Over the course of the insanely long Harry Potter book and film series, the character of Harry Potter himself has undergone a pretty intense transformation. He went from a lonely, isolated, and rejected young boy to a heroic young man who had a small world of people who loved him. And one of those people who he developed a strong relationship with was Luna Lovegood.
Luna was one of the oddest birds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but she eventually came out of her shell and formed relationships with quite a few people around her. And while it seems like Harry was one of her first and closest friends, these are 10 reasons why her friendship with Harry wasn’t real.
Because She Sees Harry As A Person, And He Doesn’t Notice
One of the most astounding aspects of Luna Lovegood as a character is her ability to see people exactly as they are. Harry can appreciate Luna’s friendship on some levels, but something he completely overlooks is that she never looks at him as “the boy who lived”.
He can’t even say that about Ron and Hermione, but Luna is someone who always appreciated Harry for Harry, and unfortunately that distinction is something that Harry himself never seemed to notice.
Because She’s A Better Friend Than He Is
Harry deserves credit where it’s due, because he does have a lot more on his plate than any kid his age should ever have to cope with, and he copes with it pretty well.
But as a result of that pressure, he tends to be a bit more self-absorbed than a lot of the people around him, and that applies to his “second-class” friends in particular. Harry and Luna aren’t real friends because Luna’s feelings about their relationship are clearly much stronger than his are.
Because Harry Doesn’t Quite Get Luna
Harry might like Luna quite a bit, and he’s a better friend to her than most, but one of the most glaring reasons why their friendship seems to be so superficial is because Harry just doesn’t understand Luna.
He sort of accepts her for who she is, but he can’t relate to her and he doesn’t have as much faith in her as he should. Yes, her ideas are often off the wall, but she is often proven right.
Because Luna Trusts Him More
To be fair, Luna is probably a far more trusting person in general than Harry is, and for good reason. She hasn’t been burned nearly as much as Harry has in his life, and she tends to be more optimistic than he is anyways.
However, Luna’s knowledge and insights are very easy for Harry to write off, because everyone else has a tendency to write her off, but she’s exceptionally knowledgeable and intuitive, and he’d be better off if he had more trust in her.
Because Luna Doesn’t Play Favorites
Luna Lovegood’s friend group is pretty small, but she is extremely egalitarian when it comes to how she treats her friends. She does have a lot of admiration and care for Harry, and he may be one of the first friends she’s even ever had, but she doesn’t put him on a pedestal above the rest either.
She treats Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville as if they’re Harry’s equals in her mind, and while she’s Harry’s friend she’s not going to prioritize him over her other friends.
Because Harry Does Play Favorites
Harry actually does have a lot of friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Luna Lovegood is undeniably one of his better friends, but unlike her, he does favor some of his friends over others.
Obviously his relationships with Ron and Hermione take precedence over any other relationships that he has, and that is a way in which Luna and Harry are fundamentally different. For Luna, having best friends isn’t a priority, but for Harry it really is.
Because She Believed In What He Was About, Not Him
Luna is one of the very few students at Hogwarts, if not one of the very few people in the entire wizarding world, who doesn’t seem to revere or revile Harry simply because he’s the boy who lived.
She has a good amount of faith in him as a person, but it seems like she was more drawn to Harry Potter because he represented ideals that she believed in as opposed to being drawn to Harry’s mission because of Harry.
Because Luna Was There For Him More
This isn’t necessarily a drag on Harry, because he rarely experienced a time in life where he didn’t have a lot to deal with. However, it’s clear that Luna Lovegood never even came close to being on his list of priorities.
She didn’t necessarily need to be in most instances, but it says a lot that Luna was literally abducted and imprisoned by Death Eaters and Harry wasn’t even aware of it. It’s not his job to save everyone in the world, but clearly Luna was taken because of a connection to Harry, so it would have been nice if he’d noticed.
Because She Didn’t Leave Hogwarts
On the flip side of that, Luna never made Harry a huge priority either. Yes, she was a decent friend to him when being a friend was easy, but when the rubber met the road she didn’t want to upend her life to help fight for his.
That is a huge ask of any friend, so she’s not a bad person for staying in her normal life and not leaving Hogwarts with him, but there is a clear division between his ride or die friends and Luna in this instance.
Because She Wasn’t In The Golden Trio
Luna and Harry did have a good relationship in many ways, but she will never be one of his truest friends for the obvious reasons.
If you asked anyone in the world who Harry Potter’s friends are, they’re going to say Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. There’s a reason that the three of them are known as “the golden trio”. Harry has other acquaintances and he has nice relationships with other people, but nothing is ever going to come close to his real friendships.
