Looney Lovegood or Latent Heroine?

Luna Lovegood really suffers throughout the first five books of the series. She is never taken seriously and is instead grouped into the same mold as her father, who is similarly mocked in the adult wizarding world. Hermione, a true lover of literature and one with great respect for academia, disregards the Quibbler as nonsense and nothing compared to the honest and good Daily Prophet, for what that’s worth. Even she, who is probably the least judgmental of all the characters, does not believe Luna and instead refers to her as “Looney Luna Lovegood.” Harry is easily sucked into this mentality of disbelieving Luna and disdains the thought that the two of them might have anything in common. When Luna mentions what thestrals are and confirms their existence, Harry is thoroughly put-off by this shared experience.
However, Luna begins to gain more general respect beginning with her agreement that Lord Voldemort had returned. She is one of the first Hogwarts students outside of the Weasley family and Hermione to believe Harry’s account of the grave-yard scene and take at face value Cedric Diggory’s death. She is ready and excited to join Dumbledore’s Army and help in any way possible to fight the new rules established by Dolores Umbridge. Though depicted as an airy, flighty sort of girl, Luna puts all of her efforts in learning defensive spells from Harry. She genuinely trusts Harry and seems to know his heart better than he does at times. Though Hermione is his best female friend, Luna possesses a certain air about her that sometimes allows her to better access and temper his feelings without being condescending or judgmental. The fact that Luna lost her mother tragically joins the two in an odd sort of friendship. Luna plays a pivotal role in the battle against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, right alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and Neville) in the fifth book. She is no longer the punch-line of their jokes but has joined their circle of friends.
The way in which Luna’s relationship both to and with Harry and his friends underscores the theme of friendship and personal stigma which Rowling explores in the series. Initially, Luna is treated very unfairly and Harry lets public perception cloud his own image of Luna. However, once he realizes that her façade is true to her personality, an idea which does not hold true for most other characters in the series, he realizes how much of an asset she really is. Luna’s plight as the girl no one likes is not an uncommon one and reflects an ugly aspect of both teenage life and growing up. I personally struggled to take Luna seriously until I noticed subtle changes in her character which exposed a side to her that is otherwise unexpected.