Harry Potter ships

Lunamione (Luna/Hermione)

2023 Opinion

Before I start, I will state that Luna and Hermione are my two favourite characters in the Harry Potter series, so I am trying to be fair to both of them.

Hermione and Luna don't have much in common, but the traits they do share are their love of intelligence, learning and bravery. Luna is a Ravenclaw (like me!), and while Hermione isn't, she values similar things — as long as bravery and friendship come first (she is a Gryffindor, after all).

Although they have very different belief systems, this might actually help their relationship. Hermione would learn to be less narrow-minded and judgemental, and Luna may become more focused. Luna would help Hermione appreciate the smaller things in life while still being able to hold an intellectual and/or philosophical conversation.

Maybe after the war, Luna is exactly what Hermione needs. Yes, she seems odd and nonsensical, but one thing Hermione learnt through the course of the story is that magic works in mysterious ways. Things aren't always as they seem. She acknowledges this herself in the Deathly Hallows because, despite her former beliefs, the three hallows do exist, and not just in fairytales.

However — and I'm sure you all could sense the but coming — I am still not entirely convinced that this would be a happy, healthy dynamic. Despite all the positives I mentioned above, I still have several concerns. Firstly, I think Luna's nonsensical communication style would infuriate Hermione, who clearly shows that she needs to know exactly what is going on. She's all for constructive conversation and even arguments, and Luna is not the type to engage in this. Hermione would feel as though she can't get through to Luna, and might even feel that she's not being listened to. Hermione needs someone who makes her feel heard.

Secondly, while it's possible that Hermione would grow to appreciate Luna's quirks, it is certainly not guaranteed, especially given Hermione's stubbornness and inflexible personality. Luna is much more open-minded, but yet she's still inflexible too; she clings to her conspiracy theories and refuses to stray from them even with indisputable evidence to the contrary. This is something that a lot of the fandom ignores in favour of a fanon characterisation of Luna who is 'actually seeing what's going on and has extra magical powers.' Two inflexible know-it-alls together never goes well, and I know that from experience.

Secondly, despite their shared interests in learning, they really don't have that much in common. Even the topics they like to learn about are wildly different: Hermione researches logical and practices things (such as arithmancy or advanced spell work) whereas Luna is much more interested in magical creatures. Luna is also very creative, a trait that Hermione does not have nor appreciate.

Also, Luna absolutely hates Hermione's self-righteousness and tendency to always think she's right...as well as her love of forcefully pushing her beliefs onto others. We see this very, very clearly in canon. Heck, two of the three times Luna becomes angry are because Hermione treats her like she's an idiot. She does not enjoy the condescending way Hermione speaks to her, even after they become friends. I don't believe this would change in a romantic relationship. In fact, we can assume it'd be heightened.

Lastly, as much as I love Hermione, she can be ruthless. I mean, she set a teacher's cloak on fire when she was eleven, despite the fact that a simpler, safer distraction would have sufficed. She later kept a woman in a jar for an entire year (and didn't treat her very during it) and blackmailed her. In her fifth year, she permanently cursed Marietta's face to spell 'sneak' simply because she could...even though the damage was already done and doing so didn't help the matter. She could be brutal, clearly. Luna is the gentlest character in the series, treating everyone with kindness even when they don't deserve it. I do not think she'd approve of this part of Hermione.

Anyway, I clearly do not ship this.

Rating: 3/10.