SPOILER - Final Predictions - 3 - Luna Lovegood -- unresolved ....

[tinglinger]

No: HPFGUIDX 171818

The role of Luna Lovegood has always been an interesting 
topic of conjecture for me after reading OOP -- though there
was a date with Harry in OOP it was eventually overshadowed
by his relationship with Ginny.
I was kind of ready to write off any future major role of 
Luna in the series, but there were two things that made me
think that something indeed might happen before the series
ends....
First, Luna is just about the only person who would accompany 
Harry through the veil, if that is his destiny....  The 
veil concept has been mentioned in CS Lewis and His Dark 
Materials and I dont feel that it will be abandoned.
Second, the scene with Luna survived almost intact at the end
of the film, not quite canon, but not an accident either imho.

That said,  i am reposting my argument as to Luna's importance
in OOP {and hopefully beyond ....}
--------------------------------------------------------------
After Sirius is gone, Harry is in total pain and reaches out to 
anyone who can help him....

OOP 862-864 (pre Luna meeting)
"I am sorry not to have been more help," said Nick gently.
"Well ... well, do excuse me ... the feast, you know. . ."
And he left the room, leaving Harry there alone, gazing
blankly at the wall through which Nick had disappeared.
Harry felt almost as though he had lost his godfather all
over again in losing the hope that he might be able to see
or speak to him once more. He walked slowly and miserably
back up through the empty castle, wondering whether he
would ever feel cheerful again.

tinglinger
-------------
At this point, Harry has tried to ease his grief losing
Sirius by talking to every friend and mentor available
to him.

First Dumbledore, who was not only not helpful, but made
things worse by showing weakness in his communications
with Harry as weell as revealnig that Harry's ultimate
destiny was to bear an even heavier burden than any he
has borne to date.

Second, he was not comforted by Ron and Hermione when
he visited them in the hospital ward.
"He was not ready to see their expressions when he told
them that he must be either murderer or victim, there was
no other way ...." Harry then makes up an excuse to get
out of there by claiming that he wanted to see Hagrid.
So, his friends, though sympathetic, were of no help.

Third, Hagrid was no help either. Like DD, he also made
matters worse by bringing up Sirius, opening new wounds
and allowing Harry's temper to spark.

Fourth, even sitting by himself by the lake only dredged
up old memories. Harry got sadder the longer he sat there,
and ultimately escaped to the castle.....
Fifth, the mirror offered false hope, and finally sixth,
there was Nearly Headless Nick, who dashed the final hope
that Harry had ever to see his godfather again.....


And then .............

OOP 862-865 continued, with bracketed footnotes mine
-----------------------------------------------------
He had turned the corner toward the Fat Lady's corridor
when he saw somebody up ahead fastening a note to a board
on the wall. A second glance showed him that it was Luna.
There were no good hiding places nearby, she was bound to
have heard his footsteps, and in any case, Harry could
hardly muster the energy to avoid anyone at the moment [1].
"Hello," said Luna vaguely, glancing around at him as she
stepped back from the notice.
"How come you're not at the feast?" Harry asked.
"Well, I've lost most of my possessions," said Luna
serenely. "People take them and hide them, you know. But
as it's the last night, I really do need them back, so
I've been putting up signs. [2]"
She gestured toward the notice board, upon which, sure
enough, she had pinned a list of all her missing books and
clothes, with a plea for their return.
An odd feeling rose in Harry - an emotion quite different
from the anger and grief that had filled him since Sirius's
death. It was a few moments before he realized that he was
feeling sorry for Luna [2].
"How come people hide your stuff?" he asked her, frowning.
"Oh ... well. . ." She shrugged. "I think they think I'm
a bit odd, you know. Some people call me `Loony' Lovegood,
actually."
Harry looked at her and the new feeling of pity intensified
rather painfully [2].
"That's no reason for them to take your things," he said
flatly. "D'you want help finding them? [3]"
"Oh no," she said, smiling at him. "They'll come back,
they always do in the end. It was just that I wanted to
pack tonight. Anyway ... why aren't you at the feast?"
Harry shrugged. "Just didn't feel like it."
"No," said Luna, observing him with those oddly misty,
protuberant eyes. "I don't suppose you do. That man the
Death Eaters killed was your godfather, wasn't he?
Ginny told me. [4]"
Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did
not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered
that she too could see thestrals [5].
"Have you. . ." he began. "I mean, who ... has anyone
you've known ever died?"
"Yes," said Luna simply, "my mother. She was a quite
extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to
xperiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong
one day. I was nine. [6]"
"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.
"Yes, it was rather horrible," said Luna conversationally.
"I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I've still
got Dad. [7] And anyway, it's not as though I'll never
see Mum again, is it?"
"Er - isn't it?" said Harry uncertainly.
She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, come on. You heard
them, just behind the veil, didn't you? [8]"
"You mean . . ."
"In that room with the archway. They were just lurking
out of sight, that's all. You heard them."
They looked at each other. Luna was smiling slightly.
Harry did not know what to say, or to think. Luna believed
so many extraordinary things ... yet he had been sure he
had heard voices behind the veil too....
"Are you sure you don't want me to help you look for your
stuff? [9]" he said.
"Oh no," said Luna. "No, I think I'll just go down and have
some pudding and wait for it all to turn up.... It always
does in the end. ... Well, have a nice holiday, Harry."
"Yeah ... yeah, you too."
She walked away from him, and as he watched her go,
he found that the terrible weight in his stomach seemed
to have lessened slightly [10].



tinglinger
[1] Before she greeted him, Harry clearly felt that Luna was
the last person he wanted to talk to about his loss, yet was
too depressed to avoid her.
[2] But will she get her things back in time to leave Hogwarts?
Maybe not. There was no evidence that she was on the Hogwarts
Express the next day, even though she is hinted at by Ginny's
actions. This omission is glaring, and imho is not an accident.
And all set up by this simple scene.....
[3] Harry offers to help her for the first time, to be followed
later by a reiteration of the offer later in the scene. Though
Luna refused him this time, the premise that Harry is willing
to help her has been established and WILL BE SIGNIFICANT LATER.
When? How about after the Death Eaters kill/injure her dad. She
will need Harry then, and she has no other friends or relatives
that we are aware of. Where else can she go besides to Harry?
And who else is a more likely companion to the Veil? Hermione?
I don't think so......
[4] Luna knows of Harry's loss and empathises with him. I wonder
how and why Ginny told her though.....
[5] Luna is the first person besides Neville that Harry knows
has experienced death first hand. He knows that Neville has too,
but Neville was too uncomfortable with death and the disabling
injuries to his parents to share that information. Luna on the
other hand is quite open to discuss death and what lies beyond
the veil. ONCE AGAIN, THIS WILL BE SIGNIFICANT LATER.
[6] Luna's age at her mom's death establishes that it happened
when Harry was around 10, the year before he started Hogwarts.
There are also several theories why a dateline was hinted at,
but that is for another post. (Think Quirrell, werewolf, ...
Lots happened in the WW in the year before Harry arrived
at Hogwarts.)
[7] And what if she DIDN'T have dad anymore? Who could she turn
to ? Hmmmmmm
[8] Who here thinks that Harry and Luna will NOT end up in the
Veil Room again? C'mon!
[9] The SECOND offer to help.... JKR usually says things twice
if she wants to make sure that we don't miss them!
[10] The beginning of a new friendship ...... LUNA WAS THE
ONLY ONE who made a difference til that point in Harry's
depression.


So after a bit {too much?} of microanalyses, I think that
JKR has provided one possible plotpath for HBP.
Time will tell.

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As for HBP, Luna and Hermione have developed a mutual respect for
each other .... i would not be suprised at all to see Luna end up
as a major player before the end of the series -- maybe even in a 
Harry/Luna ship ... but that is based only on the above .. and after
what happened in the HBP anything is possible...