The days leading up to her departure passed quickly, and Luna is both saddened and relieved that she spends so little time with her old friends as she sits in her carriage on the Hogwarts Express. She had grown accustomed to solitude during her years in the mountains. Also, the constant bickering between various members of the Order of the Phoenix over her was tiring.

Most members were satisfied that she was back, and only wished her to be "safe," or ill-informed, in Hogwarts. Molly led the charge, interrupting any discussions involving Death Eaters, her newly discovered power, or her future outside of teaching at the school. Most of the arguments arose from Ginny, who despised her mother's stance on the issue. She, Remus, Tonks, and the others of Luna's generation were inclined to believe that more information meant better protection.

Neville, one of Luna's dearest friends since the Battle of Hogwarts, refused to take sides. Instead, he made it his personal duty to reintroduce her to all of her favorite places in wizarding London--Diagon Alley, Shell Cottage and homes of other Order members, and even one tearful trip to her father's now empty home. Xenophilius Lovegood had met his (uncharacteristically) quiet end a few years before, and although Luna now owned the property and all of his possessions, it had all remained untouched since his burial. Even the Quibbler was silent, an especially sensitive loss to the wizarding world considering its fondly remembered contributions during the war.

Neville had, in fact, neglected his own preparation for the school year. Luna was eternally grateful for the attention he showered upon her, but she began to worry immediately for his intentions. Of course, she knew that he had no clear intentions yet, but judging by what she felt from him, she knew before he did that they were not long in coming. She'd always had a special affinity for the bumbling-but-brave Gryffindor, and she had even entertained the idea of seeing him more often after the fall of Voldemort (especially considering his astonishing display of courage in killing Nagini--Luna freely admitted to herself that she was just as enamored by it as every other girl who now fawned over him). But, as she began her Auror training and he became Professor Sprout's apprentice, she resigned herself to the fact that they were quickly growing apart in the physical realm if not romantically.

Luna muses over these thoughts as the train begins to move. She gives one last wave to Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron as they watch from the platform. The growing length between the train and her friends feels like the last seven years feel to her, separating her from everything she once knew, and bringing her only to places once familiar but now totally foreign. The Order headquarters, Harry's godfather's home and now his, is only the same to her in memory. The Order itself is only familiar on the surface; some members remain, but there are many new faces, and even her friends are not the same. She expected this in some ways, perhaps, but to actually feel the differences is entirely different. To walk the same cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley but to see different shops, to open the door to her family's home but to see it dusty and neglected, to visit Shell Cottage but to see Dobby's grave overgrown and played upon by strange, laughing children--

Luna dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief just as the carriage door opens and three students tumble in. They don't notice her at first, so busy they are with their heavy luggage and conversation. They stop as she stands to help them, a bit surprised. "Oh, sorry, there's no others open. Do you still have room?" one of the boys asks her.

"Certainly, I'm by myself. Or, I was." She smiles, which seems to relieve them. The lone girl in the group accepts her help, then asks, "Are you a seventh year?" Her voice trembles a little.

"No, I'm Lu--Professor Lovegood." She uses her title for the first time, the word not quite fitting as it passes her lips. "I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year."