Why is everyone afraid of Luna?

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 84217

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dan" <darkthirty at s...> wrote:
> I don't mean, of course, in the books, though some of the 
ostracism 
> she experiences could be attributed to fear of her, or what she 
> represents, on the part of other characters, at bottom. No, I mean 
on 
> this list.
> Absent for a couple months, I did a search and found very, very 
few 
> references to her at all. My own old posts showed up right away.
> I have some speculations, naturally, as to why Lovegood isn't much 
> speculated on, but I want to ask people on the list a couple 
things 
> before I go too far in that direction.
> Why was Luna introduced?
> Why was she given the moment at the end of OOP with Potter?


Jen: I don't think *fear* of discussion is a problem around here ;). 
Luna, by nature, is difficult to pin down. She is also a new 
character given a lot of page space (her own chapter!) traditionally 
reserved for the Trio. An interloper of sorts. I personally feel 
drawn to her, though, and post on every thread that comes along.

While I didn't find her that engaging on my first read-through, I've 
grown to see her as a pivotal character and a strong one at that. In 
fact, at the risk of going on ad nauseam about my own theories, I 
think her Intuition was purposely brought in now to counterbalance 
Harry's Soul, Hermione's Mind and Ron's Heart. She represents an 
undeveloped side of Harry as this point--the ability to seek his own 
counsel and internal wisdom before acting. He has Hermione telling 
him what to do *logically*, and Ron loves him like a brother and 
supports him pretty much unconditionally, but Luna represents a new 
force, a person who lives for the most part by her own internal 
compass.

We do get to see more of Harry's internal development in OOTP, his 
emotional and ethical development, and I believe Luna will play an 
important role in his continued growth. The scene where she talks 
with Harry about death is the 'initiation' for Harry into a new 
realm of his development, an area equally important to his magical 
skills and his bravery.

And as an aside, I've floated a theory since July about 
Luna/Ollivander that was in a recent post, so I won't repeat it:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/84059

So, speculate away, Dan! I'm curious to hear your take on Luna.