Knowledge

When she dances, the world stops for a moment to let her breathe.

She knows she's not alone. Not by a long shot. There's life everywhere. If only people know where to look for it, then things would be so much better.

She stops spinning for a moment when a flash of red goes by. It's Ronald Weasley on his broom, practicing. She watches him for a moment.

He reminds her of a firefly she had seen once. It had spun around her endlessly as she tried to cup it in her hands. Her mother had taken her aside when she had fled, crying because she couldn't hold it.

"You don't hold light, love," her mother said softly, smoothing her hair.

"But it's pretty, mama, I want to keep it!" she had wailed, pressing her face into her mothers soft skirt.

"You don't hold light, my lovely little moon. It's not meant to be held - it's meant to shine for everyone to see. Just like you, my moonshade," her mother smiled, kissing her forehead and turning her towards the door.

"What do I with the light, if I ever do catch it, mama?" she had pressed.

"Spread it. There are people who need it more than you or I."

She skips over the rolling hills and low fields of Hogwarts. No one ever comes to the back part of Hogwarts, where the darkest part of the Forbidden Forest menaced at the edges. Darkness seems to spill into the grass, and the eerie noises of strange creatures ebb from it. Luna, however, finds it all rather interesting. She runs over to it. Some think that she's oblivious to the danger, but she's not.

It's simply worth the risk. What's the point of being here if we only survive? Luna knows the difference between living and surviving. Knowledge is a key to life; her mum always taught her that.

Luna peers into the Forest, silvery eyes flashing. Maybe, just maybe, she'll see a heliopath today. Or a nargle. She watches silently; fae come and dance upon her silver head, giggling as they brush tiny hands over her long, thin eyelashes. The creatures of the Forest love her as one of their own. Even the Centaurs will dare not touch her when she makes her way around. Luna's something different, something sacred to the Forest.

She doesn't know it. But she is.

Her Housemates mock her all the time. They consider her a disgrace to her house. She doesn't wrap herself in the aloofness that is Ravenclaw. She doesn't consider herself better because she's intelligent. She's not even proud of her own intelligence.

Why?

Luna prizes knowledge. Knowledge is the air, the food that she eats, the juice she drinks, the clothes that she dons every day. It's important. But not the most important thing.

She's always been different. Her father has plain brown hair, wavy and thick. Her mother had long, silky black hair, which hung in obsidian sheets down her back. Luna had hated her hair as a child.

"It's so light, mama!" she sobbed, rubbing her eyes.

"Your hair is beautiful, Aiko," her mother murmured. Luna cracked a watery smile.

"Aiko is Japanese for little one!" she said proudly. Luna's mother smiled.

"Yes, pet, that's why your middle name is Aiko. That was my mother's name." She hugged her pale little daughter. "Your hair is beautiful, Luna Aiko."

"But I want hair like yours, mama!"

"Your hair is unique, Luna. That's why we called you Luna. As beautiful as the moonlight, and as insightful. The moon, you see, watches everything. And it bathes everything in its soft light, making everything more elegant."

Luna, determined to prove her point, pointed out that her hair was dry and limp. Her mother merely smiled and whispered in her ear.

"There is beauty in everything, my little moon. You simply have to choose to look for it."

And Luna does see it. She sees it in Harry's eyes when they're sparkling. She hears it in little Professor Flitwick's laugh when he's telling her a joke. She sees it in the elegance of Professor Snape's hands as he concocts another elaborate potion.

She sees the beauty in everything. And she shares it.

Oh, Luna knows that knowledge is power. Knowledge is the threads of life - it gives us meaning. All good Ravenclaws know this.

Ravenclaws are intelligent. Ravenclaws are witty. Ravenclaws are logical. Ravenclaws know better.

But not Luna. Why?

Because Luna knows this : Knowledge may be the threads of life, but something else entirely weaves these threads together and give it meaning. Knowledge is the shape, the size, the words, the idea.

But faith is the color, the shading, the music, the heart.

"Mama, why is the sky blue?" Luna asked, twirling around in circles. Her mother was puttering around in her garden. She explained the science of it all, and why the sky was blue.

"Mama, why are some roses red, and some white, and some pink?" she asked, jumping up and down. Her mother put down her shovel and explained the genetic science behind the flowers.

"Mama, why do you love me?" she asked, swinging onto a bench and lying upside down. Her mother stopped for a moment and looked at her.

"Why do you ask that, love?" her mother queried, tilting her head until it was sideways.

"Because in order to understand, we must first know," chimed Luna, shaking her head from side to side.

Luna's mother smiled. "Your grandmother told you that, didn't she?" she laughed. Luna nodded, rather proud of herself.

Her mother knelt down and gently bumped her nose against Luna's. "Do you really believe that?" Luna scrunched her nose, thinking, then nodded. Her mother laughed again.

"Then know this, little one : I love you because I love you. People love to complicate things, twist ideas and turn facts. I love you, and that's the tall and short of it. You're my Luna, and always will be."

She turns to leave; whereever the heliopaths are hiding, they're not coming out tonight. She hops around the edge of the forest, laughing when she falls over and lands in a soft patch of grass. The fae continue to whoosh around her, and all she can do is laugh.

She eventually gets up and wanders to the lake, removing her well-worn socks and shoes and running around the banks. The fish swim around her feet, and she giggles at the ticklish sensation they leave. She spots flowers growing on the banks a few yards away, and she wades over, the edge of her knee-length skirt soaked.

It's lilies, her favorite flowers. She picks a few, puts her hair in a bun, and sticks the flowers in, so their stems come out and form a strange crown on her head. She picks a few more and makes her way back to where she started from.

Her shoes and socks are gone. She shrugs and skips up the banks, enjoying the grass between her small toes. She breathes in the scent of the lilies and smiles.

She was crying and screaming. How could her mama be dead? Hadn't she promised that she would always be there? It wasn't fair. Her mama couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be.

"Let it go, Aiko," a voice chimed. Luna looked up, her cheeks raw from brushing away tears. "Mama? Mama? MAMA?!" she shrieked. She had heard her mama talk to her, she knew she had!

"I am still here," the voice chimed again, and Luna realized that it was inside her head.

"Mama, why did you leave us?" she sobbed, the tears beginning to flow again. "How could you leave us?"

"Life takes us where it wills, my little moon," her mother's voice whispered, smothering Luna's choking breaths. "It was time for me to go, but only for a little while."

"When will you come back, mama?" Luna whispered, hoping that somehow, she would return to her.

"I'm never really gone, Luna love," the voice said, and Luna could almost see her mother's soft, beautiful smile. "I am always with you. I will be there when you start school. I will be there when you finish. I will be there when you fall in love for the first time, when you walk down the aisle. Remember, little moon, that I love you, and I always will."

"I love you too, mama," cried Luna, and sobbed herself to sleep. But at heart, she was peace, because she knew that mama was right; she would always carry her memory in her heart.

"I'll make you proud, mama," she whispered before she fell asleep. And she did just that.

She makes her way back to the school, still slightly damp, a fistful of lilies in each hand. She whistles as she wanders around the school, enjoying herself immensely as her feet take her on a new adventure.

"Hey, Luna," calls a soft voice from a windowsill. She looks up, and it's her friend, Harry Potter. It's unusual for her to have one friend, let alone several, but she takes it in stride. Harry's just Harry, even if he has that scar.

"I got something for you," she says dreamily, holding up the fistful of flowers. Harry's eyes start a little, but he takes the flowers and thanks her for it. They talk for a moment, and then Luna turns to go.

"Hey, Luna?" calls Harry hesitantly. Luna turns back towards him. He smiles bashfully, and asks her if she wants to come with him and his friends when they go to Hogsmeade next week. Luna understands; Harry's having a hard time of it lately, and he needs to talk. And Luna loves to talk, and listen. It's all very fascinating, what you can learn about someone just by watching how they talk and listen. She accepts with a smile, and they go their separate ways.

Luna walks into her Common Room. Her housemates give her exasperated looks; it might be the radish earrings, or the lily crown, or the fact she's barefoot. The knowing grins between two of her dorm mates lets her know where to look for her shoes.

But really, she doesn't care. Her housemates might be embarrassed by her lack of sophistication, and the school may look down upon her for her oddities. She's the most unRavenclaw Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw who doesn't surround herself in books and knowledge.

But Luna knows something they don't. Luna knows better. And she always will.

She knows that knowledge is power, but faith is everything.