Luna Lovegood, age five, was supremely satisfied. She and her mummy had spent the whole morning baking cookies, according to her great-great-grandmother's secret recipe, and with a touch of Mummy's special brand of spellwork, they had come out simply scrumptious. Luna, despite being a tender five years old, was well aware of the significance of today's events. Mummy had trusted her, Luna, with Great-Great-Grandmum's secret cookie recipe! This was an important milestone in the life of young Luna, and she knew it.
Luna Lovegood, age seven, was somewhat bemused. She and Ginevra had been playing Snorkacks and Nargles quite happily and had even invited Ginevra's older brother Ronald to play with them, but something about the game seemed to strike a nerve with young Ronald, and he had stormed off. Ginevra and Luna had giggled a bit but continued their game until Mrs. Weasley, with Ronald tagging along behind, had hurried Luna off and told Ginevra to hurry in for dinner. It seemed that the Weasleys ate dinner at four o'clock in the afternoon. Luna had wandered home, not even vaguely hungry, and now sat gazing at the wall while her mother muttered about narrow-minded cronies of that old coot.
Luna Lovegood, age nine, was grieving. In her own nine-year-old way, she felt the loss of her mother more deeply than even her father ever could. Her father tried to understand, but her mother had been her partner in crime, had commiserated when things were hard and shared Luna's joy when all was well. Who could fill those empty shoes now? Mrs. Weasley had brought treacle tart and fudge, but all the sweets had tasted powdery and bland -- not that that was a comment on Mrs. Weasley's formidable cooking skills, but there was not a pudding in the world that could fill the hole in Luna's heart.
Luna Lovegood, age eleven, was serene. While she still felt a pang in her heart that her mother could not be at Kings' Cross to see Luna off to Hogwarts, Luna felt confident in the knowledge that she would follow in her mother's footsteps and continue the work that had literally consumed her. Perhaps, she even dared to hope, one day when she was all grown up, she would bring her father back. Physically, of course, her father had never left, but ever since Mummy had died, Father had been...lacking. She would fix him. Perhaps she, Luna Lovegood, would never save the world, but she would save her Daddy.
Luna Lovegood, age fourteen, was resigned. Every year was the same. She knew they wanted to make her angry, making off with her things, but she also knew that the girls themselves were not entirely to blame. The nargles were such insidious little creatures, so pervasive particularly in the dorms. Why Hogwarts was practically a breeding ground! So Luna could hardly blame her housemates for falling afoul of these nasty little things. All the same, Luna Lovegood silently sighed. She knew, deep down, that the nargles were not entirely to blame.
Luna Lovegood, age thirty-seven, was very nearly content with life. A successful career, a happy if somewhat scattered family, and not a nargle to be found. Most unfortunately, the crumple-horned snorkack was similarly elusive. Luna sighed. If only she could find a single exemplar of that magnificent creature, life would be complete. Still, she mused, where would be the fun in that?