Waking up, Harry felt lighter - like he had been carrying a heavy burden all his life and never realised it. Opening his eyes, Harry took in his surroundings: he was no longer in the healing chamber but what appeared to be a bedroom. Cavern walls were illuminated by torches and a fireplace in the corner made the naturally dark room light.
"Welcome back young wizard," a voice Harry recognised as healer Maeve said, startling him.
"How long was I out?" Harry asked, his throat feeling raw and his voice coming out raspy.
"Only four hours," the goblin replied, coming closer to Harry. "I'm surprised to see you awake to be honest, you're a lot stronger than you think."
Harry found himself nodding slightly as he sat up slowly in bed. Running his hands through his shoulder length hair, Harry was startled after his brain suddenly processed this new information.
Maeve watched the wizard with faint humour as he seemed to jump awake and realise his physical changes. She also noted that he needed a throat soother.
"Would you like a mirror?" she asked, as she went through her supplies looking for the correct potion.
Harry nodded dumbly, taking the conjured mirror as it appeared. Looking at his reflection. he was shocked; the changes when looked at individually were not that great but on the whole? They made him look completely different. He was no longer a clone of James Potter - sure you could tell they were related, but it was not an overwhelming fact now like it once was.
His emerald green eyes were still a prominent feature, but they had lost their circular shape and were now more almond. His nose was smaller, more delicate, and his lips seemed to have filled out. His jawline lost some of its edge and his cheekbones were more pronounced. Most drastically gone was the famous Potter hair. Instead of a wild mane, his black hair fell to his shoulders in waves, still slightly wild but not unmanageable. He looked slightly feminine he idly thought as he traced his features with his hand before suddenly realising that he could see without his glasses.
Putting the mirror down after a few minutes of staring, Harry noticed healer Maeve had approached him, holding a potion in her hand. Wary because of all he had been put through Harry pondered if he would really need it, but decided to place his trust in the goblin that had healed him.
"For your throat," she explained when she caught him looking.
With a nod Harry took the offered potion and threw it back, experience telling him that it was better to swallow quickly. After a few seconds of letting the potion work, Harry hesitantly opened his mouth.
"Why would Dumbledore want to change how I looked?" he asked softly, not really expecting an answer.
"I doubt we will ever get a clear answer," a new voice answered. "At least, not in this life."
Harry turned and saw Chief Ragnok entering the room.
"You're looking much better now, Mr. Potter," he said.
"Thank you Chief Ragnok," Harry said honestly. "I feel much better."
"You will most likely experience a significant shift in your magic over the next few hours as your core resettles," Maeve said, shifting into healer mode, "you may experience difficulty controlling the level of power that you put into your spells until you get used to your new power levels. You should find that once all is settled you're able to cast more advanced spells without tiring and have greater amounts of magic to call upon."
"I see," Harry said.
"Do you feel able to continue our previous conversation Mr. Potter, or would you like time to get acquainted with your new body?" Ragnok asked after a pause.
Harry sighed and went to stand, surprised to find he was dressed in loose cotton trousers but immensely happy as he would have regretted flashing the goblin chief.
"I think it would be best to get everything out of the way as soon as possible. However, I would like a few moments to freshen myself up," Harry said.
Ragnok nodded his head in agreement. "Join me in the parlour when you're finished, it is just through this door," he said, indicating to said door.