Disclaimer: The legal rights to the Harry Potter books, characters, and locations belong to J. K. Rowling, and the legal rights to the movies belong to Warner Bros. Studios. I own nothing here. I claim only the story idea as my intellectual property based off of Rowling's work, and I seek no financial compensation. I only seek to produce some smiles among the fans.

Rating: K+ (PG-equivalent) for mature themes of loss, grief, trauma, and loneliness, and for some brief mild language.

A/N #1: This story is mostly canon-compliant, with the main exception that I bumped Luna up a year in age so that she would be the same year as the Golden Trio. Other than that, I've worked to stay faithful to the events of the books and to the personalities of the characters, with some very minor alterations and expansions of detail where it felt appropriate. So this isn't so much an AU as a "what-if" scenario: what if, in OotP, Harry had had more time alone with Luna at the very beginning of the year? What if he had discovered how much she had to offer the very first time he met her?

A/N #2: This story, like the books, is written from Harry's perspective, not Luna's. I think Luna's perspective would be wonderful to write from, and it's something I may do in a future story, but for this scenario I thought it best if the inside of her mind was left mysterious. That's what's so great about Luna: you never can tell where her thoughts are going to go from one moment to the next. This is Harry's first time meeting her, after all, and I wanted to convey what it would have been like for him to try and figure her out with absolutely no background information about her.

A/N #3: Finally, I also worked really hard not to turn Luna into a Manic Pixie Dream Girl™, which is always a risk when writing her character. I wanted Harry to be impressed by Luna (as I think most of us would be), but I also wanted him to be impressed because of who she is in her own right and not solely because of what she can contribute to his life. I've left things a bit ambiguous so that you can interpret this as the beginning of whatever you want: a close friendship, a platonic relationship, a romantic relationship… Some of you will ship Harry/Luna, and others will not. But I think we can all agree: there is a unique connection there that gives them a special place in each other's hearts. I hope you enjoy this.

A Boy, a Girl, an Owl, and a Train Compartment

Clutching his carry-on bag in one hand and Hedwig's cage in the other (the porters had already taken his trunk to the baggage compartment), Harry Potter wandered dejectedly onboard the Hogwarts Express. It was the beginning of his fifth year, and for the first time ever, he was not excited to be going back to school – although he certainly didn't want to be back with the Dursleys, either. Mostly, he was hurting over Cedric Diggory, wondering if he could have prevented the brave Hufflepuff's death. He didn't even want the blasted Cup, Harry thought. I'm the one who insisted we share it. But once that was combined with the knowledge that Voldemort was back in human form, the fact that Dumbledore seemed to be completely ignoring Harry and leaving him out of his plans, and the additional fact that The Daily Prophet was now calling him a liar and a show-off, Harry was left not wanting to talk to anybody on the train this year.

The final blow had been learning that Ron and Hermione were now prefects, and that they would be sitting in a different compartment on the train. The only two friends he might have wanted to talk to were leaving him behind, moving on to other things, and for once, Harry just wished he could vanish until the train pulled into Hogwarts. I can handle all the questions and snide comments once I get there, he told himself, but I can't do it right now. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and with a weary expression on his face, he turned to see Ginny Weasley, with Neville Longbottom standing beside her, clutching what looked like a potted cactus.

"Hi, Harry," she said in a kind voice. "Er… would you like to sit with Neville and I this time? I know you'd like to be with Ron and Hermione, but maybe we can… um… and maybe the Creevey brothers will join us as well?"

Harry sighed, because he knew Ginny meant well, and he hated to turn down her invitation. "I'm sorry, Gin," he said softly. "It'd just be too many people asking too many questions, and well… you know what I've been through, and I just need a place to be alone. I'll even sit in the baggage compartment if I have to."

Ginny nodded sadly. "Yes," she said, "I understand. I… I hope you find some peace and quiet today." Neville also gave a nod, accompanied by a halfhearted attempt to smile, and Harry watched his two friends walk off together. Harry moved on down the train, hoping to find an empty compartment, but each one was full of tables of students smiling, laughing, eating snacks, and playing cards and board games. None of the compartments looked like anywhere he belonged. Finally, he peeked into the very last compartment before the baggage room – the one where he had met Professor Lupin in his third year. It was nearly empty, except for a solitary blonde girl sitting on one side of a table, wearing a bright blue sweater and jeans and reading an upside-down Quibbler magazine. Harry hesitated for a moment and then thought, Well, it's only one other person. Maybe I can handle this much.

He walked into the familiar compartment, glancing out the train window as he set Hedwig's cage down on a corner table and dropped his carry-on bag into the unoccupied seat. The room was nearly silent, except for the sound of the train clacking away on the track. Finally, the girl looked up at him curiously. She looked strangely familiar, as though she was someone Harry recognized from his year, but whom he had never had any actual classes with. Not having her robes on, Harry couldn't tell what house she belonged to, but he did notice that the large irises of her eyes were an unusual color, hovering somewhere between silver and light blue.

"Er… hello," Harry began. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but, well, the train's so crowded and I really just wanted to find a place to be alone. If you prefer, I can find somewhere else… your magazine's upside down, by the way." Harry wished he also had something to read besides the new schoolbooks in his bag; he hadn't really felt like grabbing a Daily Prophet at the train entrance.

"I know," said the girl in an airy, melodic voice that Harry found very comforting. "There's a rune puzzle in the back that I've been working on. I don't mind if you sit with me; you know, if you want some extra privacy, you can lock the door and pull the curtain over the door's little window."

"Couldn't someone just open the door with Alohomora?" Harry asked as he followed the girl's instructions.

"They could," she replied, "but if they see the curtain, they'll assume anyone in here is sick or resting and doesn't want to be disturbed. This is where Professor Lupin stayed the year he came to Hogwarts."

Sitting down in the seat opposite the girl, Harry said glumly, "He was my favorite teacher."

"One of mine, too," the girl remarked. "I do wish he'd stayed. It's a shame they fired him just for being different. I don't care if he was a werewolf." Now that he was seated, Harry took a moment to survey the girl's appearance. There was something a bit off-kilter about her: her wand, he had already noticed, was tucked behind her ear, where it slipped into her long shaggy hair. That seemed like a convenient enough place to put a wand, although Harry could imagine what Mad-Eye Moody would say about it. Her earrings were a little stranger: Harry didn't know much about witches' fashion, but he didn't think he'd ever seen anything like these. They resembled some sort of radish-like vegetable – no, scratch that – they were some sort of radish-like vegetable. And then… he couldn't be quite sure about her necklace, because she had it tucked into her sweater, but it looked like it was made of corks from butterbeer bottles. That was probably the most confounding thing of all.

The girl must have noticed him looking at her, because she now folded up her Quibbler, set it on the table, and placing her elbows on the table, she cupped her face in her hands and stared directly at Harry. She seemed to be both scrutinizing and soothing him: although her silvery-blue gaze was intense, with a minimal amount of blinking, there was also a gentleness to it. Harry tried to look away, and yet… somehow he just didn't want to. Finally, the girl's lips curled up into a smile and she said in a near-whisper: "Mmmm… you're Harry Potter."

Dammit, thought Harry, although he hadn't honestly expected to maintain his anonymity. "You… you recognize me, then?"

"Of course I do!" exclaimed the girl, before transitioning into a teasing, singsong voice that reminded Harry of Peeves. "You're Harry Potter, and we're all alo-one! You're Harry Potter, and we're all alo-one!" She broke into a chuckle before continuing in her regular voice, "You've got your hair covering your scar to hide it, but I recognized you the moment I saw you. You're quite famous, you know."

"Yeah, well, I don't really like being famous, do you know that?" Harry snapped, leaning in and suddenly feeling completely angry with this girl he didn't even know. "I hate it, I hate it more than you could even know! First, everybody calls me a 'hero' for something that happened when I was a baby – something I had no control over, something I don't remember – then, they forget all that and call me a 'liar' who just wants attention? I don't want attention; that's the only reason I'm sitting with you right now! I saw my friend die, do you understand that? I saw him die, and it's my fault that he's dead! He meant nothing to Voldemort – in fact, Voldemort's exact words were 'Kill the spare!' He just killed him because he wasn't supposed to be there! Why the hell would I ever want to be famous for seeing that happen? So go ahead, brag about being alone with Harry Potter, because being alone with me isn't a lot of fun!"

As the scenery flew past the window, the atmosphere in the compartment seemed to have grown darker and denser – almost as if there were a Dementor nearby. Harry collapsed back into his seat, feeling tears streaming down his face. They had already arrived at the one subject he hadn't wanted to talk about, and although the girl wasn't crying, she had lowered her hands from her face, her lip was now quivering, and she looked hurt. "Oh God, I'm so sorry I yelled at you…" Harry began, but the girl cut him off.

"No," she said in a lower voice than Harry had heard before, "I'm sorry. I didn't know… I didn't stop to think about how much you've been through. I do believe you, by the way – every word. What happened to Cedric wasn't your fault; you didn't know what was going to happen to either of you at the end of the Tournament, and… and… Harry, I do understand, even if you think I don't. I'm not famous like you, but… I know what your sort of pain is like, and I've always thought you're very brave, just like a Gryffindor should be. You don't deserve any of the mean things the Prophet says about you. They're completely wrong."

Wiping the tears from his face, Harry looked at the girl with a newly formed respect for her. He suddenly felt something he hadn't felt since meeting Ron four years ago: the sense of having instantly made a true friend. He held out his hand and said, in a much gentler tone, "Thank you. Yes, I'm Harry Potter. Can we please start over?"

The girl's smile returned as she placed her hand in Harry's and shook it; he noticed that her skin was very soft and smooth. Everything about her is gentle, Harry thought. Who is she and why is she sitting all alone back here?

"Luna Lovegood, fifth-year Ravenclaw," the girl said in her regular voice, and Harry locked eyes with her, matching the name to her face. Luna, he thought. I think I like you. "We've never had any classes together," he said in a disappointed voice as they broke the handshake.

"We might by next year," said Luna. "N.E.W.T.-level classes are smaller, and contain students from more houses. They weed out the ones who don't pass their O.W.L.s. I know a few of your friends, by the way."

"You do?" Harry asked, wondering why her name had never been mentioned before.

"Oh, absolutely!" nodded Luna, "I live very near the Weasleys in Ottery St. Catchpole, and I've been over to see them a few times. I'm probably closest to Ginny; I've met Ron, too, but he thinks I'm a little odd. The twins like me, but… I don't know… some of their pranks strike me as a bit mean. And I know Hermione, because we've taken Arithmancy and Ancient Runes together for two years now."

Figures, Harry thought. She's in the two classes I don't take – but she is a Ravenclaw, so she'd be into really smart arcane stuff like that. Too bad she never stopped by to see the Weasleys while I was visiting; I could have met her earlier. "Do you and Hermione get along?" he asked.

"We like each other," said Luna, "although we can frustrate each other sometimes. She is quite stubborn and is convinced she can explain anything through logic, while I tend more to rely on hunches to solve a problem. Her mind is extremely sharp, but… she spends too much time thinking and not enough time feeling. I wish she'd learn to speak more from her heart and not just from her brain. I always admire people who speak from the heart – like you just did. But she is nice to me; she's never called me 'Loony Lovegood' like some people do." Luna sighed. "I don't even think most of them are trying to be mean. They just… hear it so often they think it's my actual name."

Harry thought Luna's assessment of Hermione's character was quite accurate, but that wasn't what had stuck with him the most. He leaned in closer to Luna and asked, in his most sympathetic tone, "Why do they call you 'Loony'?"

Luna also leaned in, so that their noses were only an inch or two from each other. Harry had his closest look yet at her enigmatic eyes, and realized exactly how many paradoxes there were in this girl's presence. She was ethereal, and yet also down-to-earth. Everything she had said to him so far was so disarmingly honest, Harry couldn't help but feel safe talking to her. Her heart was open to anyone, but even the surface levels of her mind remained out of reach. I'd tell you anything, Harry thought, feeling a catch in his throat. I barely know you, Luna Lovegood, but I'd tell you anything, no matter how private. I just trust you, the same way I knew I trusted Ron – or Hagrid when he tracked me down in that shack to give me my Hogwarts letter. But what are you like? What are you thinking right now? Would you ever tell me what's in there?

"They call me 'Loony'," Luna intoned, not breaking eye contact in the slightest, "because I say things that others find odd. I believe things that others find odd. I don't have many friends, and that's why I usually ride the train alone. I'm different from other people, but I'm not ashamed to be different. I embrace the fact that I'm set apart, that I'm the only person exactly like me, and most people can't do that." She lowered her voice to the tone she had used to apologize. "You hide the fact that you're set apart, Mr. Potter."

"I do?" Harry asked, unnerved by the fact that she had suddenly used his surname. "Where?"

Luna pointed at Harry's forehead. "Right behind that thicket of hair," she said, "and I will tell you what I believe and why I believe it – if you will pull back that hair and let me see the famous scar you keep hidden from the world, even though everyone knows it's there. Show me what sets you apart, and I'll show you what sets me apart. It's a fair trade."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then moved his hand up to his forehead, pushing his hair up until the jagged lightning-bolt scar was finally revealed. Luna's large eyes shifted upward, focusing on the scar, and she slowly moved her index finger up to it. "Don't… hurt me…" Harry grimaced, but as Luna's fingertip touched the top of the scar, he felt something much different than the pain from Voldemort's touch. This was a sensation of warmth spreading out to his entire forehead, and it only grew more pronounced as Luna's soft finger traced all the way down. "Amazing," she said in an awed whisper before pulling her finger away.

Uncertain of what had just happened, Harry gazed at Luna, who said, "There is only one scar like that in the entire world, Harry, and it shows that you've been through something nobody else has. It shows resilience, and it's because of what's in that scar that you keep fighting. I know you didn't choose to have the life you do, to be the person you are, but be proud of it, because you've been very strong given the hand you were dealt. Don't ever cover that scar again, Harry Potter."

"I won't," said Harry, before thinking, God, she's deep. She's like a young female version of Dumbledore. Come to think of it, they probably called him 'Loony' when he was our age, too. "So, um, what is it that you believe, Luna?"

"Magical creatures," Luna trilled, reaching into her sweater and pulling out the necklace, which Harry observed was indeed made of butterbeer corks. "Ones that other people don't believe in; they say I just made them up." As Luna's eyes grew wilder, and her voice became more excitable, Harry could tell that her eccentricities were finally emerging. "But I know they're out there, and I'm going to prove it someday! Look! Do you know what this is for?" Luna held up the necklace so quickly it almost broke free of her neck.

"I don't have the slightest idea," Harry gulped sheepishly. Do I want to know?

"Nargles!" Luna practically yelled, but in a way that was enthusiastic rather than angry, as if she was convinced she'd found a fellow believer. "People lose things from their houses all the time, and they don't know why, but it's the Nargles! They take all your things if you don't have something to charm them away, and everybody knows they hate butterbeer because they're afraid they'll drown in it! And here! Here!" She dropped the necklace and pointed to her earrings. "Dirigible plums! They keep away the Wrackspurts that make people's thoughts all scattered; Wrackspurts hate how the plums taste, so they can't fly in your ears if you have these! The only problem is, a Blibbering Humdinger is absolutely enraged by the color of the plums, so if one sees you wearing them, it's going to attack! It's just a risk you have to take!"

Harry felt as startled by Luna's outburst as she must have felt by his. He had never read about any of these creatures before, nor had he heard Hagrid mention them in class. Still, there were many things in the wizarding world that were still unfamiliar to him, and since Luna had stated her belief in him, Harry felt it best to give her the benefit of the doubt. "So, um, does anyone know what those things look like?"

Beaming, Luna continued: "Well, the Wrackspurts are invisible unless you have special glasses to see them; even if you did have the glasses, they're pretty small – they have to be to get in your ears. Nargles are these fuzzy little ball-shaped creatures; they look like dust bunnies, which is why most people don't recognize them. They have to be good at camouflage to steal as much as they do. The Blibbering Humdinger is a hog-type animal, but it can float like a balloon." She picked her Quibbler back up and handed it to Harry. "Look, Daddy writes about mysterious creature sightings all the time!"

Picking up the magazine, which he vaguely remembered seeing a copy of at the Ministry, Harry opened to the first page, and his eye was immediately drawn to a moving photo of a blond-haired wizard who, dashing his eyes back and forth, somehow managed to look crafty and absent-minded at the same time. Every so often, the man would peek over his shoulder as if expecting to spot something behind him, before returning his gaze to the camera. Xenophilius Lovegood, Editor-in-Chief – "Truth Will Out!" read the caption below. "Your dad?" Harry asked, and Luna nodded in pride, before Harry noticed something in the acknowledgements: Thanks as always to my daughter Luna, my own personal shining ray of moonlight, for her daily encouragement. I love you with all my heart.

Harry started flipping through the magazine, noticing that the first few pages were all filled with political stories regarding corruption and wrongdoing in the Ministry. Although some of the stories sounded plausible, especially given what Harry knew about the Ministry (a story entitled "Has Fudge Lost Control of the Dementors?" seemed especially valid), others seemed a bit far-fetched, such as the notion that Fudge was behind a series of goblin assassinations. He burst into laughter when he came across a story that suggested Sirius Black was really a rock singer named Stubby Boardman, which caused Luna to ask quietly, "You don't believe everything in there, do you, Harry?"

"Er… well…" Harry blushed. Dammit. Now she's insulted. This is the sort of uncouth thing Ron would do, for Merlin's sake! "I mean, some of this makes sense, and some of it doesn't. I can tell you for a fact that the Stubby Boardman story is wrong; I've met the real Sirius Black, and that's not him. I think Boardman probably just wanted the media attention, so he and his friends sent this story in to your dad."

"Mmmm," nodded Luna, "yes, his sources are sometimes like that. Daddy's been wrong before, and sometimes he's even had to pay people because he was wrong, but he's also been right several times. He does all of this single-handedly, because he feels it's important for people to hear these things, and it's because of the money he makes from the magazine that he's been able to take care of me. He loves me very much, and I love him." Harry thought back to the dedication he'd seen, but he didn't mention it. "If you like," Luna continued, "you can always send him a correction about Sirius… and as far as 'making sense' goes… Daddy's always said that what you know to be a fact is important, but what you believe on faith, what – and who – you trust without knowing everything: those are also important. Sometimes even more so."

Once again, Luna had taken Harry aback with an extremely insightful comment that would never have crossed his own mind, and he felt his respect for her surging once more, even as he could imagine an argument flaring up between Luna and Hermione in the back of his head. "Well," he said, "it looks better than Witch Weekly, at least. Any magazine that isn't putting down me or my friends can't be bad. I'm still angry over how they treated Hermione last year."

"I agree," grinned Luna. "Hey, you haven't even gotten to the animals yet!" And she reached over and flipped a few pages ahead, revealing a new section of the magazine detailing sightings of mysterious creatures around the world, all with unusual names: Heliopaths, Dabberblimps, Fleeblebunches, Exploding Snabberwitches, Gulping Plimpies, Umgubular Slashkilters… ("They live in Scotland and rip men's kilts off if they can," explained Luna. "It can be quite embarrassing.") Finally, one entire page was devoted to news regarding the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, which Luna described as the rarest animal of them all. "It's my dream to find and catch a living specimen someday," she said softly as Harry closed her Quibbler issue and handed it back to her. He felt extremely grateful that Luna had personally shown him something that was so important to her, and he was trying to formulate how to tell her this as he spotted her eyes glancing at the corner table.

"Would you mind if I let your owl out of her cage?" Luna asked. "I'd like to take a look at her, and she's probably tired of being cramped up."

"Not at all," Harry said, picking up Hedwig's cage and setting it on the table. He opened the door, and Luna reached in and gently pulled Hedwig out. "Oh, you're a pretty bird, aren't you?" she asked in the kind of voice Mrs. Weasley might have used to fawn over a picture of Gilderoy Lockhart, before dropping to a near-whisper: "Oh my, you're beautiful! Oh! I've never seen an owl like you!" She was slowly stroking Hedwig's feathers, making little cooing noises as she did so. "Snowy owl," she told Harry. "Bubo scandiacus. You usually only see these in the Arctic."

"Her name's Hedwig," said Harry, watching as his owl now perched on Luna's arm, also cooing, briefly pecked her earring, decided it wasn't food, and then nuzzled her cheek. "She was a gift from Hagrid my first year. She's the only pet I've ever had."

"Oh, well, I love you, Hedwig!" Luna beamed as Hedwig nuzzled her. "You're very special!" Luna now kissed Hedwig on top of her head, and before Harry realized the thought was coming, a voice in the back of his head said, Lucky Hedwig! Startled, Harry shook it out of his head before continuing to watch how his new friend and his owl interacted. Divination wasn't his best subject by any means, but he had to wonder if this was some sort of sign. I suppose Luna would treat anyone's owl like this, he thought. That's just the way she is. But… I've never seen Hedwig nuzzle anyone else like this – not Ron, not Hermione, not Ginny. There just seems to be something about Luna she's drawn to… and I'm drawn to, the voice in his head finished. God, she must have been right about the Wrackspurts.

Luna finally released Hedwig, letting her hop over to Harry and nuzzle his chest. "I love animals so much," Luna confided, looking shy and running her fingers through her hair. "I have since I was very small, and they've always seemed to come to me naturally. I suppose it's just something in my aura. The year Hagrid brought hippogriffs to class, I startled everyone by walking right up to mine and hugging him. He just lay down in the grass and let me pet him, and Hagrid was so impressed he gave thirty points to Ravenclaw. I… I haven't told very many people this, but… that's what I want to do after school. I want to take care of animals, and go on expeditions to discover new ones, like the Snorkack. I know there's much more prestigious things a Ravenclaw could do… like being an Unspeakable or a Lore-master… but I want a life where I do what makes me happy. And the expeditions… I want those because I want a taste of adventure and danger in my life; I want to show myself and others that I'm not afraid. I'm much tougher than I look."

I think you're much more everything than you look, thought Harry. "That sounds lovely, Luna. I think you'd be very good at that. Speaking of adventure and danger, um, I've thought I might like to… er… become an Auror."

Luna's eyes lit up. "An Auror?!" she exclaimed joyfully. "Oh, Harry, that's the bravest thing anyone could ever be! And so noble! Oh, you'd keep so many people safe, and you'd save lives, and… and… oh, I hope it comes true! Just be careful… I've heard the man who runs the Auror office right now is a vampire. Luckily, he's part of a clan that frowns upon the consumption of human blood, so he won't hurt you, but still, he could use his mind control on you!" Her oddness had come back, and Harry assumed this was another theory from The Quibbler, but by this point, he had decided the best way to interact with Luna Lovegood was to embrace her unpredictability.

"I just hope I'm fit to be one," Harry murmured, feeling a sense of doubt creeping into his chest. "Seeing Cedric's death was so unpleasant, and I know an Auror… well… they have to see something like that every week, sometimes every day. I have to wonder how many of them have breakdowns, or else end up a bit crazed like Mad-Eye Moody. I know you only knew the fake Moody, but I can assure you the real Moody is just like that. So I guess what I wonder the most is: am I strong enough?"

Luna tilted her head gleefully. "Of course you are, Harry Potter! Do I need to show you your scar all over again? You're going to be a great Auror!" Harry's stomach growled, and they both giggled. "Although right now," Luna finished, "I think you have a more pressing concern. Even Aurors need to eat, you know."

Harry frowned. Had he been sitting with Ron and Hermione, as he usually did, the food trolley would have already stopped by, but it had most likely bypassed this compartment because of the curtain over the window. Luna seemed to have anticipated this, however, because she was pulling a small basket out of her carry-on bag.

"I always bring some sandwiches and vegetables from home in case anybody wants to share a snack with me," she said, "but I'm usually alone, so I just end up bringing them up to my dorm room at night. I don't really like sweets that much – just a few here and there – and I don't eat meat because that's not nice to animals, but you can have anything in here you want. Everything here came straight from my garden – planted and grown by myself."

Harry wasn't sure what was in the sandwiches aside from lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and some sort of paste – he assumed they were some sort of wizard vegetables he'd never seen before. But from the first bite, he found it to be more delicious than he could have expected. I'll have to ask her what's in this later, he thought, gazing at Luna and noticing how, between bites, she was picking up carrots, celery sticks, and things Harry didn't even recognize and feeding them to Hedwig. "Ooh!" Luna exclaimed right after finishing a sandwich. "We're up in the northern part of England by now! I love the scenery on this part of the trip!"

Pointing eagerly out the window at the forests, lakes, and mountains passing by, Luna talked more rapidly and eagerly than she had since telling Harry about the Nargles and other assorted creatures. She was telling Harry all sorts of facts about the places they passed, frequently digressing into tales of her travels outside of England with her dad, but as Harry continued to eat, he found his mind drifting away from what she was saying. As Luna leaned her head against the window, the afternoon sun cast its light on her, and Harry noticed for the first time how soft and silky her hair looked despite its unruliness, how it wasn't just her mouth but her whole face that seemed to smile when she talked…

Harry seemed to have reached an epiphany. She's pretty, he thought. Or maybe I should say adorable, or cute, but I don't mean that in a belittling way. No, she's cute because she has this (literal, I might add) wide-eyed wonder about her – the kind most people lose as they get older. And she always finds something to keep herself upbeat. I could use someone like that in my life. In fact, you know what's most interesting? The girl I've been talking to is really pretty and that's not even the first thing I noticed about her. So what is this? Am I attracted to her now? But no, this isn't like a crush, because I had one of those on Cho last year, and it didn't feel like this. Cho being pretty was the first thing I noticed about her, and come to think of it, what else do I even know about her? But Luna… I've learned so much about her in only one day. Is this what it feels like to have an attraction that is more than a crush – to have a friend who might one day turn into something deeper? Or simply to have a friend who is a truly good person, inside and out, and who you just know you could tell anything to, because they'd trust and understand you and wouldn't judge you? God, as if Luna Lovegood isn't perplexing enough without feeling like this.

Bringing his focus back to Luna's monologue, Harry found that she was gesturing at a dense, dark forest in the distance and was talking about how many Plafferskytes, or something like that, had been sighted in it over the years. Once she had noticed that Harry and Hedwig had finished eating, Luna gathered the remaining food into her basket and placed it back in her bag. After a final glance at the cover of her Quibbler issue, she set that in her bag as well.

"Say, Harry," she asked politely, "I know you don't really want to talk about it… but I also know you don't like being called a liar… would you ever be willing to give Daddy an interview and tell him exactly what happened? If I told him you wanted to, he could come up to Hogsmeade to see you as soon as you wanted. He'd listen to anything you had to say; I know he would."

"I don't know," replied Harry. "I don't know if I'm ready to speak publicly about it all. And I hate to drag the Diggorys back into the spotlight while they're still grieving…" Silently, he also wondered whether having his story printed in The Quibbler would help or hurt his cause. "But I'll certainly think about it…" Harry suddenly realized that, for all Luna had to say about her father, there was another person she hadn't mentioned at all. "So, um, your mum," said Harry innocently, "what's she like?"

The smile left Luna's face instantly, replaced by a downcast look, and Luna turned her face to the window without speaking. Harry realized that this wasn't going to be the topic of casual conversation he thought it was.

"I'm not really sad anymore," Luna said in a weak tone. "Maybe I should be, but I think I'm at the point where I've accepted what happened. I've just had to tell this story so many times… When I was nine, two years before I came to Hogwarts, my mother killed herself."

Harry's heart sank into his stomach, and he could feel tears returning to his eyes. Luna, he thought, when you said "I know what your sort of pain is like"… this is what you meant. It was the most personal thing she had told him yet, and it hit him harder than anything else she had said. "Sh-She c-committed suicide?" he stuttered.

"No," said Luna, looking at Harry. "It wasn't intentional. Mum was a very talented potion-maker, and one day, there was an accident. She was making a particularly difficult potion, and she put something wrong in, and it blew up, and she was knocked to the floor. I ran over to her and tried to nudge her awake, because I thought she was just unconscious, but… it was too late. Nobody could have done anything. At least she didn't suffer… but she didn't know what was coming, so she never told me goodbye. That's what I was the saddest about for years." Harry choked back the cries that felt so close to the surface, and Luna herself had to pause for a moment to regain her composure.

"I learned so much about potions from her, even before I started Hogwarts," she continued. "Daddy at first didn't want me to continue making them after the accident, because he didn't want to lose me like he'd lost Mum. But he saw so much of her talent in me, and he saw how enthused I was about it, so he eventually gave me his support. Aside from Magical Creatures, Potions has always been my best class. Last year, we were working on something, and I decided to improvise a little bit, and Professor Snape stopped right in front of my cauldron and folded his arms and just stared blankly for a moment before saying 'Impressive, Ms. Lovegood,' and walking away."

In a brief moment of humor, Luna had pressed her nostrils together with her fingers to imitate Snape's nasal voice, and although Harry scowled briefly at the mention of his least favorite professor, he was nonetheless moved by the story. He had never known Snape to compliment anyone, let alone someone who wasn't from Slytherin, but he wasn't surprised that even Snape couldn't fail to be impressed by Luna. Well, how do you like that, Snape, he thought. For once, we actually agree on something. Still, Luna's face didn't seem to have regained its smile yet.

"Oh, but Harry," she said, "I'm so sorry. I'm so selfish. I've told you all these stories about my parents, and you don't even remember your own parents. My loss doesn't compare to yours."

"You're not selfish at all, Luna," replied Harry. "I could just as easily say mine doesn't compare. The only thing that hurts about my parents' death is that I never knew them. They were never there, like your mum was there when you grew up. I imagine it would hurt more to lose a parent you'd always known, to have all those childhood memories and suddenly the person in them is gone. That might be worse than having no memories, but I don't know. Neither option is happy, so neither one is really better, now is it?"

Harry sank back into his chair, feeling worse than he'd felt all day, and finally began to cry. Hedwig hopped over sympathetically, and Luna, who now had tears welling in her own eyes, stood up for the first time and walked around the table to Harry's side. "H-Harry?" she stammered. "No – please don't cry – please don't cry – "

The next thing Harry knew, Luna had squeezed into the seat next to him and was putting her arms around his shoulders and her cheek against his cheek. She gently stroked one hand through his hair while sliding the other up and down his back, and Harry responded by putting one hand around her waist and the other in her hair. It was indeed as silky as he had thought it would be, but this felt like a small sensation compared to everything else he was feeling at the moment. Harry had received many hugs in the last few years: bone-crushing ones from Hagrid, overly protective maternal ones from Mrs. Weasley, brotherly ones from Ron, sisterly ones from Hermione and Ginny (although Ginny's hugs hovered somewhere in the uncharted, awkward territory between "I'm sort of your sister" and "I'm sort of flirting with you")… None of them compared to Luna, who seemed to be pouring in every last bit of affection she had, only to replenish it with even more affection. She seemed to be hugging Harry with her soul as well as her body, and Harry felt positive that this would be his new go-to memory for when he needed to create a Patronus.

"We're very similar people, Harry Potter," Luna whispered into his ear. "We may not look like it from a distance, but we know what it's like to live in a dark place. But we also both know that there is life beyond the darkness. We've both been through pain – but the pain is not who we are. Beneath the scars, both visible and not, beneath the names other people give us, like 'Loony' and 'The Boy Who Lived', beneath all of that – we are just another two people looking to live our own lives. Mum always said that 'the things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end' – maybe they'll be in a different form than we remember them, but they'll still be there. You're not alone, Harry Potter."

That was everything I needed to hear, thought Harry as Luna parted from him and wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve. Harry wiped the tears from his cheeks as well, and looking out the window, he saw a beautiful sunset over a tranquil lake. "It's near dark," he said. "We must be getting closer to Hogwarts."

Reaching into his carry-on bag, Harry pulled out his folded Gryffindor robes; Luna, walking back over to her side of the table, had pulled out a similar set of folded Ravenclaw robes. Harry watched admiringly as she unfolded them, pulled her wand out of her hair, and slipped the robes on over her sweater, readjusting her hair after her head had popped out. Now that they were both standing, Harry could tell that she was slightly shorter than him. Putting his robes on over his clothes, he realized that his time with Luna was almost over. I always admire people who speak from the heart, she had said. Alright, Luna, let's see how you feel about this.

"Er… listen, Luna…" Harry began, as she turned to him, finally smiling again, "I just want to thank you for letting me spend the day with you. I didn't know you when I walked in, but I can't think of anybody else I would have rather been with today. And… well… there's just something about you… how kind you are… how insightful you are… I really feel like I've made a true friend today. And maybe, well… I don't know exactly what this is yet, but I want to see you again. I want to spend more time with you. I feel like I have so many things left to learn about you."

It was Luna's turn to blush now. "A friend?" she asked. "I'm your actual friend? Oh my goodness! Well, I… I… oh my, I feel like I have the Wrackspurts! But that can't be, because I'm wearing my earrings… I guess I'm just surprised. I mean, I felt we were connecting – I thought we had similar auras – but I didn't expect you to be my friend this quickly, if at all… Ooh! I know! I'm in Ravenclaw Tower, and you're in Gryffindor Tower!" Luna seemed to be calming down now, although Harry had personally thought her nervous yet excited demeanor had been rather adorable. She walked over to the table and caressed Hedwig again.

"If… if you ever need to talk about anything that's going on," Luna said, "or you just want to see me again, please send me a message, and Hedwig will take it straight to my dorm room, and I'll send you an instant reply. I… I said you weren't alone, and I meant it. I'm here for you."

"I promise to do just that," said Harry, as he began to feel a warmth in his forehead again. She left her mark there, he thought suddenly. She left her love to counteract Voldemort's hate. If Dumbledore will let me talk to him, I should definitely mention this.

Hedwig had now perched on Luna's shoulder and was nuzzling her again. "You want to see me again, too, don't you, Hedwig?" Luna asked sweetly, before resuming her singsong voice: "I think your owl quite fancies me! I think your owl quite fancies me!" Harry gulped, unsure at this point whether Luna was just teasing him or was actually suggesting steering the friendship into a different direction. I don't know if that's what I want yet, he thought. I only just met you today, Luna – but if anyone was daring enough to take a plunge like that, it'd probably be you, Ms. "I-want-to-show-myself-and-others-that-I'm-not-afraid." "Er, again…" he said, "I don't know what this is yet."

"Well," mused Luna, picking up her wand, slinging her bag over her shoulder and giving Hedwig one final pet on the head, "one thing I find nice about animals is how they live without pretense. On average, they figure out exactly how they feel about other animals much faster than it takes people to figure out exactly how they feel about other people. It'd be nice if people were different, but… well, we're also a bit more complex than animals, so we just need more time with each other, that's all. So if you like what you see in me, Mr. Potter, stick around awhile – and if you really like what you see… stick around even longer." Luna's voice had dropped to its most flirtatious tone yet, before rising back up: "You'll find what you're looking for in the end."

Luna walked away, but then paused at the door as if one final thing had crossed her mind. "You know," she told Harry, turning to face him, "I told you I ride alone because I don't have many friends, but this year… I think I was alone because I was waiting for you to find me." And with that, she unlocked the door, opened it, and walked out.

This is going to be a good year after all, Harry thought as he stood alone in the compartment. Luna Lovegood, I don't know what role you're going to play in my life, but you're going to be very important. Somehow I just know that. I'll never forget this day for as long as I live.

And he never did.