Luna Lovegood's Other, Crazier Half

Ugh... School

Off to Hogwarts once again. Luna had come to accept the foreboding shiver down her spine every time she thought of the future would never go away.

She had plenty of mixed feelings about returning. If her first year was any indication of her second year, Hogwarts was about to become very interesting.

Before the inevitable catastrophe of school consumed her life, Luna spent several weeks with her father. At first, her half-siblings had been hesitant about Luna leaving, but she assured them the monsters wouldn't follow her to across the forbidden sea into Europe.

"I don't know if leaving is a good idea."

"It's alright. There's are all sorts of magic in Europe. It gives the American monsters indigestion," or that's what she assumed. All the monsters she'd seen—there weren't many—in Europe that spoke with American accents or frequented America smelled significantly worse. She'd had significant warnings before they appeared, which was useful for steering her father in the opposite direction to avoid confrontation.

She didn't say what else she was thinking. Luna knew she was so odd, so out there,  that the enemy significantly underestimated her. Hopefully, that was enough for them to leave her alone.

Her cabin mates didn't laugh or sigh. They considered it. She'd miss them at Hogwarts. They took her seriously when it mattered most.

"Are you sure you can handle it? Your scent will be stronger than last year." One of her siblings asked. Perhaps his name was Matt?

Luna smiled. "Of course I can," as she fiddled with her wand tucked securely behind her ear. They didn't know she'd be at one of the heaviest guarded places on the planet.

This led to a heartfelt goodbye. Luna wasn't good at that, but neither were her siblings. She got hugged by a little sister—Sophia, the little menace. She got some shoulder squeezes and pats on the backs from the rest of her siblings, plus two quick little hugs from Malcolm and Annabeth.

So off she went. Malcolm was slightly grump with her, but he still saw her outside the boundary to the road where she assured him her father would pick her up.

Ever since the incident with the little stump creature, he'd looked at her a little oddly. His expression looked like he was contemplating the fact that perhaps, she wasn't totally crazy after all, or maybe she just had some ability he didn't know about.

It was about time he started questioning things.

But, she wouldn't tell him.

Not now.

Not ever.

Too many fragile little pieces hung in the balance. She'd heard from Ginny about the incident: Voldemort. Luna assumed it was only the beginning. It didn't help that people were defecting from camp left and right.

There were some things she'd never utter on foreign soil.

America stayed in America; Europe stayed in Europe.

There were exceptions—she fingered her wand behind her ear once more—but only the subtlest ones.

Luna had to revert to drastic measures to get Malcolm to leave before her father showed up: shoving, winning, pleading, telling him she was a big girl that could take care of herself. It was asking Malcolm if he really wanted to and thought it was a good idea to meet the man who raised her that finally did the trick.

Luna's dad greeted her with a bright smile.

So oblivious.

However, when they got back he quickly informed her of the most newsworthy events—being a reporter and all.

The top quidditch teams, with the conspiracies behind them, of course. It wouldn't be the Lovegood household without them.

The most mysterious politicians all over the world.

The escape of Sirius Black. Her father had some interesting theories about how Black had escaped, how he was hiding, and what he was doing, and Luna thought them crazy enough to believe.

Why not?

They discussed lots of things. She never really got to talk to him about her friend, Ginny, which delighted her father.

In truth, she really liked spending time with her father. He would never lie to her; he'd tell her his theories which may or may not have been true, but he'd never lie. It was hard to find people who would tell you the unedited truth, which was a trait Luna worshipped like gold, or in her case, silver.

No one had ever believed her when she told it.

Why not say it?

She wouldn't do the same to other people.

Sometimes, it paid when people believed you were off your rocker.

It was a big part of her friendship with Ginny. Ginny wasn't afraid to tell her she was a little crazy and then accept that craziness that drove so many others away.

Luna tended to drive people away, but she wasn't sure if it was a combination of her strange presence: the demigod part of her might've pushed the wizards away and vice versa, or if it was all just the fact she was slightly insane. Well, she wasn't actually crazy according to Helena, but that was another story she was going to finish soon.

Either way: the time she got to spend with her father was much too short, and she was thrown headfirst into yet another year of watching as everything fell apart.

The train ride to Hogwarts confirmed her suspicions that school was headed into one Hades of a year.

Happy Late Birthday Luna and Happy Valentines Day to everyone else (unless you don't really celebrate it, then have a nice day). If the fact that I'm publishing a chapter on Valentine's Day is any indication of my love life, I don't know what would.

Hope your saner than I am,

Me