As any fan of the Harry Potter series will know, Luna Lovegood was the loyal and incredibly quirky Ravenclaw student who was first introduced to Harry and his friends at the beginning of The Order of the Phoenix.
Often described as having her head in the clouds, some classmates went so far as to refer to her as “Loony Lovegood”—a rather unkind nickname meant to reference her eccentric views. The more we learned about Luna throughout the series, though, the more we understood that she came by her outlandish beliefs all too honestly.
Her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, raised her on his own from the time she was nine, and he was quite the eccentric himself. Editor of the rather niche publication, The Quibbler (which marketed itself as The Wizarding World’s Alternative Voice) Xenophilius ran articles about things like conspiracy theories and creatures that did not exist.
In any case, Xenophilius and Luna lived just the two of them near the village of Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon. But where was Luna’s mother? What happened to her? Read on to find out!
Everything You Need to Know About Luna Lovegood’s Mother
Who Was Luna Lovegood’s Mother?
Luna’s mother was a British witch by the name of Pandora. Looking much like Luna, Pandora married Xenophilius Lovegood sometime in her youth and the two went on to have one child together—Luna.
Why Wasn’t Pandora in Luna’s Life?
Well, sadly for Luna and Xenophilius, there’s no conspiracy here to account for Pandora’s absence in Luna’s life—and no chance of her magically reappearing decades later. Rather, she died as the result of a spell gone wrong around 1990 or 1991.
How Did Pandora Lovegood Die?
Apparently, Pandora loved to experiment with magic and the events that led to her death were nothing more than a tragic accident—a spell of her own creation backfiring on her.
What’s worse is the fact that a nine-year-old Luna was present at the time of the accident and witnessed her mother’s death; something she shared with Harry:
“Yes, it was rather horrible,” said Luna conversationally. “I still feel very sad about it sometimes.”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
This, of course, was the reason that Luna was able to see Thestrals, the frightening black, skeletal, and winged horse-like creatures that can only be seen by those who have witnessed death.
Was Pandora Lovegood Gone for Good?
While Luna never had the chance to reunite with her mother in the living world, she did believe that she would one day see her again.
This is supported by that same conversation she had with Harry. After she shared how sad she was that her mother was gone, she also expressed her belief that she would see Pandora again in the afterlife.
“And anyway, it’s not as though I’ll never see Mum again, is it?”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
“Er-isn’t it?” said Harry uncertainly.
She shook her head in disbelief. “Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didn’t you?”
“You mean…”
“In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, that’s all. You heard them.”
Which brings us to the end of all that we know about Pandora Lovegood and what happened to her.
What type of spell do you think Pandora was trying to use that backfired so horribly? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
