Why Luna Lovegood was a true Ravenclaw

She is perceptive

Ravenclaws are perceptive, and Luna noticed all kinds of things others didn’t during her time at Hogwarts. There was that time she explained Ron in one sentence: ‘He says very funny things sometimes, doesn’t he?’ said Luna, as they set off down the corridor together. ‘But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.’ As well as when she actually saw through Polyjuice Potion when Harry had taken it to pretend to be Ron’s relation, Barny Weasley. Sometimes her perception, combined with her wisdom, went even deeper. Who else wept when she noticed that Harry needed a little helping hand after the drama of the Battle of Hogwarts?

‘Harry found himself sitting on a bench beside Luna. ‘I’d want some peace and quiet, if it were me,’ she said. ‘I’d love some,’ he replied. ‘I’ll distract them all,’ she said. ‘Use your Cloak.’ And before he could say a word she had cried, ‘Oooh, look, a Blibbering Humdinger!’ and pointed out of the window.’

She is full of wisdom

Luna might be wacky – remember those radish earrings? – but that doesn’t mean she’s short of wisdom, quite the opposite. We’re thinking in particular about that moment she talked to Harry about grief and loss, after Sirius was killed at the Ministry of Magic. She shared the personal story of her mum’s death at a time Harry really needed to hear it, and reminded him that the ones we love never truly leave us:

‘Yes, it was rather horrible,’ said Luna conversationally. ‘I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But I’ve still got Dad. And anyway, it’s not as though I’ll never see Mum again, is it?’ ‘Er – isn’t it?’ said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn’t you?’ ‘You mean ...’ ‘In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that’s all. You heard them.’

But it’s not just emotions she has words of wisdom about, she was always prepared when it came to her habit of sleep walking:

‘I’ve never been to this part of the castle. At least not while awake. I sleep walk, you see. That’s why I wear shoes to bed.’

She is intelligent

Intelligence manifests itself in many different ways, and we think Luna has it in cauldrons. Let’s not forget that it was Luna who was able to help Harry find the lost diadem of Ravenclaw—an important part of the journey on the way to defeat Lord Voldemort. And she then went on to answer the Ravenclaw door knocker’s riddle as to whether the phoenix or the flame came first under immense pressure. Rather her than us! When it comes to magic, Luna’s taste might have been rather individual, but it must have taken some seriously impressive spell work to make her Gryffindor lion hat roar so realistically. When it came to her theories about Crumped-Horned Snorkacks or Nargles, they might not have been based on much evidence, but she argued for her point of view passionately. She wasn’t even scared to tell Hermione she was wrong!

She has sadness in her past, just like her house founder

Part of the reason there is a debate about Luna’s house is due to the fact that she would have made a pretty excellent Hufflepuff. Luna’s loyalty and kindness – key Hufflepuff traits – really did know no bounds. Luna insisted on coming to the Ministry to help her fellow DA members – it was her idea to ride the Thestrals. And Luna was one of only two members of the DA who were loyal enough to answer the call of the charmed Galleons the night Malfoy let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. There’s no denying these traits exist, but we’d argue that part of the reason Luna shows so much empathy is down to the sadness in her past. And this tragic backstory is something she shares with the Ravenclaw house founder, Rowena Ravenclaw.

Luna’s mother died suddenly when she was nine, when one of her spell experiments went badly wrong. Whilst Rowena’s daughter stole her diadem, and ended up being murdered by a man—the Bloody Baron—who rather than fetching Helena back as Rowena had thought, killed her. Perhaps the tragedies in their pasts meant Luna had an extra affinity with Ravenclaw house. Though we’ll never truly know the secrets of the Sorting Hat’s decisions.

She fits right in with other eccentric Ravenclaws

Wouldn’t you just love to listen to fellow Ravenclaws Luna and Professor Trelawney having tea together? And let’s not forget that Moaning Myrtle was in Ravenclaw too! Remember when she turned up in the Prefects’ bathroom and just casually watched Cedric and Harry have a bath? Thinking outside the box and being eccentric certainly go hand in hand, although not all Ravenclaws wore their eccentricity quite so well as Luna. Gilderoy Lockhart’s luscious locks and purple clothes couldn’t hide the fact that under it all he was stealing memories. Not cool, Gilderoy. Not cool.