Love is in the air at Fanbase Press! In this magical month of romance and enchantment, the Fanbase Press Staff and Contributors decided to stop and smell the roses. Throughout the week of Valentine’s Day, a few members of the Fanbase Press crew will be sharing their personal love letters to the areas of geekdom they adore the most.

[The following first appeared as a Letter to the Editor in The Quibbler, February 13th, 2000]

Dear Mr. Xenophilius Lovegood, Editor of The Quibbler,

I would like to submit an article about the most amazing person to ever attend Hogwarts, Luna Lovegood. As Luna is your daughter, I am hoping you will look favorably on this unsolicited submission and publish it in the next release of The Quibbler, which should arrive by Owl Post in time for everyone (and Luna, especially!) to read it in celebration of Valentine’s Day and her birthday the day before.

I first saw Luna on the Hogwart’s Express, on my way to start my first year at the best school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the whole world (Hogwarts, of course). I was so nervous. Would I fit in? I was sure people would think I was kind of strange. But, then, there was Luna (sitting with Harry Potter!) proudly wearing the most amazing and creative jewelry, like her Butterbeer cork necklace and Dirigible Plum earrings. I immediately went out and got my own Quibbler issue with Spectrespecs, so I could look just like her. I even tried to make my own hat to support the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, with an actual flapping bird, but mine flew away and wouldn’t come back.

I was so very excited to get sorted into Ravenclaw, which, of course, was also Luna’s house. “Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure!” Luna was the smartest person I ever knew at Hogwarts, a truly amazing representative of Rowena Ravenclaw’s ideals of wit, learning, and wisdom. Luna knew all about Blibbering Humdingers, Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Nargles, Wrackspurts, and Gulping Plimpies…way more than most of the teachers at Hogwarts did, in fact. I’ve even heard she could produce a Patronus (some kind of rabbit, I think, so both amazing and adorable!) and could see Thestrals.

Not very many people know that I also tried out to be the Quidditch match commentator the same year that Luna did. I was super sad not to be picked, but I didn’t feel bad for too long, because Luna was amazing at it! It was so lovely to get some commentary on the weather while the match was going on.

Luna was more than just a super smart (and fashionable!) student when she was at Hogwarts. She was also amazingly brave. Of course, everyone now knows that Luna was a member of Dumbledore’s Army and learned Defense Against the Dark Arts from Harry Potter himself. (I wished I’d been able to be in the DA, but I guess as a First Year student I was too young.) Luna fought alongside Harry Potter against actual Death Eaters in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.

And, of course, she and Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley (who were awfully nice people, as well) were the leaders of the resistance against Headmaster Snape and the horrible teachers who ran the school after Lord Voldemort (shudder!) took over everything. That was an awful year at school. I don’t think I would have made it through it without Luna’s encouragement and advice. She could always see the silver lining in the most horrible situations. I wish I could have stayed and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts like she did, but, once again, I suppose I was too young.

I sometimes heard people calling her “Loony” Lovegood, which I didn’t think was very nice. I think people thought she was a little odd because she was never shy about saying what she believed in, even when no one else understood her. I personally never doubted Harry Potter’s story that Lord Voldemort (shudder!) was back, because Luna told everyone she believed him, even though that was a super unpopular thing to do.

Luna is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. She has inspired me to study hard, to always be on the lookout for amazing creatures, and to be the bravest member of Ravenclaw house I can be. Because of her, I strive to be unfailingly honest and kind to everyone, even when they’re not very kind to me.  And, like Luna, I always keep a copy of The Quibbler with me!

Sincerely,
Dorothea (Dottie) Farnsworth
Fourth Year Student at Hogwarts
President and Founder of the Luna Lovegood Fan Club