Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter Universe and I make no money off this this.
Pandora, Luna's mother, was usually in the garden. She loved working with the earth; planting all different kinds of plants, herbs, and flowers. She especially loved experimenting with her garden. Creating new flowers and new plants was one of Pandora's favorite hobbies. Luna liked to follow her mother around the garden, especially when her father was busy with work related things.
Occasionally while the two would work in the garden a wild animal or two would happen by. Mostly Luna and Pandora were visited by rabbits. There was a family of them living nearby and Luna enjoyed playing with them; she even took to drawing them. Pandora was very supportive of her daughter's drawings. Luna then began drawing many rabbit filled pictures for her mother. During this time Luna went through a phase of wanting to be a rabbit. That's when Pandora began to call Luna, 'Rabbit'. The name stuck.
After seeing her mother die, Xenophilius took Luna on a trip to hunt for Snorkacks. Luna drew a rabbit picture for her mother every night while she was away. Xenophilius hung them up all over the walls of his room when they got home. He had never used the nickname but rabbits became something of a sacred animal to them in the wake of Pandora's death.
Luna still continued to garden but she didn't have quite the knack for creating hybrid flowers as her mother did. One day while in the garden Luna noticed a small red-haired girl chasing after a rabbit. The rabbit hopped into the garden and the girl followed. The girl stopped when she saw Luna. The girl's pale yellow summer dress was covered with dirt, her red hair was falling out of her braid, and her flushed face clashed terribly with her hair. The red-haired girl seemed to be scrutinizing Luna before she broke into a wide grin.
"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley." the girl said sticking out her hand.
"I'm Luna Lovegood," Luna replied while shaking Ginny's hand. "Why were you chasing that rabbit?" she asked. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"My brothers said I couldn't play a game with the because I was too slow. I told them I was not! They said, 'Prove it! Catch that rabbit!' so I started chasing it." Ginny shrugged her shoulders while Luna smiled.
"I quite like rabbits." Luna softly said. Both girls watched the rabbit sniff at a cross between a daisy and a violet.
"What's that?" Ginny asked curiously. She moved forward to examine the strange flower, rabbit forgotten.
"My mother used to experiment with flowers. I'm not as good as she was." Luna explained while Ginny moved on to poke a rather disastrous attempt of Luna's to cross a sunflower and a tulip.
"It's not all bad. This one smells lovely." Ginny said pointing to a mostly successful cross between a rose and a lily.
"Thank you. That particular kind was Mum's favorite." Luna replied softly feeling a sudden ache in her heart. Ginny looked at her curiously before a look of blazing determination set on her face.
"Could you show me how to care for one? My mum quite enjoys gardening, I'm sure she'd love to have some of these." Ginny asked while studying Luna's face intently. Just then the forgotten rabbit hopped into Luna's line of sight and turned to look at her; as if it too was waiting for her answer.
"I would love to give you some." Luna said with a small smile. Ginny smiled brightly and Luna's own smile grew automatically in response. Luna helped Ginny gather some of the flowers and told her the best ways to care for them. The rabbit began to chew on some plants while Ginny followed Luna around the garden asking about the various flowers and if they had names.
"Here you go. So, will you be taking the rabbit home with you then?" Luna asked as she handed the bouquet to Ginny. Ginny blinked and looked over at the rabbit.
"Oh. I'd completely forgotten about that." Ginny stared at the rabbit for a bit then glanced at Luna. After a few moments of looking at Luna out of the corner of her eyes Ginny's gaze focused on the rabbit once more. That same determined look settled on her face as before.
"Actually, I think I'll leave the rabbit with you. I'm sure you'll appreciate it more than my stupid brothers. Thank you for the flowers, Luna. You should stop by my house sometime. It's just through the woods a bit that way, not too far at all." Ginny said with a vague hand gesture towards the woods she had emerged from earlier. Luna smiled at Ginny and tilted her head. One of the stray pieces of hair from Ginny's braid was curling in the wind and tickling her nose. Ginny wrinkled her nose before swatting at the strand while Luna felt a warmth fill her chest. She had never had a friend her age before and Ginny seemed rather nice.
"Hm, I'd have to ask Dad, but that sounds fun. You should chase rabbits into my garden more often." Luna finally declared once Ginny had forcefully tucked her hair behind her ear. Ginny looked at Luna oddly for a few moments before chuckling.
"I'll see what I can do." Ginny smiled brightly before leaving. Luna watched until Ginny had disappeared into the trees and turned to the rabbit.
"Thank you, Mum." Luna said before petting the rabbit. Luna then picked a few more flowers before going inside to tell her father about her new friend.