Here are a few facts you might not know about Luna Lovegood, plus some details you may have missed on your first read…

She’s the ‘anti-Hermione’

While this does sound a bit sinister at first – surely the polar opposite of Hermione is somebody like Bellatrix? – it was something said by J.K. Rowling that makes total sense. She said that Luna was ‘the anti-Hermione. Hermione’s so logical and inflexible in so many ways and Luna is likely to believe ten impossible things before breakfast’.

It’s true in countless ways – Luna was just such a free spirit in a way that Hermione wasn’t. That’s not to say Hermione wasn’t capable of a little fun, but she depended on common sense and reason whereas Luna was… let’s say, a little more airy-fairy.

  • Luna was a girl who believed in the Blibbering Humdinger and Crumple-Horned Snorkack, while Hermione was someone who disliked ‘woolly’ subjects like Divination. Both were wonderful in their own ways but they walked different (yet totally brilliant) paths in life.

‘I enjoyed the meetings, too,’ said Luna serenely. ‘It was like having friends.’ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

She married Newt Scamander’s grandson

Now that we know so much more about Newt, thanks to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), it carries extra weight that Luna married into the Scamander family. They were both Magizoologists and went ‘globetrotting and looking for weird creatures’, which makes total sense for an animal-loving outsider like Luna.

In a Bloomsbury webchat, J.K. Rowling confirmed that Luna ‘discovered and classified many new species of animals (though, alas, she never did find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and had, finally, to accept that her father might have made that one up)’. It’s a bittersweet moment as we’re thrilled for Luna, but rather sad that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks aren’t real.

Her name matches her personality

Luna’s name does, of course, mean ‘moon’ in Latin and throughout history the moon has been portrayed as causing people to go insane. Luna was continually teased at Hogwarts for being eccentric, for being a bit of a free agent and for following the beat of her own drum, so much so that she was perceived as being not all there. Other students nicknamed her ‘Loony’ and we would wager that this connection isn’t a coincidence.

‘Don’t worry. You’re just as sane as I am.’ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Her eccentricities masked a fierce intellect

This one may seem like a given but because of her odd disposition Luna was often assumed to be not especially bright. She would totally be willing to believe ten impossible things before breakfast but she picked things up easily, like when she helped Harry get into the Ravenclaw common room when it was most important.

‘Yeah … trouble is, we can’t really afford to wait for anyone else, Luna.’ ‘No, I see what you mean,’ said Luna seriously. ‘Well then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning.’ ‘Well reasoned,’ said the voice, and the door swung open. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

She was a true Ravenclaw

Neville chuckled. Luna turned her pale eyes on him instead. ‘And I don’t know who you are.’ ‘I’m nobody,’ said Neville hurriedly. ‘No you’re not,’ said Ginny sharply. ‘Neville Longbottom – Luna Lovegood. Luna’s in my year, but in Ravenclaw.’ ‘Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure,’ said Luna in a sing-song voice. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix