Loony Lovegood

We first meet Luna Lovegood in The Order of the Phoenix, where she comes off a bit awkward. She reads a magazine upside-down and she talks with a quirky accent. We soon realize that Luna is not innocent little girl she is made out to be. The first thing we see is the fact that she can defend herself against the death eaters when her, Neville, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry go to the Ministry of Magic. We then see the friendship between Harry and Luna blossom in the beginning of The Half-Blood Prince. She helps explain why Harry can now see the thestrals, because she too has seen death as her mother died when she was a baby. This empathy for Luna only helps Harry's likeness for Luna grow stronger. 

Rowling also explains through Luna’s character the facts of growing up. At the end of The Order of the Phoenix Harry finds Luna posting signs for missing things of hers, but Luna isn’t upset or distraught. She knows that people make fun of her but chooses to be more mature than other people and let them have their fun. She simply says that because the term is ending, that she needs her stuff back. This tells us that people are likely to pick on us from time to time, but we (the reader) should know that is just the way people are and that we should let people have their fun. As long as their jokes are not hurting us in any way, why not?