DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter
A/N: Two scenes where we get an insight of Luna's brilliant mind. The first is in her second year with Professor Lupin and the second is in her fifth year with Professor Snape, both in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Enjoy!
Gnomes and Names
"Miss Lovegood? Did you hear me? I said you need to -"
Luna interrupted Professor Lupin and said, "Yes, Professor, I heard you. I was just thinking about something that Daddy told me about gnomes. Did you know that their saliva is magical?"
Professor Lupin repressed a smile as he looked at Luna. He knew too well of her fathers crazy antics and had grown tired of contradicting her. "If you would kindly repeat what I just told the class, then?"
Luna sighed, ignoring the sniggering coming from her classmates, "The gnome is a common garden pest, most commonly found in Europe and North America. It can be easily confused and gotten rid of by swinging it in circles and throwing it out of your garden. Either that or you can use a Jarvey, which is a -"
"Yes, yes, thank you, Miss Lovegood. You obviously were paying attention," Professor Lupin cleared his throat and continued with the lesson, "The gnome is a highly mischievous creature, which reaches about a foot in height…"
Luna looked back at her textbook feeling smug, although she hid it. She wasn't a Ravenclaw for nothing, you know.
***
Luna sat at her desk in Defence Against the Dark Arts, listening attentively to Professor Snape's lecture on the effects of the Cruciatus Curse. She already knew how they affected the body: it was something Harry had taught them in the DA last year, but she knew that she had to take notes, otherwise she could very well end up in detention.
While Professor Snape had his back turned to the class as he wrote on the blackboard, a boy from her class turned to her and whispered, "Hey, Loony! What is it your father does again? Isn't he the editor of that dish rag you call the Quibbler?" He quietly laughed to himself, whilst Luna studiously ignored him. She knew that he was only jealous.
Beside her, however, Ginny Weasley sat up straight and angrily whispered, "In case you've forgotten, it was her fathers magazine that told everyone the truth about You-Know-Who last year. I definitely remember seeing you with a copy. And don't you dare call Luna 'Loony'! If you so much as even consider calling Luna names then I'll hex you without even thinking of the -"
"Fascinating though your whispered conversation is, Miss Weasley, I must ask you not to hold it in my class." Ginny's face paled behind her freckles and she looked up to see Professor Snape glaring down at her, arms folded and tapping his toe on the wood-panelled floor.
"It's alright, Professor. She was just standing up for me," Luna told him, vaguely. He looked down at her, his lip curling as it so often did when someone tried to interfere. He wasn't even going to try to argue with her: she would only give him nonsense that she and her father believed in. He exhaled through his nose and went back to the front of the class to continue with their lesson.
A/N: Yes, I am aware that Luna would probably never feel smug and Severus would never tap his toe, even in impatience, but hey! It's just a story.
Let me know how it was.
Fresh Water Plimpy =]