This one stems from me feeling impatient with how many people overlook Luna - even in their stories - for the other five. I have a lot of respect for the other five, don't get me wrong, but Luna has a special place in my heart and I want her to be recognized. I don't own anything.
Harry was the Chosen One. He was the leader of their trio, unquestionably, and the famous one. Everyone knew about him, whether they liked him or not. He was the one marked as either the symbol or the opponent. Even though there were two candidates, even Voldemort chose Harry as his foe, marked him as his equal. He was chosen. And even if he might not have chosen it himself, even if he disliked the attention, he still had it. He was still The One.
Hermione was the smart one. She was the one who raised her hand in class, always had the answers, the one who dreamed up the strategies. She was smart, there was no denying that. She came up with good plans, and, if she didn't know everything about everything, she knew something about almost everything. She was famous for her brain.
Ron might not have had a title, might have felt overshadowed by his brothers and his friends, but he was there, too, in the thick of it, and just as respected as Harry and Hermione, even if he didn't know it. Respected for his strength, and his daring, and his loyalty, and his willingness to do anything for his friends. And his name came right after Harry's – because somehow, you couldn't say their names any other way.
Neville was the second Harry. Though he had always grown up hearing about his failures, and weaknesses, and how he wasn't worth it – possibly even more damaging than what Harry's relatives did to him as a child – when the occasion came, he rose to it. He worked hard, and he spoke out, and he found his voice and his strength. He was the leader of Dumbledore's Army, and respected by everyone in the school – even the Death Eaters and the Slytherins, loath as they might be to admit it.
Ginny had always been noticeable. Never having to face the standards of the Weasleys before her, because she was a girl, she was known for her beauty, her sharp tongue, and the temper which was as hot as her flaming red hair. She was the one all the girls wanted to be, and all the boys wanted to be with, before and during the Carrows' reign at Hogwarts. She was smart, funny, and beautiful. She had it all.
But what was with the sixth member? Though just as important as the other five, she was never seen so. She had no title, no recognition, except perhaps for the odd one.
The only one not in Gryffindor, the only one never to be acknowledged for her courage. And yet, possibly the most courageous of all, the one who stood up for herself and never backed down after years of taunts, bullies, and the nickname that everyone, everyone uses – Loony. The one who survived the death of a mother she loved – loves – and the one who still takes care of her father. The one who faced just as much as the others did during her sixth year at Hogwarts, and yet gets so little recognition for it. The one who loves unconditionally, and yearns to be loved in return.
The one who, as smart as Hermione, never mentioned it, and was never noticed for it. The one who survived months in the basement of Malfoy Manner, survived torture and starvation and punishment for something she had not done, and yet was not noticed because she had not been in the thick of the action. The one who saved Mr. Ollivander's life – or at least sanity – and received no plaudits from anyone else who received wands from him later on.
The world owes her so much, but it has given her so little. No plaudits, no title, not even the love she has always craved. So please, join me now in raising your glass to the less-loved, less-noticed, less-honored, but no less important, Luna Lovegood.
