Luna Lovegood is definitely a well-loved character from the Harry Potter series. While she’s not a main character, she is a prominent side character. She was a loyal friend to Harry and a devoted member of Dumbledore’s Army. She was so devoted to doing the right thing and helping defeat Voldemort that she even started up Dumbledore’s Army, along with Ginny and Neville, under Snape’s reign at Hogwarts. There are also some interesting things about Luna that happened to her before and after the series started.
We’ve put together a list of the four main things that happened to Luna before the series started and the six most important things that happened after.
PRE: SHE WAS AN ONLY CHILD
Luna was an only child who was born just one day before Valentine's Day on the 13th of February in 1981. With parents named Xenophilius and Pandora, it’s no wonder that Luna ended up with a similarly dreamy name. Not much is known about what her life was like when her mother was still alive. But, it’s assumed that they all lived in the same house that Harry and the trio visited in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
PRE: HER MOTHER DIED WHEN SHE WAS NINE YEARS OLD
Luna Lovegood dealt with tragedy at a young age when she lost her mother at only nine years old. Her mother was a witch who liked to experiment with spells and magic. It was doing this experimenting with a spell that led to the unfortunate accident that killed Pandora Lovegood. It’s also clear that her name is connected with her personality, as Pandora in mythology opens a box that leads to ruin and pain.
PRE: SHE WITNESSED HER MOTHER’S DEATH
While losing her mother at only nine years old is tragic enough in and of itself, it’s even worse because Luna witnessed her mother’s death. She was in the room when the accident happened. Because of this, she was able to see Thestrals from her visit day at Hogwarts. She was the one who explained Thestrals to Harry first, but he didn’t know if he should believe her given that she was known to believe in treasures that weren’t real.
PRE: SHE WAS RAISED ON SOME WILD BELIEFS
Luna’s father, Xenophilius, was an eccentric man, to say the least. He believed in a lot of things that just didn’t exist and weren’t true. This is why Luna believed in things like Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Given that she was an only child and was raised by her father, and that she had suffered a major loss at such a young age, it’s not surprising that Luna went along with many of her father’s beliefs and also wanted to live in this world of fantasy.
POST: IN TRUE LUNA FASHION, SHE WORE A RAINBOW WEDDING DRESS
Luna Lovegood is known in the series for being eccentric and having her own unique fashion sense. She would often wear interesting items of clothing such as radish-shaped earrings. Therefore, it’s no surprise that she wore a wedding dress that was decorated with rainbows and spangles. In fact, Rita Skeeter featured this outfit in her column and it was voted the “Most Hideous Outfit of the Year.” Of course, Luna likely didn’t care about this much at all.
POST: HARRY AND GINNY NAMED THEIR DAUGHTER AFTER HER
When we meet Harry and Ginny’s family in the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, there’s one child who is focused on the most. Albus Severus Potter definitely has an intense name that’s after two famous wizards. But, what’s even better and sweeter, is that Harry and Ginny actually named their daughter after their good friend Luna. Lily’s middle name was actually Luna. It’s very adorable to know that Luna was that important to Harry and Ginny and that they all remained friends.
POST: SHE BECAME A FAMOUS WIZARDING NATURALIST
One of the most interesting facts about Luna is her career. She became a wizarding naturalist of great acclaim, similar to Newt Scamander. In her world, she discovered many new species of magical creatures. Imagining Luna being somewhat of a free spirit and traveling the world as she discovered new animals is quite fitting. It’s hard to imagine her working at a place like the Ministry, so this choice seems perfect for her.
POST: SHE MARRIED NEWT SCAMANDER’S GRANDSON
Luna marries Rolf Scamander, Newts’ grandson, who was also a naturalist. They married a little later in life compared to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. It seems fitting that she would marry someone who was invested in the same things she was. The pair also had two children. They were twin boys who were given the names Lorcan and Lysander. These dramatic names seem like the kind of names that Luna would give her sons.
POST: SHE DIDN’T BELIEVE IN MANY OF HER FATHER’S BELIEFS IN ADULTHOOD
While Luna might have believed the same things her father did while she was at Hogwarts, she came into her own ways of thinking in adulthood. She realized that some things such as Nargles didn’t actually exist and was able to separate herself from her father’s unrealistic way of looking at the world. This makes sense as many people discover their own beliefs and worldviews once they leave home and can think for themselves.
POST: SHE ATTENDED THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP WITH THE REST OF DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY CREW
One of the most adorable things about Harry and his friends at Hogwarts is how they remained friends in adulthood. Luna and her husband Rolf went to the Quidditch World Cup in 2014 according to Pottermore. In true Luna fashion, she wore a robe that was made of the flags from all 16 of the countries who qualified. She sat in the VIP box with her friends from Dumbledore’s army.