A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, written for a personal response in my English class. Italicized are direct quotes from If- by Rudyard Kipling. Enjoy!

She Ran

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – May 2, 1998

In the distance, the battle cries of both friend and foe could be heard echoing around the halls of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters had finally infiltrated the walls of the school and all around her lay the debris of crumbling statues and infrastructure. It had been a prolonged sprint from the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor and now she lay panting on the third floor near the girl's bathroom on her way to the Great Hall where she knew most students would be trying to take refuge in. It had been a long time since Luna Lovegood had needed to run at the pace she was running at. The last time was when her housemates decided to prank her in class and made all her outerwear disappear to her eternal embarrassment back in her fourth year. Now, it was her seventh year and she was running for an entirely different reason: to try and get as many of her younger schoolmates to safety as possible.

It had taken Luna two years to reach the amount of confidence that she now had in her abilities as a witch and as she rested before continuing on her way towards the Great Hall, many memories came back from her early Hogwarts days when she was friendless and made fun of on a daily basis.

"I must be strong," she thought, "after all, who is going to save those children who must be more terrified than I was when I was a prisoner at Malfoy Manor? I mean, if Harry Potter believes in me and Daddy believes in me, why shouldn't I believe in myself?"

And at that moment, if anyone else was to look into her eyes, they would have seen a change from the unfocused mask that was often on her face morph into one that was rarely seen, if at all: the face of an intelligent young woman with clarity of mind, her wits about her, and courage, not usually seen within the members of the house of the wise.

The Rookery, Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, U.K. – December 24, 1990

With tears streaming down her face, a nine year old Luna watched as the small workshop that her Mum used to create spells was completely annihilated by swirling blue flames with her mother still inside. Her Daddy was away on one of his Crumple-Horned Snorkack hunting trips in the remote parts of Sweden and he was due to come back tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with Luna and her Mum. It was not to be any sort of celebration.

When Xenophilius Lovegood apparated back to his small but cosy home in Devon, he immediately noticed the apparent vacancy of his home, but upon closer inspection, he noticed his precious Luna laying alone in the snow with no outerwear and his wife nowhere to be seen. He immediately rushed outside and picked up Luna, who was luckily still alive, but then he noticed the charred remains of his wife's workshop. With a heavy heart he approached the remains and to his horror, he saw a ring and necklace on the ground; his ring and necklace that were gifts to his wife. At that, Xenophilius dropped to the ground and wept for his lost love.

The Rookery, Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, U.K. – August 31, 1992

Today was the day before she left for her first day of Hogwarts. Luna was incredibly excited and still packing her belongings but in the back of her mind, she mourned the fact that her Mum would not be at Platform 9 ¾ with her to send her off. As she finished closing the clasp for her trunk, her Daddy walked into her room and asked to talk with her.

"Luna, are you ready for Hogwarts?" Xenophilius asked.

"I have all of my belongings packed and ready to go Daddy!" Luna replied.

With a sigh, Xenophilius wrapped his arm around Luna and began to speak. "Luna, before you go I have a little bit of advice that I want to give to you. My Daddy once read me a poem about becoming the best person I can be and I believe that a couple of those verses are well suited for you to hear. If you can dream – and not make dreams your master, meaning that if you have any times when you are feeling sad because you remember Mum in dreams or otherwise, please remember to write. I know that you have changed a lot because of the loss of your Mum but you are not alone in this world. You have me and you will also have lots of friends to keep you company. I know that many people in this world believe that we have gone round the twist with our beliefs in what they assume are imaginary things. If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, means that you should not let the opinions of other bring you down. I believe that you will become a fantastic witch and if you remember that, I'm sure you will have a much happier time at school."

Luna smiled and exclaimed, "Thanks Daddy! I will try to keep those words with me all the time and I'll be sure to owl you frequently."

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – September 8, 1992

Luna was lying in her bed with the curtains drawn crying softly into her pillow. Her first week had been awful with none of her new housemates willing to look at her much less talk to her. She was homesick and felt all alone in the world. She had no friends. She had no one. Even as she tried to think of happier thoughts and her Daddy's advice, she could not take all of her Daddy's words to heart. It was just too hard. Slowly but surely, Luna retreated further and further into herself, putting up a mask of being loony and spaced out all the time.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – March 23, 1996

It was four years since she started at Hogwarts and four years since she put up her mask of being barmy and weird. Luna was once again sitting outside by the Black Lake watching the sun set. She had just finished her homework and although it seemed like she just wanted to spend some time alone, she actually wanted someone, anyone, to come and acknowledge her existence as someone other than the school lunatic. She wanted a friend. It was not the first time by any margin that she wished for this and she was quite sure that it would not be the last. To her utter astonishment, she heard the very two words that she wished for.

"Hi, Luna," Harry said, "how are you doing?"

"Hi, Harry! What are you doing here? Where are Ron and Hermione?" Luna asked in her dreamy voice.

"Oh, I just finished with my Quidditch practice and wanted to spend some time by myself listening to the waves to try to relax, but seeing you here is a pleasant surprise. Hermione is in the common room helping Ron with his Potions essay. Would you mind if I joined you?" Harry asked.

"Not at all! I was actually hoping someone would acknowledge me with my actual name and having some company would be lovely." Luna cried.

"I'm glad to be able to spend time with a friend." Harry said with a smile.

"A-a-a friend?" Luna asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

"Of course! You have never made fun of me nor treated me differently for being the ridiculous "Chosen One" and although everyone thinks you are barmy and dumb, I believe the complete opposite. I will admit that I do think that you are – different – but you are certainly not dumb. In fact, I believe that you are just as smart if not more so than Hermione!" Harry exclaimed.

"How could you possibly think that, Harry? I mean Hermione is always the top of her class and she just knows so much. How could you think that I am as smart as her?" Luna asked, her insecurities starting to leak out of her mask.

"Although Hermione is incredibly intelligent, her intelligence is almost completely book based. I know that you are also very book-smart but you also have wit – seen in your columns in the Quibbler – and logic as well." Harry answered.

"Do you really believe that?" Luna asked.

"Yes I do. I also believe that you don't give yourself enough credit. I've seen what your housemates have done to you and I intend to stop them from hiding your belongings. It is cowardly and I hate cowards." Harry said.

With a bit of hesitation in her voice, Luna asked, "Do you think I am a coward?"

"Of course you are not a coward, Luna! In fact, you are one of the bravest people I know! To be able to stand up for the Quibbler when people speak badly of it even if you become the new target for the insults and not trying to lash out at everyone who is mean to you is something that even I couldn't do! Don't you ever believe that, Luna!" Harry exclaimed with passion and honesty shining in his eyes.

"Thanks, Harry. Knowing that I have a friend is something that makes me much happier. Knowing that both you and Daddy believe in me is something that I will treasure in my heart forever. I will not take your trust for granted and I promise to hold my head up high." Luna said with conviction.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – May 2, 1998

With the many memories that shaped her to be whom she was once again fresh within the confines of her mind giving her a deep inner strength, Luna got up and started running towards the fray with a renewed sense of vigour. She ran with the loss of a loved one in her mind: something she did not want any of her schoolmates to experience. She ran with her experience of being bullied in her mind: an experience that she strived to prevent from her schoolmates, thus becoming a goal she wanted to live for. She ran with the confidence imbued within her by her Daddy and Harry's belief in her: unafraid of what may be to come, unafraid of what may come to be.