Luna Lovegood is my hero!

I love Luna Lovegood. From the moment that her character joined Harry Potter’s little band of misfits, I knew that she was going to be my favorite. A little offbeat…okay, a LOT offbeat…but she is wise and open to the universe, allowing her to see beyond the obvious to the truth.

The following conversation has been on my mind this last week:
Harry Potter: How come you're not at the feast?
Luna Lovegood: I've lost all my possessions. Apparently people have been hiding them.
Harry Potter: That's awful!
Luna Lovegood: Oh, it's all good fun. But as this is the last night, I really do need them back.
Harry Potter: Do you want any help finding them?
Luna Lovegood: I'm sorry about your godfather, Harry.
[clasps his hand comfortingly]
Harry Potter: Are you sure you don't want any help looking?
Luna Lovegood: That's all right. Anyway, my mum always said things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end.
[they look up and see a pair of her shoes hanging from the ceiling arch]
Luna Lovegood: If not always in the way we expect.

I was watching “Order of the Phoenix” with Allie and CJ, getting ready for the premiere of “Half Blood Prince”, and I had been lamenting the loss of some jewelry that got lost in the trip from home to their house. It wasn’t anything costly, but each piece was something special to me for sentimental reasons, and I wasn’t very happy about losing the case that they were in.

I’d looked through my suitcases and bags…at least four times…to no avail. I’d asked my family back home to see if maybe I left it there and never packed it at all, but they didn’t see it anywhere. I heard this in the movie and was cheered. Perhaps my jewelry would find it’s way back to me, eventually. I returned home and searched the house myself, still with no luck. I was getting increasingly discouraged, but Luna’s words kept echoing in my head.

Today, she was vindicated! Sis called to tell me that Allie had found my jewelry in their house, stacked in a pile of clothing that I had brought for the girls. I can’t even tell you the relief that I felt! I am so happy to know that I would see it again, soon. The fact that they were found where I NEVER expected them to be was amusing, right along the lines of Luna’s “if not always in the way we expect”.

I think that the most appealing thing about Luna is that she is centered, focused on all of the most important things in life, and not caught up in the politics of every day. Sure, she has some odd ideas like nargles and wrackspurts (which I’m not entirely convinced do not exist, based on personally experience with losing things and fuzzy thoughts…), but she is a spiritual character that is what I would consider a “clear spirit”, one unhindered by worldly bias. She is a treasured friend to Harry, who actually considers her advice and observations.

Luna Lovegood: [about her father] We believe you, by the way. That He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, and you fought him, and the Ministry and the Prophet are conspiring against you and Dumbledore.
Harry Potter: Thanks. Seems you're about the only ones that do.
Luna Lovegood: I don't think that's true. But I suppose that's how he wants you to feel.
Harry Potter: What do you mean?
Luna Lovegood: Well if I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else. Because if it's just you alone you're not as much of a threat.

Again, applicable in our lives, as well! Doesn’t Satan want us to believe that we are alone? Aren’t we less intimidating to him if we feel like we are cut off from the world? We become easy prey for him. If we are surrounded by those that we love and that love us, however, he has very little leverage with which to turn us from truth.

She just makes you feel good when you see/read her! Definitely the kind of friend that I would want to have around. Luna doesn’t care much about what others think, and is only mildly concerned that she is considered “loony”. She just continues to do what she feels is the right thing to do, even if no one else believes her or appreciates her.

I totally wish that she and Harry Potter had ended up together, instead of Ginny. The chemistry was better…they are both “different”, and she understands him so much more deeply than Ginny could. I think that he was the most relaxed around her, the most himself. I am not sure why Ginny was chosen, except that Harry spent so much time with the family, but it didn’t really work for me. He and Luna were meant to be together.

Luna Lovegood: I've never been to this part of the castle. Well, not awake. I sleepwalk, you see. That's why I wear shoes to bed.

Practical, that girl. I love it.