Is Luna Lovegood the anti-Hermione?

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 113521

Pat wrote:
> > I love Luna's character.  She does seem to fill in the missing 
> > pieces of personality that Hermione lacks.  
<snip> 
> > But I do think she will be the person who gives Harry permission, 
> > so to speak, to open up about his grief as well as his anger.  
> > Hermione is very perceptive--as we saw with her explanation to 
> > the boys about what girls are thinking and feeling.  But when 
> > Harry has a problem, she's ready to jump in and fix it.  Luna 
> > seems more likely to just let him talk, with a few comments to 
> > let him know that she understands--such as their conversation at 
> > the end about ghosts and about the voices behind the veil.  Right 
> > now, Harry needs a good listener, and I think that is going to be 
> > Luna.

Paul: 
> I agree 100% that Luna is the exact opposite of Hermione. She is 
> aloof and certainly a non-rational person. I can't see her as the 
> catalyst of Harry's redemption. Yes she was unwillingly helpful at 
> the end of OOTP, by creating feelings of pity from Harry to her. 
> But she was only a deus ex machina in order to de-escalate the 
> tension of the main character and the readers and give an 
> optimistic note for the future. Instead Hermione is virtually 
> living inside Harry's mind, heart and soul. 


SSSusan:
I don't even want to touch the issue of Harry's "redemption," but I 
would like to talk about Luna's role.  As much as Luna annoyed the 
heck out of me [too much Hermione in me, I suppose], I wonder about 
something Lexicon_Steve said recently about her [and darn it, I can't 
find the post--thanks *so* much, YahooMort].  In the post, he was 
suggesting that Luna was the only one at the end of OotP who could 
provide any REAL solace or comfort to Harry BECAUSE she has such a 
strong belief in the afterlife.  It was when she said, "It's not as 
though I'll never see Mum again, is it?" and then talked about the 
voices beyond the veil, that Harry seemed to settle down a little and 
really be able to consider what might be.  I think that ranks her as 
more than just a deus ex machina.

I'm not arguing that she'll become more important to Harry than 
Hermione is, but I do think Pat may be right about the way in which 
Luna could be helpful to Harry.

Siriusly Snapey Susan