The House Challenge Year 12
Practice Round: Creating Our Own Imagination
House: Hufflepuff
Class: DADA
Prompts: [Option 2]- OC and [Character] Luna Lovegood
Word Count: 794 (G-Docs)
Warnings: verbal Bullying
Summary: Starr knows she is different, but she thinks her best friend Luna might be too.
Note: I'm calling Autism a disability because this is MY personal experience as a person on the spectrum.
Starr was sitting alone in the library when her best friend, a Ravenclaw a year older than her, came over to join her. "Mind if I sit with you? I just came in to grab a book, but you kept glancing up from your work. I thought you might feel lonely."
She smiled. "Of course, Luna. You know I always love to have your company. What book were you picking up?"
Luna sat down in the chair across from her. She held up a novel, clearly old but in almost pristine condition, so Starr could see the cover. "It's called the Lord of the Rings. I just finished reading The Fellowship of the Ring so now I'm planning to read the Two Towers."
Starr reached out a hand to take the book, so Luna handed it to her. "I've heard of The Lord of the Rings. It's by a muggle author."
Luna nodded. "I suppose he's a muggle. I did find it in the Muggle Studies section of the library. Not many people check things out from there. But it is a really good book. The hobbits are precious."
As they were speaking, a Slytherin student walked past their table. "What's a hobbit, Looney? Another one of your stupid, non-existent creatures?"
Luna did not take the bait. "It's like a little person, I suppose. But smaller, and more elvish. But not an elf."
The Slytherin shook his head in disbelief. "What a lunatic."
"Some magical creatures are considered non-existent by muggles," Starr muttered. But it was said loud enough that the Slytherin heard it.
"You're just as looney. Why don't you go back to your own galaxy, Starr."
Starr shrunk in on herself, thinking she should have just kept her mouth shut.
Luna, in turn, opened her book and began reading, ignoring the Slytherin behind her.
When neither of the two gave them any attention, the Slytherin eventually slunk away with a dramatic grumble.
Starr sighed as she watched the Slytherin leave the library. "I wish I had the same confidence in myself that you have."
Luna smiled. "It takes practice. That doesn't mean I don't feel sad when people treat me unkindly though. I just try to move past it. And if I don't react, they grow bored."
After a moment of quiet thought, Starr voiced a comment that had been floating around her head for ages. "You're like me, aren't you?"
"I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean," she answered. "I do think we are quite similar in many ways though. That's why it is so easy for us to be friends."
Starr was certain that Luna must be autistic like her. She did have a knack for honing in on others with the disability, ever since she'd been diagnosed. Sure, everyone on the spectrum was different, but in many ways, they were the same. Passion, communication differences, minimal friendships, and a craving for routine were so common and she shared all of those things with Luna.
But of course, growing up a witch, Luna was likely not familiar with autism in the way she was.
"Oh. I guess because you grew up knowing you're a witch you might not know. I'm Autistic. And I think you might be, too."
"What is Autistic?" Luna asked.
"I don't know how to explain it, really. The full name is Autism Spectrum Disorder. It's a disability." Trying to explain Autism to someone who'd never heard of it was a lot more difficult than she had anticipated. All this time, for her, autism was something that just was.
She started again. "My autism is why I have a hard time making friends. It's why I'm easily startled, easily distracted, and sensitive to my surroundings." She took a deep breath. "I know I'm different. And I know other people can sense it too, even if they can't explain why."
Luna pondered this. "I suppose I could be Autistic. It's hard to know without being told that I am."
Starr sighed. "Yeah."
"But it's okay. That's why we have each other. We can be different together. My mother used to say, being different just shows that you're not afraid to be yourself."
Starr smiled. "My mum still says being different makes life less boring."
Luna beamed and offered her a hand across the table. Starr reached for it. Autistic or not, Luna was her friend, her ally, her supporter through all the weird and crazy of the magical world.
Luna gave her hand a squeeze. "I like your mum. She sounds like she must have a beautiful soul like you."
Starr smiled to herself, feeling much better. She was thankful to have Luna as her friend, as she was just as beautiful a soul as any other.
