I do not own Harry Potter or gain anything from writing this other than the opportunity of expanding on an already brilliant universe for my own entertainment, and hopefully yours.

CHAPTER 2 - SOUL SEARCHING

The next time Harry came into contact with an obvious prospect was on the Hogwarts Express. Ron and Hermione were off on prefect duty so Harry was sharing a compartment with Neville and Luna. He had already discovered Luna was a Nature type soul last year, Neville being Fire like the Weasleys. Nature was the rarest type of soul, at least according to the book.

When he looked at Luna's soul he had been amazed at how alive it was. All other soul types felt more like a simple coloured aura, having a uniquely specific texture or pattern that moves around them in a constant singular flow. Luna's forest green soul was like an ever changing creature, erratic in its movement, never staying stagnant. It was quite beautiful and Harry found it suited Luna perfectly.

He wondered what Luna's interests were in the opposite sex; she was always so forward and honest with other subjects so he decided to just come out and ask her. He was interrupted, however, by an intruding gaggle of giggling girls.

A girl named Romilda Vane came forward, eyeing Harry like a piece of meat and insulting his friends. Still, she was quite pretty and he'd be pretty foolish to send her away considering his goal.

'Romilda, is it?' Harry asked and the girl nodded excitedly. 'It's good to meet you but I don't think you meant to insult my friends.

'This is Luna Lovegood,' he said, gesturing to the girl in question. 'To call her quirky or eccentric would be an insult to the essence that is Luna. She is an anomaly, a girl of such outlandish ideas and thoughts that most fools think she imagines them. But I'll have you know that Luna is possibly the wisest person I know, and I've had quite a few conversations with Albus Dumbledore. If you are going to make one friend at this school that will make you a better and wiser person, it should be Luna.

'And this,' Harry continued, gesturing now to his other friend, 'is Neville Longbottom. Heir of house Longbottom and Herbology prodigy. He is soft spoken and meek at first impression but don't let that fool you. He is the fiercest man I have ever met and will probably ever meet. With each passing day he grows more confident and courageous and powerful. If there is one person you should never make an enemy of in this school then it is Neville. I have seen with my own eyes the dedication he puts into destroying his enemies.'

Romilda just stared at him dumbly, as was Neville now that he looked at him. Luna on the other hand merely gazed at him with her usual dreamlike expression.

'So, Romilda,' Harry said, startling the girl out of whatever world her mind wandered into, 'would you like to have a seat? Get to know us better? Your friends are welcome, of course.'

Romilda blinked at him a few times before backing out of the compartment, babbling an excuse to him, apparently losing her earlier confidence. Once the compartment door was closed he heard an outbreak of giddy squeals and shook his head in amusement. He had managed to sneakily catch a glimpse of her soul though. She was a Light soul, a shame that such an easy target was one he didn't need anymore. Harry mentally berated himself for calling her a target and turned his attention back to his friends.

'You have quite a way with words when you want to,' commented Luna airily. 'I'm glad you think I make a good friend.'

'Well you do,' Harry said. 'I love the way you look at the world. It's good to change your perspective on things once in a while, you know?'

'Did you really mean that?' Neville asked in a bit of awe.

Their reactions made him think he might have laid it on a little thick.

' 'Course,' he said, running a hand through his hair to hide his embarrassment. 'Wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it.'

The three sat in comfortable silence for a little while until Harry gathered his courage again and sat beside Luna.

'So what's the latest in the Quibbler?' he asked the spectrespec bespectacled girl.

'There is a very fascinating article about Wrackspurts,' Luna said in a matter of fact tone. 'My spectrespecs detect them, you see.'

Harry inspected the strange eyewear closely, perhaps a little too closely. If it were anyone but Luna it would've probably made them uncomfortable.

'They're the ones that make your brain go fuzzy?' Harry asked thoughtfully.

'Oh, yes,' Luna said. 'You seem to be thinking quite clearly at the moment. Neville on the other hand has a very serious case of wrackspurts.'

Sure enough, when Harry glanced at Neville the boy was staring out the window with his mouth lolling open slightly, apparently lost in thought.

'Do you mind?' Harry asked, reaching to take the glasses from Luna.

'Oh! Please do.' Luna said in an excited voice.

Harry removed the spectrespecs slowly, allowing his fingertips to run along her cheeks and slipped them on himself. It gave his vision a strange pinkish-turquoise hue that shifted as he turned. Looking over at Neville he could see a grayish cloud hovering around his head and assumed that must be the wrackspurts.

Looking back at Luna he saw a similar cloud of grey, perhaps even thicker than Neville's.

'You have wrackspurts too, Luna, did you know?' Harry asked, looking around the younger girl's head.

'Oh yes, I often do,' Luna said dreamily. 'Daddy says my mind is a very attractive home for wrackspurts because of my type of soul.'

Harry's eyes lit up at that and pulled out his wand, muttering the Soul-Seeing spell. 'Is it because you have a Nature type soul?' he asked, watching the very alive quality of her soul.

'You know about soul types, Harry?' Luna asked excitedly. 'Most people don't believe in that.'

'Well I suppose I'm not most people then, am I,' he said, smirking. 'How do you get rid of wrackspurts?'

'You can dispel them by thinking positive thoughts,' she said, closing her eyes and perhaps thinking positive thoughts.

'Sort of like a Patronus?' Harry asked curiously.

Luna's eyes snapped open wide then she pulled out her wand. 'Expecto Patronum,' she intoned. Her silver hare burst from her wand, hopping around her own head and then Neville's.

Harry followed the hare with his eyes, his mouth turning into a large smile. 'It worked! On both of you. The wrackspurts are gone!'

'I had never thought of that before,' Luna said, talking very quickly. 'Of course it makes perfect sense, I'll have to write to daddy as soon as I can to tell him. Thank you so very much, Harry! I don't know how I can thank you enough.'

Harry tilted his head to the side in amusement as he watched her bounce up and down in her chair.

'How about a hug?' he suggested, not wanting to push the girl too far past her comfort zone.

Luna froze on the spot and red crept up along her face until it reached her hair line. Just when Harry thought he made a mistake with the request he was tackled by the blonde girl, nearly sending him falling to the floor. Laughing, Harry wrapped his arms around Luna who had her face buried in his chest.

'You know if you want to hug more often we can do that,' Harry suggested then tried to push things a little further, dropping his voice to a husky whisper, 'and if you want to go a bit further than just a hug that could also be nice.'

Luna slowly looked up at Harry, wide eyed, her blush reaching Weasley hair territory.

'Would you like that, Luna?' he asked quietly, to which the girl gave a slow nod.

Grinning to himself, Harry removed the spectrespecs then leaned down to her and kissed her lightly on the lips. He could feel her trembling subside as he held her close, rubbing a hand along her back soothingly. After a few moments Luna pushed back into Harry's lips and he decided to try deepening the kiss. Luna's mouth opened in response to his tongue and soon they were properly snogging each other.

'Harry!'

The voice from the doorway caused the two to break apart.

'Uh, yeah?' Harry asked Hermione who had her hands on her hips, staring daggers at him.

Ron was behind her with wide eyes and a grin on his face. Neville was staring at his lap, red faced, shifting in his seat.

'Stop taking advantage of Luna!' Hermione yelled at him angrily.

'W - what?' Harry sputtered. 'I am not taking advantage of Luna!'

'It's quite nice kissing Harry,' Luna said in an even more dreamy voice than usual from the place she ended up mid snog on Harry's lap. 'I've never kissed a boy before.'

Luna grabbed Harry's face and turned him towards her.

'Can we do it again?' Luna asked a little shyly.

'Sure,' Harry said, leaning in with a goofy grin.

'Harry!' Hermione chided again.

'Hermione!' Harry mimicked. 'What's wrong with me kissing Luna? I told you I was going to be more … forward this year. This is what that looks like.'

'But - but,' Hermione tried. 'You said you were going to try to shag a bunch of witches. Are you just trying to get into Luna's pants?'

Harry looked back at Luna who was once again a tomato red.

'Not if she doesn't want to,' Harry said, tilting Luna's chin up for her so she'd look him in the eye. 'What do you say, Luna? Fancy a shag?'

Luna immediately dove back into Harry's lips, kissing him desperately before reaching down to Harry's pants and attempting to undo his belt.

'Luna!' Hermione shrieked.

Harry laughed into Luna's mouth and pulled her hands away. Leaning into her ear, he whispered so only she could hear.

'There's no rush, Luna,' he said, letting his tongue lick along the shell of her ear. 'Let's wait until we have some free time at school, alright?'

Luna leaned into his mouth and let out a low moan, her fingers came back to lightly toy with his belt as if to say she didn't want to wait another second.

Hermione finally stopped badgering Harry though seemed to be in a bit of a huff. Ron just came in shaking his head with an expression that said "the world has gone mad and it's hilarious".

Just then a second year girl came into their compartment with an invitation for Neville and Harry to join Professor Slughorn for tea. Harry grudgingly slid Luna off his lap; the girl seemed even more disappointed by having to leave her perch. He had to adjust his trousers as he left, glancing back at Luna to see her more disheveled than usual dirty-blonde hair. Her silvery-blue-grey eyes watched him with an expression he'd never seen on the girl in the dreaminess was still there, though it was different. Hungrier and more hopeful than he'd ever seen in. And Harry found he could hardly wait until he managed to get the girl alone.

It was a very embarrassed Harry who walked into the Great Hall without his robes and a freshly healed broken nose, courtesy of Tonks. The healing, not the breaking, though it should be noted that the healing was made more effective by the magic while the kiss-better did a great deal more to heal his pride. If she hadn't been there to save him he would have been on the train back to London right now. Her teasing was worth it for that alone, not to mention the heated kiss she gave him that did even more for his pride. Apparently her frustration with Remus was getting near the point where she might want a repeat of what they did over the summer sometime soon.

Regardless, he wasn't about to forget his plan. The opening feast was one of the only times all year when every student and professor at Hogwarts would be in attendance. Harry silently cast the Soul-Seeing spell and scouted the hall once everyone was digging in for dinner.

He'd already had the mark of a Light soul in Tonks. That left six more types, and he would be a fool to keep his options limited, not every witch at school would be willing to shag him. In fact, the more he thought about it the more daunting his task seemed. Sure he'd managed one already but how many virgin witches would shag Harry casually on a whim. That didn't mean he would give up without trying. So he made a short list, witches he thought he might actually have a chance with and who were still virgins:

Earth – Hermione Granger, Hannah Abbot

Wind – Katie Bell, Mandy Brocklehurst

Fire – Susan Bones, Lavender Brown

Dark – Lisa Turpin, Daphne Greengrass

Water – Sue Li, Tracey Davis

Nature – Luna Lovegood

Harry was a little surprised by how many of the girls weren't virgins anymore. Though he supposed he shouldn't be, he wasn't after all. It still made him curious about who the Nature soul Patil twins had slept with, though he would be sure not to let it be known he was aware of such information.

Luna was actually the only one who fit the criteria for Nature soul because of the lack of virgins in that category, so he was quite glad things were going well on that front. The only other options were first, second and third years and he wouldn't stoop to that level.

Water and Dark were surprisingly difficult as well. He added the two Slytherins only because he wanted to try to get two names for each type, though he wasn't sure how possible those would be as potential prospects.

One thing that he found incredibly interesting was that it seemed certain houses attracted a certain type of soul. It had him thinking that perhaps the Hat takes that into account when sorting. Gryffindor was filled with Fire, with a spattering of the various other types. Hufflepuff was full of Earth souls, though Harry still held out hope for Hermione on that front. Ravenclaw favoured Wind but it wasn't as solid a rule as Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, there was a much wider mix there.

Slytherin was perhaps the most interesting; it was almost a complete mix of Light and Dark. Seeing as souls seem to be somewhat hereditary, he supposed it made sense. The Black family had books about souls after all, maybe it was something pure-blood families knew about, striving for those soul types. Tracey Davis was one of the few exceptions, being a Water type. The fact that she was a half-blood didn't escape Harry's notice.

Turning his gaze onto the staff table he immediately caught Dumbledore's eyes watching him curiously, his Dark soul ebbing around him powerfully. Harry gave him a short nod and cancelled the spell then turned his attention back to his food, planning for the coming school year.

Harry spent the first week scouting his potential prospects. His first class, much to his surprise, ended up being double potions with Professor Slughorn. He grabbed a used potions textbook and decided to take a chance. Instead of taking the seat at Hermione, Ron and Ernie Macmillian's table, he sat at the fourth and final empty table beside the four Slytherins and behind the Ravenclaws.

'Sitting alone are you, Harry?' Slughorn asked curiously.

'Er, thought I'd take a different tact in potions this year, sir,' Harry said. 'Fewer distractions on my own, you know?'

'Not a bad idea actually,' Slughorn said thoughtfully. 'You don't know how many students I've seen fail at a potion because they're busy chatting with friends. However we will be doing a few group projects this year so I'll have to … let's see … muck things up a bit. Why don't one of you from the Slytherin group and one from Ravenclaws join Mr Potter at his table?'

Harry almost laughed as at both tables three sets of eyes singled one person out. Both girls let out a heavy sigh and moved to join Harry.

'Sorry about that,' Harry said with a bit of a wince.

Tracey Davis glared at him angrily but Sue Li just shrugged uncaringly and turned her attention to Slughorn who was beginning the lesson.

By the end of the class the looks he was getting from his two Water prospects were more curious than anything else, as Slughorn presented him with the Felix Felicis.

'I didn't know you were any good at potions, Potter,' Tracey said haughtily.

'Just got lucky I guess,' Harry said, smirking. Then was struck with an idea, leaning toward the two of them conspiratorially, he said, 'Want to see something?'

Tracey's glare had returned but Sue leaned in curiously as Harry spun his potions book around and pointed out the writing in the margins.

'Don't know whose book this was but they left notes,' he said quietly, 'pretty effective notes too.'

This caught Tracey's attention and she moved right next to him to read the book.

'Seems like cheating to me, Potter,' she sneered. 'I think I'll just have to tell the Professor.'

Harry gently grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving and turned her to him.

'Or,' he said, letting his hand linger on and catching Sue's eye, 'we could share the wealth, as it were. I don't mind if we all use it - could give us a bit of a leg up.'

Tracey peeled Harry's hand off her and regarded the boy coolly. 'It got you lucky once, Potter. If it screws up my potion next time I'll be telling the Professor right away.'

With that, Tracey grabbed her bag and marched out of the classroom.

Harry turned to Sue who was regarding him and the book curiously. 'You're in?'

Sue sighed and looked down at her hands. 'It'd be nice to beat Granger for a change,' she said, which made Harry laugh. 'I'm kind of surprised you're trusting Davis though, don't you Gryffindors hate Slytherins?'

Harry shrugged at the girl, packing his potions book in his bag. 'I don't hate Slytherins. Besides, it's about time I get to know a pair of cute girls from other houses.'

After tossing the blushing Sue Li a sly wink, Harry grabbed his bag and headed out the classroom. He inspected the golden potion he just received as he walked through the corridors. It was truly marvelous how he probably just had the luckiest class in his life and he didn't even need any liquid luck. Hopefully his luck would hold out, and he could get to know Sue and Tracey even better, maybe even well enough to get a dark blue soul name tattooed on his chest.