A/N: So, this is a little drabble-y ficlet that I wrote half of years ago and decided to finish up and post. Luna is one of my favorite characters from Harry Potter and I wanted to show her a little love with this little introspective into her character. It's not much of anything, mostly just a fun little character analysis for myself. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! ~Mac

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Kill'em With Kindness

There was that age old adage: "kill your enemies with kindness." While she never deliberately chose that as her motto, it was something that she lived by. So, when people called her looney, or snickered behind her back, or stole her things, or mocked her openly—she didn't bat an eye. She ignored the taunts and teases and was kind to every person she met.

Something that Luna Lovegood knew was that if she let someone knock her down to their level, the only thing she was sacrificing was herself. She knew quite well who she was and what her worth was. She was far more than most people gave her credit for. Even if no one saw it, she did and honestly, that mattered the most.

Luna was as smart as any other Ravenclaw, even if her view of the world was a little skewed. She was as brave as any Gryffindor, even if she wasn't quite as outspoken. She was as ambitious as a Slytherin, even if she relied more on dedication than cunning. And she was as patient as a Hufflepuff, even if she was constantly tested. Yet, the smartest people had moments when they felt stupid. The bravest of them all still experienced fear. The most ambitious could feel like failures. Even the most patient could reach their limits. That was the thing when it came down to it. Everyone was always so focused on differences—on the things that separated everyone else from them—when at the heart, people were often more alike than they were different.

Luna knew there were people that thought she was odd, thought she was strange, thought she was looney. But that was not a problem with her, that was a problem with how other people saw the world. Because when she looked at people, she could see them as vague, singularly traited versions of themselves. She could see them by the things she found to be odd, strange or crazy. She could judge them for how they were different. She chose not to. It wasn't hard to do so. Luna saw everyone as a kindred spirit.

Everyone had felt the rain drenched heaviness of sadness. Everyone had felt the soaring lightness of joy. Everyone had felt the adrenaline induced, heart pounding, stomach flipping, smile unleashing dizziness of excitement. Everyone had felt the spine chilling, breath stealing, iron fist of fear. Everyone had felt all these things at one time or another—same as her.

If people were all the same this way, if everyone was capable of feeling this immense spectrum of emotions, then how could any of the rest matter in the grander scheme of things?

If a person was happy, comfortable, at peace, what did it matter how they achieved it? Whether it was by earning high marks, by reading every written word one could get their hands on, by flying on a broomstick in a game both invigorating and dangerous, by playing ridiculous pranks, or by searching for Crumple Horned Snorkacks, it was something to be celebrated not mocked. Because all emotion was temporary and how easy the world could be succumbed to darkness.

When it came to a decision between cruelty and kindness, Luna chose kindness always. She had felt the raw sting from the lash of scorn enough times to know that she knew she never wanted to be the one to inflict that pain on another. She would never be the one to steal another person's joy from them. Dazzling moments of intense euphoria were already rare and fleeting enough as it was. There were enough people spreading hatred and fear and vile things into the world. Even if it was too small a thing to make a difference, Luna chose to spread as much light and happiness as was in her power to do. She acted in kindness and mercy, to friend or foe, ally or stranger, because everyone deserved that small respect same as her, even if she never received the same in return. Because that was the rule she lived by and she was never going to sacrifice who she was in the face of someone who didn't know their own worth, let alone hers.

If that made her odd or strange or looney, then Luna was more than fine with that. In fact, she was quite content; that was one small joy that no one was going to steal from her as hard as they might try.