Luna filed out of the Hogwarts Express with the black-robed students, carefully keeping her head down to remain inconspicuous. Her eyes adjusted to the faint light outside and she looked around, still hardly believing where she was.
The cobbled road she was standing on and the carriages all around wiped the doubts in her mind away. The loud voices around her filled the dimly-lit square as people clambered onto the horseless carriages with their friends. It was already dusk, and the sun was fully out of sight as the stars and moon emerged into the darkening sky.
Luna snuck onto an empty carriage at the back of the group and seated herself. She knew the carriages weren’t really horse-less; they were pulled by invisible creatures called thestrals. Her hand slowly groped in the air until she found the silky mane of the thestral, feeling it respond with an invisible little nudge.
A noise drew her attention away from the thestral, and she watched as a boy close to her age climbed into her carriage, glancing around as if to make sure no one was watching. He finally looked up and yelped, finding her staring at him.
“Ah! — uh, I mean… Do you mind if I sit here? The other carriages are all full,” said the boy. The other carriages didn’t look full at all, but Luna’s carriage was the only lonely-looking one. She nodded without speaking, trying to seem antisocial and untalkative. “Thanks!” He grinned and sat down.
Luna recognized him as the popular boy who had been surrounded by people back on the train. He had pale, light brown hair with bangs that nearly covered his eyes. With a closer look, his eyes were a striking grey, and with his long eyelashes, clear skin, prominent features, and lean physique, he looked good enough to be mistaken for an idol singer or dancer. No wonder he was so popular. But why wasn’t he sitting with all his friends? With the way he ducked down to avoid being seen, it almost seemed like he was avoiding someone. Or perhaps they were about to hit a low tree branch and he didn’t think it was necessary to warn her. She would’ve felt that on the back of her head though, so that probably wasn’t it.
While she was busy pondering the reason, the carriages started moving, and Luna realised she’d been petting the thestral absentmindedly.
“What are you doing?” asked the boy. It must’ve looked really peculiar — like she was petting thin air.
“Petting the thestrals.”
“Thestrals?” He didn’t look convinced.
“Why don’t you try and pet them?” Luna scooted over to let him sit in the front and watched as a surprised expression appeared on his face as his hand reached the thestral’s mane.
“Woah!” he said. “But why can’t I see them?”
“I can’t see them either,” said Luna. It would be too hard to explain it to him, and she shouldn’t be talking to him anyway.
“Hey…” said the boy. He gave her a questioning look. “Why are you still wearing Muggle clothes?”
Luna said nothing and just kept petting the thestrals.
“If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But I’m just saying, you might get in trouble for that.”
She felt him study her face, so she turned away.
“By the way, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What’s your name? I’m Luka Lee,” said the boy.
Luna ignored him again.
“You don’t want to tell me that, either?” He tilted his head. “Okay. I’ll just have to make up a nickname for you then.”
“What.”
“What?” Luka blinked at her, then shrugged. “If you won’t tell me your name, I have to make up something to call you by.”
“Fine! My name is Luna,” she finally said.
“Like Professor Lovegood,” said Luka.
Luna thought for a moment. Luna Lovegood, one of her favourite characters in Harry Potter, must’ve become a teacher at Hogwarts. She wondered what class she might be teaching, with Lovegood’s reputation for believing in bizarre things.
“Your name is awfully similar to Professor Lovegood’s,” said Luka. Luna thought that would’ve been quite obvious and questioned this boy’s intelligence level. “Why don’t I call you Lune instead? It means “moon” in French.”
“A code name. Sure.” Perhaps she won’t get found out too soon if he didn’t call her by her actual name.
“More like a nickname,” Luka said. “What’s your surname?”
“...Yue,” answered Luna.
“I don’t think I know anyone named Luna Yue,” he said.
“Well maybe that’s because you popular people don’t pay nobodies like me any attention,” said Luna.
“Or maybe it’s because you don’t go to Hogwarts.” He tilted his head at her. “You aren’t supposed to be here, are you?”
Luna stopped. Perhaps he wasn’t an idiot after all.
She looked at him, and he grinned, put a finger to his mouth, and winked — an action that made him seem even more like a young celebrity. “Don’t worry,” said Luka. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Luna hoped he was telling the truth. If he told the teachers about her, she would surely get sent away within the day. But why would Luka help her?
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Fourteen.”
“Woah, we’re the same age,” said Luka.
“Hmmm…” was her only response.
“Actually, I didn’t know it was possible to sneak into Hogwarts. The school and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters are both enchanted with O-ranked concealment and anti-Muggle charms.” He looked deep in thought. “Are you not a Muggle then? But then why didn’t you get accepted into Hogwarts? Even T-ranked witches and wizards can get in.” He looked at her with his hand clapped over his mouth. “Are you… even lower than a T-rank?”
Luna wanted to ask him what in the world O-ranks and T-ranks were, but she never got the chance. The carriages had stopped in front of Hogwarts, and they hadn’t even realised.
She heard herself gasp awestruck at the enormous and grand castle that was in front of her, on the highest part of the cliff surrounded by a huge, obsidian lake. The stars in the midnight-blue sky were reflected in the still surface of the lake, making the castle look like it was surrounded by the night sky on all sides. It looked even more magnificent than the movies had depicted it.
She and Luka exited the carriage, Luna still staring at Hogwarts, feeling like she was in a dream. Luka was immediately swept away by a group of girls who linked their arms around his and hurried him into the school. Luna thought she saw a frown flash across his face, but he was gone with a tiny wave and a “Good luck.”
She entered the huge entrance hall at the end of the crowd of students. Thanks to her dark-coloured clothing, no one recognized that she was not wearing wizard robes. However, her plan started to fall apart as everyone filed into the Great Hall and sat down at their House tables. Designated long tables for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. But what if she didn’t have a house? She started to panic as her eyes flitted to the four tables, trying to make a quick decision. Surely if she sat down at any of the tables, they would recognize her as an intruder right away? Perhaps she could follow Luka to his table? But she couldn’t find him in the mob of students they were in. She shouldn’t hang around someone as popular as him anyway.
Her brain completely failed her on deciding what to do, and after every last student had sat down, she was the only person left standing in the middle of the massive room.
“You — why aren’t you dressed in your wizarding robes?” said someone from the raised table in the front of the room.
Luna glanced up and regretted it instantly. Although the candles that were seemingly floating through the night sky were beautiful, they couldn’t distract her from the eyes of everyone in the Great Hall staring at her, including the professors.
“Wait…” the headmistress stood up and strode over to her, her robes flowing with the movement. “Who are you? How did you get into Hogwarts?”
Luna looked up into the woman’s stern face, her strict eyes peering through square spectacles. “P-professor McGonagall?” she whispered, eyes going wide.
“What did you say? Speak up!” Professor McGonagall looked around the Great Hall. “Follow me.” She turned to the other teachers. “Proceed with the Sorting Ceremony in my absence.” Then, she strode through one of the doors leading away from the room with Luna following behind, feeling terrified.
The headmistress walked so quickly that Luna had to jog slightly to keep up, and when they finally stopped, they were in what seemed to be a teacher’s office. Professor McGonagall sat down behind the large desk in the centre of the room, and Luna quickly sat down in one of the chairs set down in front.
“You’re not one of our students,” said Professor McGonagall. “Why don’t you tell me how you got into Hogwarts and what you’re doing here.” The look in her eyes was enough to make anyone regret any decision they made to get into this situation, but strangely enough, Luna felt no regret in finding the wizarding world.
“I — I came with the other students on the Hogwarts Express… and I just wanted to see if Hogwarts, wizards, and magic were real,” she answered.
“A Muggle,” Professor McGonagall said in a slightly confused voice. “But then how did you get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?”
“I… found it…”
“This is absurd,” said the headmistress. “The platform — and the school, especially — are protected with Muggle-repelling charms. A Muggle couldn’t have possibly — So how in the world did you find us?”
“Perhaps she’s not a Muggle,” a voice said, just as the room dropped to a chilling temperature. Luna spun around and saw an eerie blue figure float through the wall and into the room.
“A ghost!” Luna exclaimed, her eyes wide. The transparent ghost was an elegant young woman with a sad-looking face. Luna guessed that she was the Grey Lady. She bowed her head slightly and left again as if she was just passing by.
“A Muggle who can see a ghost?” Professor McGonagall muttered.
Perhaps she really wasn’t a Muggle! Luna’s hopes soared from the ditch they were in, from fearing getting kicked out of Hogwarts so soon. Muggles weren’t able to see ghosts and dementors, so perhaps…
“But then why weren’t you accepted into Hogwarts in the first place?” the headmistress interrupted her hopeful thoughts. “Are your parents Muggles?” she asked Luna.
She nodded. No one had believed her when she told them about the wizarding world. How shocked would they be if they knew she was in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
“C-could I stay at Hogwarts, by any chance?” Luna asked slowly.
Professor McGonagall studied her through her spectacles. “We’ll have to see. We will have you try on the Sorting Hat after the first years.” She stood up and started walking out of the room. “Perhaps the Sorting Hat somehow made a mistake…”
When Professor McGonagall led Luna back to the Great Hall, the Sorting Ceremony was nearly over. She had obviously missed the Sorting Hat’s famous introduction song, and there were only a handful of little first years waiting to be sorted.
A teacher that Luna couldn’t identify finished calling the last few names, and after the newly-sorted students hurried off to their different tables, Professor McGonagall strode up to the Sorting Hat with Luna right behind her. The person holding the hat gave Professor McGonagall a questioning look, but she nodded and had Luna sit on the stool.
The sorting hat was just as old and musty as she’d expected it to be, but it looked slightly different from the props they’d used in the movies.
“What is your name?” Professor McGonagall asked.
“L-luna Yue,” she replied in a small voice.
She was more grateful than ever when the Sorting Hat fell over her eyes and blocked the view of the entire school staring at her. Everyone must’ve been wondering why a fourteen-year-old in Muggle clothing was being sorted out of the blue. She fidgeted, waiting to hear the tiny voice the books had described, but after a while, it was clear the hat hadn’t muttered a word. Steadily growing anxious, Luna thought desperately, Please, please, please tell me I’m not a Muggle.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Oh, you’re not a Muggle.”
What was that? She’d definitely heard a voice. And it sounded like it was right inside of her ears.
Then… What am I? Why wasn’t I accepted into Hogwarts? she tried asking.
“I don’t know,” answered the hat.
Luna swallowed. Am I… supposed to attend Hogwarts?
“That seems right,” came the voice.
Relief flooded through her. She was a witch — she’s not a Muggle — she can stay at Hogwarts! But the Sorting Hat didn’t seem to be sorting her into a House.
What House am I supposed to be in?
A pause, and then, “I’m not sure.”
Luna’s new hopes came crashing back down at the Sorting Hat’s words. The magical, all-knowing hat of Godric Gryffindor wasn’t sure where to put her. What if she ended up not being sorted at all? What if the Sorting Hat doesn’t say anything, and they throw her out of Hogwarts? — What if the Sorting Hat was listening to all those thoughts and ended up putting her in Slytherin?
“Oh, I’m listening.”
Luna froze, afraid to think any more thoughts.
“But it’s all right, I won’t judge — actually, I will. That is the whole point of my job.”
Please don’t put me into Slytherin! Luna thought hurriedly.
“I wasn’t going to, even though you’re quite tempted to prove yourself,” said the hat.
Luna sighed with relief. Then where are you going to put me?
“Well… you’re quite daring sometimes, aren’t you?”
Luna thought for a moment. She had always thought she wasn’t brave at all, but she supposed sneaking into a magical school full of witches and wizards was pretty brave of her.
“Extremely smart as well… I see how you managed to find Hogwarts.”
Luna wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered or not.
“Hmmm… Ah, I think I’ve got it. Hope you enjoy your time in HUFFLEPUFF!”
As the hat was finally lifted from her head, Luna realised she’d been sitting on the stool in front of the whole school for nearly five minutes. No one was clapping like when the first year students got sorted. Everyone around her just seemed to have a confused look on their faces. Then, someone from the Hufflepuffs’ table started clapping in the silence — it was Luka. Then, the staff clapped as well, and soon the Great Hall was filled with applause.
“Looks like it was a mistake after all,” said Professor McGonagall quietly.
Happiness filled Luna up as she walked toward the Hufflepuffs’ table until she felt like she was going to burst into fireworks and sunbeams. She walked towards Luka, who had scooted over and gestured to her, and sat down.
He laughed at the big smile that seemed to be permanently stuck onto her face. “I knew you weren’t a Muggle,” he said.
“Welcome, everyone, to another wonderful year at Hogwarts!” said Professor McGonagall. “Let the feast begin!”
Luna’s face lit up as the empty golden plates on the table suddenly filled with all the delicious food she had ever craved. Platters of roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, and bowls of gravy and ketchup on the large table made Luna’s stomach growl with hunger. She quickly jumped up with her plate and got some of everything that made her mouth water.
She began stuffing her face with the food as the other Hufflepuffs at the table started talking.
“Do you think we’ll be able to win the House Cup this year?” an older student was saying.
“I’m not sure,” someone else replied. “It’s only been Gryffindor and Slytherin for the past ten years.”
Luna paused in her chewing and frowned, overhearing their conversation.
“Hufflepuff hasn’t won the House Cup in forty years!”
At this, Luna nearly spat out her mouthful of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. She turned to Luka, who was talking with his large group of friends. Even girls from the other Houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and even one or two Slytherins had gathered around him. He was probably fifty times more popular than the popular kids in Luna’s old Muggle school.. She was about to tap him on the shoulder, but seeing all the admirers around him, she retracted her hand and changed her mind. However, he saw her movement out of the corner of his eye.
“What is it?” he asked, eating a piece of bacon and steak.
“Oh, uh — Is it true that Hufflepuff hasn’t won the House Cup in forty years?” said Luna.
“Oh. Yes, that’s right…” Luka frowned. “I wonder when our losing streak will finally end. Anyhow, you must be happy that you’ll be able to stay at Hogwarts.”
“I am! It’s the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me!” said Luna, biting into a roast chicken leg.
“I don’t think anyone’s ever joined in their third year before — we’ve never had any new students.”
“Wait… third year?” Luna said in confusion.
“Yeah,” he said.
“But — aren’t we supposed to be in our fourth year?”
“Oh.” Luka had a look of realisation on his face. “You mean like in Harry Potter?”
“You read it?” she asked.
“Er — no.” He lowered his voice. “Those books are banned in the wizarding world.”
Luna blinked in surprise.
“But, anyway,” he said before she could say anything, “After Harry Potter was published and got famous, all the wizarding schools changed it so you enter Hogwarts at twelve and graduate at eighteen.”
She looked at him with a shocked expression, trying to process the information.
Luka shrugged. “It’s become normal now.”
A moment later, after she’d run that through her befuddled brain and convinced herself that it wasn’t that strange, she shook her head and turned back to him.
“By the way,” said Luna. “Before, when you were interrogating me —”
“ I wouldn’t say I was interrogating you — but go on.”
“ — What are the O-ranks and T-ranks you were talking about?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” said Luka.
Luna shook her head while dipping her fries in ketchup.
“In the wizarding world, everyone is ranked by how powerful they are,” he explained. “The highest rank is O. Then, it’s E, A, P, D, and the lowest is T. There’s a ranking in the school too, for each year.” He took a bite of roast potatoes. “Spells are more powerful if a more powerful wizard casts it. So, if an O-rank wizard casts a spell, it’s considered an O-rank spell.”
“Huh…” Luna wondered why she’d never read about this ranking system before.
“McGonagall and most of the professors are E-rank, and there are very, very few O-rank wizards and witches,” said Luka.
“Was Dumbledore an O-rank wizard?” asked Luna.
“This ranking system wasn’t used back then,” he answered. “But yes, he would’ve been. A pretty powerful O-rank.”
So that was why she’d never read about something like this in the Harry Potter book series. The rankings must have been around for a while though, for the school to use it as well. The wizarding world truly changed a whole lot since the time of Harry Potter, and she wondered if it was due to the book’s release into the Muggle world. Perhaps she wouldn’t even recognize some parts of the changing world.
Another fear was starting to settle inside her heart, paranoia linked to the new rankings. If she could now attend classes at Hogwarts, that meant she would also be ranked. Because there is probably a hierarchy of ranking among the students, if she ranked badly — which she probably would, considering she’d just found the wizarding world while others had been learning for years — she would be treated very poorly.
“Has Hufflepuff not been winning the House Cup because we don’t have a lot of high-ranked people?” Luna asked, still praying for a close to average ranking in the future.
“Er… yes,” said Luka. “I suppose.”
Luna finished her pork chops and reached for the ladle of a delicious-looking soup that was presented inside of a cauldron.
The girl sitting on the other side of her suddenly reached over in front of her with a piece of steak on her fork.
“Luka~” she called. The girl looked about a year older than Luna, and she was very pretty, with wavy brunette hair and light brown eyes. “Here, open up~” Luna had to duck out of the way to avoid the hand.
Luka’s face didn’t show it, but as he looked at the food aiming for his mouth, Luna thought his eyes looked quite irritated.
“No thanks, Maia,” he said with a grin. “I can feed myself.”
The girl started to retract her hand, so Luna slowly got up. But just as she was almost seated upright, the hand shot back toward Luka, and she narrowly missed getting skewered on the fork along with the steak again.
“Are you sure~?” Maia insisted.
“Yes.”
The girl frowned, an expression that looked rather like a pout, and finally turned away.
Luna got back up, looked around her warily, and started eating again.
“Do you get that a lot?” she asked Luka, out of earshot of Maia.
He sighed. “Yes… I don’t even know most of my friends very well.” He rested his head on his arm, which was propped up on the table.
Luna patted him on the shoulder. “Honestly, that sounds exhausting.” She picked up a roast potato that was on her plate and imitated Maia. “I can’t imagine having people all around you going, ‘Open up~’” She twirled the potato in front of his face to demonstrate — and Luka swiftly ate the roast potato.
“Hey! I was going to eat that!” Luna exclaimed, looking at her bare fork, which was definitely missing a potato.
“You can always get another one,” said Luka, his cheeks puffed up as he chewed.
“And that was my fork!” said Luna.
“I didn’t touch it,” he said, smirking. At that moment, he looked awfully similar to the male lead in a drama she’d watched.
She lightly hit him on the arm with her oversized sleeve.
He pretended to look hurt. “You’re the one who put it in front of my face.”
Luna rolled her eyes and turned back to her food.
“Fine fine fine. You can have one of mine.” Luka speared a potato on his fork and held it out to her.
She smacked him with her sleeve again and he burst into laughter, with the look of a very mischievous person. But, she started to feel the weight of the rankings lift from her fears in the back of her mind.
After a while, the food was replaced with dessert, and although Luna had forgotten to save some room for sweets, she still ate mountains of ice cream, apple pies, treacle tarts, and all sorts of delicious pastries.
When Luna had finally finished eating and felt as if she couldn’t move anymore, with so much food in her stomach, Professor McGonagall stood up and flicked her wand, making a loud ringing noise that got everyone’s attention and caused the Great Hall to fall silent.
“I hope you all enjoyed the feast,” she said with a smile on her usually stern face. “Now, I have a few start-of-term reminders. No students are permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest. It is called the “Forbidden Forest” for a reason. In addition to that, you are not to use magic outside of your classes, lest you want to be punished by Mr Filch.” She gestured to an unpleasant-looking man who looked quite similar to the books’ description. “Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of school, and if you are interested, please contact Mr Dixon before the trials. As a reminder to first year students, you are not allowed to try out for the Quidditch teams. The student rankings will be posted next to the hourglass marking the House points starting from next week, when the challenges will begin.” She paused, then said, “I know you are all very full and ready to go to your warm, comfortable beds, but I have one last announcement to make.” Everyone was silent. “The Triwizard Tournament will be held this year, and Hogwarts will be holding it.” Gasps broke out across the hall. Even the sleepiest person would’ve become wide awake after that announcement. “We will be hosting Beauxbatons and Ilvermorny, and the details will be posted on your House bulletin boards. I hope you all get a good night’s rest and work hard in your classes tomorrow, as only the top students of each year can participate in the Tournament!”
The prefects of each House began rounding up the students, especially the first years. But before Luna could follow, Professor McGonagall called her over to the front of the room.
“Come to my office before breakfast tomorrow, and we will discuss your schedule and supplies. The password is ‘phoenix’,” the headmistress said.
Luna nodded in understanding and followed the group of Hufflepuffs heading to the Hufflepuff common rooms.
Instead of going upwards like Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, they headed downstairs. Slytherin also went down, but in a different direction and much lower. Luna tried to remember the path, but with the number of secret corridors and illusioned walls they went through, it was impossible to tell the direction in such a fascinating place, especially with a full stomach. They passed the kitchens and stopped in front of an ordinary-looking stack of huge barrels.
Luna watched in interest as the prefect showed the first years how to open the entrance to the common room by tapping on certain barrels with a wand in the rhythm of “Helga Hufflepuff”. They also warned them that doing it incorrectly would result in a very unpleasant punishment of vinegar sprayed into your face. Once the entrance was unlocked, everyone was led into an extremely cosy and nature-filled room. Lamps lit up the whole room, and a fireplace was built into the wall on the opposite side. The circular room was full of yellow armchairs, couches, pillows, and wooden desks. Plants grew in niches in the walls, and baskets of flowers hung from the ceiling. The circle ceiling seemed to be enchanted with the same spell as the ceiling of the Great Hall, causing it to look like the walls faded seamlessly into the outside sky. At the moment, the ceiling was full of stars, and a crescent of the moon could be seen in the corner. Luna felt, looking around the room, that she could get used to spending the entire day in the common room. She didn’t understand why the author of Harry Potter didn’t include a description of such a beautiful common room.
The boys were led through a door on the left, and Luna and the girls entered a hallway through the door on the right. The hallway led to many rooms labelled “first years”, “second years”, “third years”, and so on. Luna went into the third years’ dormitory with five other girls, and the wooden door revealed six, comfortable four-poster beds, each with yellow drapes and a nightstand.
Luna smiled gratefully, seeing that they’d added an additional bed for her, which must have been the one with no luggage. She waved at the unfamiliar girls who would become her roommates. Perhaps it was just her imagination because she was so sleepy, but they ignored her and seemed to give her frosty looks. Too tired to think about it, she took off her jacket and socks, pulled the curtains shut around her bed, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the soft pillow.