Letters to The Boy Who Lived

18. Rainbows- Luna Lovegood

Dear Harry~

I'm to teach you about rainbows in this letter. This is my story.

They say rainbows are like promises. Some people think that's stupid or unusual, but for me, rainbows represent the greatest promise anyone ever made me.

I would young, maybe seven or eight at the time. My mum was still around at that point. Somehow, she seemed to represent the good memories, the happy memories. Mum meant good times. Without Mum, well, it was never really the same.

I was different than most little girls my age, I'll admit it. It wasn't so much that our habits were different - I was quite similar to them when it came to that - but more that our thought processes differed. Most little girls thought bugs were gross, but things like that fascinated me. I wanted to know who they were, where they were going, how many family members they had. I thought more in-depth about things outside myself than any normal eight year old; indeed, I often thought more in-depth than teenagers.

I guess that just sort of means I had a level of maturity they didn't have. And while it might seem like a good thing, it most certainly was not.

First came the giggles. Whenever I said something thoughtful or profound that they didn't understand, the girls would laugh and call me 'that weirdo.' It didn't make sense! Here I was, making a comment that was (in my eyes) completely relevant to the conversation, and there they were, ridiculing me for it. It may have been a long time ago, but I remember the very day that I finally cracked.

"Race you guys to the river!" shrieked Gwen, who was in the lead. Pippa raced close behind her, and I brought up the tail... not for long, however. Soon enough I had raced in front of both Gwen and Pippa and easily reached the river. Laughing, I collapsed on the bank, and so did Pippa, but Gwen stubbornly stayed standing.

"I let you win." She grumbled, plopping down a yard or two away. Pippa uncomfortably scooted towards the river, looking for fish. Usually it was Gwen and I who got into these little disputes, and Pippa stayed out of it. 

"Look! A fish!" she squealed. Argument forgotten, all of us scooted to the very edge and peered in. Suddenly I noticed what Pippa had been pointing at, and relaxed.

"It's a water snake." I informed them. "They're a little different in their feeding habits and obviously they look different."

Gwen scoffed at me. "You're so weird. Why do you always stick your nose in everywhere?"

"I'm simply telling you what it is." I said calmly. "And I was part of this conversation so it isn't sticking my nose in."

"You freak!" she squealed at me. "You're such a know-it-all. I don't even want to be with you anymore. Come on Pippa, we're leaving."

Gwen turned, nose in the air, and Pippa followed unwillingly behind. Confused, I got up to follow, but for some reason I could not move. As soon as Pippa and Gwen were out of sight, I burst into tears.

Running home, I tried to wipe the tears away, but they kept right on flowing. When I got home, I threw myself into my mother's arms.

"The girls are mean to me, Mommy." I sobbed into her shoulder. "They don't like me cuz I say weird things."

She held me long and hard, drying my tears. Eventually, she sat me down at the kitchen table, sitting right beside me.

"Luna, don't you ever think that you're not good enough." She told me gently. "You're a beautiful little girl and Pippa and Gwen and whomever else are all simply jealous of you. I say we make a promise to each other."

"A... a promise?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. Do you remember all the colors of the rainbow? There are so many, aren't there?" I nodded.

"Well, whenever you're getting teased by anyone, promise you'll remeber the rainbows for me. So long as rainbows shine all different colors, that's how long you can be completely yourself. Will you remember that, Luna Bee?" 

I nodded again, comforted. I'd just think of the rainbows. I promised never to forget their significance.

And you know what? I never have forgotten it.

Harry, don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd. So long as rainbows shine all different colors, that's how long you can be completely yourself.

~Luna

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Lookie there, a nice early post! Be proud of me(: Oh, and look! All the old letters are actually letters now! Lucky you guys!!

Thanks for reading, and as always...

RVC(: