful this day was so far. She had met five new potential friends, her first friends in years. Actually, this was the first time in so long that she had laughed with other kids her age…so long. Luna looked up to see Harry looking at her. He pointed to The Quibbler lying in her lap.
“May I see that?”
Luna nodded and stared at Ron for a moment. He was indeed a bizarre boy. After a moment, Harry put the paper down.
“Anything good?” Ron questioned.
“Of course not!” Hermione said quickly, and Luna looked to her sharply. “It’s complete rubbish and everyone knows that!”
“Excuse me,” Luna said, the dreamy sound gone from her voice. “My father’s the editor.” Luna couldn’t help but lose some of her liking for Hermione. This girl obviously did not have the same open-mindedness as Luna.
“Oh!” Hermione squealed apologetically. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“I’ll have that back now,” Luna interrupted, taking the paper from Harry and began reading again.
But Luna was quickly interrupted by the loud entrance of Draco and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, crowding up the compartment’s space.
“What are you doing here?” Harry spit at him.
“Be polite, Potter,” Malfoy snarled back. “I could give you a detention. Tell me, how does it feel to be second-best to Weasley?”
“Shut up,” Hermione growled.
“Well,” Draco continued with a smile, “watch out or I’ll be dogging your footsteps if you get out of line, Potter.”
“Get out!” Hermione shouted. Malfoy and his gang left, smirking over their shoulders. Looking around, Luna sees Ron, Hermione, and Harry exchanging worried looks. Perhaps it was the term “dogging” that caused them to act so. As for Luna, she was quite confused. She tries to read her paper, but eventually cannot concentrate any longer. So, she rolled it up and slipped it in her bag. Five other people were her with her. Neville, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Perhaps they could be friends. Perhaps they could learn to like Luna.
Finally, the train lurched to a stop and Ron and Hermione rushed away to fulfill their prefect duties and direct the first years to Hagrid and onto the boats for ride to Hogwarts. Hermione left her fuzzy orange cat, Crookshanks and Ron his pipsqueak of an owl, Pigwidgeon’s cages behind. Luna scooped up her bag as Harry struggled with his own bag, his snowy white owl, Hedwig’s cage, Crookshanks’ and was about to try and grab Pigwidgeon’s as well, when Luna intervened.
“Can I carry this for you?” She reached over and picked up the cage.
“Oh, uh, sure,” he muttered.
Stepping off the train, Luna made her way through the crowd and notices that Hagrid, the grounds keeper is missing. In his place is a middle aged witch she recognized from last year. She then back-tracked to where the carriages waited and spotted Ginny’s red head in the crowd. Ginny was with the other four by a carriage. Neville, Ginny and Hermione were already in the carriage and Ron and Harry were standing beside the horse-like reptilian creatures that pulled the carriages. They were called thestrals and one could only see them if they had seen death. Harry was staring at them, while Ron was looking in the vague direction, staring blankly. Harry was saying, pointing to the thestrals,
“…What are those things?”
“What things?” Ron said, confused.
“Those horse…” But Luna interrupted him with her entrance.
“Here you are,” she said, handing the owl to Ron. “Sweet little owl isn’t he?” She then climbed up into the cart and sat quietly for a moment before the other two got in.
“It’s alright,” she said to Harry. “You’re not going mad or anything. I can see them too.”
“You can?” He exclaimed, sounding surprised.
“Of course. I’ve been able to see them ever since my first day here. They’ve always pulled the carriages. Don’t worry. You’re just as sane as I am,” she finished with a smile.