"Ah good you're awake." Was the first thing Harry heard as his eyes fluttered open, groaning as the light hit his sensitive eyes. He groaned again as he sat up too quickly, bringing a hand to hold his head.

He looked up once the room stopped spinning, shocked to see Julian was the only one in the room, and that he was in the bed of what looked like a fancy hotel room. He was even more shocked as he noticed that he could see clearly without his glasses, still sitting on the end table.

"Wha—" He cleared his throat, surprised at the roughness "What happened?"

Julian's eyes darkened "Something unexpected…" he paused at Harry's fearful expression "Don't worry, your father is dealing with it as we speak."

Harry nodded, swallowing. He was scared to ask… but— "What was it?"

"The goblins found a horcrux in your scar. A soul piece…"

"A soul piece?" Harry echoed, his eyes narrowing "What does that mean? Explain."

Julian sighed "The short version? A horcrux is the product of splitting your soul in order to achieve immortality… It happened the night James and Lily were killed. Voldemort made you into a horcrux, a piece of his soul lodged in your scar, most likely accidently and unknowingly…"

"It was removed of course…" Julian sighed "Your father wanted to be here when you woke, but he had to finalize his business with the Goblins, and he wanted to look into some other things…"

Harry ignored him, staring down at his hands folded in his lap

…

He waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT…

…

Harry raises the basilisk fang above the diary "Stop! NO!"

Harry stabs the diary with the fang, and ink runs out like blood… Gaping wounds appear in Tom Riddle's form, light streaming from them.

As Riddle screams in rage and agony, Harry stabs the diary repeatedly until Riddle vanishes.

So then… was the diary a horcrux?

"What is it?" Julian asked, seeing the calculating look on Harry's face.

"I… I think I might have encountered a horcrux before… In the chamber" he said slowly, looking up at Julian.

Julian's eyes widened "More than one horcrux? Are you sure? That's… no, wait…" Julian sat down on the edge of the bed "it would be extremely idiotic… but perhaps…"

He rubbed his chin, "It would possibly explain the deterioration of his sanity over the years…"

Julian leapt back up from the bed, causing Harry to jump at the sudden move "I have to inform your father," he spun around to face a bewildered-looking Harry "There are some clothes in the wardrobe over there that should fit you, and that door near it leads to a bathroom." He spun around again and strode over to the door "I'll have some food brought up." And with that he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Harry just stared at the door before sighing. He shifted to get out the bed, startling when the door once again opened and Julian stuck his head around the door, smirking "Oh! I almost forgot! Don't freak out when you see the changes the ritual made, okay?"

…aaand yep, he's gone again. Harry snorted before sobering. So, did his looks change after all? He noticed that his voice has changed slightly, but he attributed the new suave, husky quality to having just woke up.

He jumped up and ran to the bathroom, suddenly desperate to see himself in the mirror. He gaped incredulously at the strange face reflected back at him, searching his eyes desperately, frantic to keep that connection to his mother, letting out a relieved breath a moment later at the normal shocking emerald color.

His eyes flicked over each feature curiously, scrutinizing everything.

After his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that his distinct scar was gone, probably healed with the removal of the horcrux.

His hair had darkened to black, and he bemoaned the fact that it became even more wild with its new wispy curls.

Harry brought up his hand and traced the changes to his face curiously, leaning closer to the mirror. He found it very odd that apart from a few features, such as the eyes and hair, he seemed to share almost no qualities of his parents.

His face had lengthened and sharpened, taking on a more aristocratic quality that made him immediately think of a teenage Tom Riddle or some snooty pureblood. Overall, he looked like he belonged on the cover of Witch Weekly or a pin-up, and not because he was Harry-bloody-Potter the Chosen One.

Well at least he kept his eyes... Harry sighed, leaning back from the mirror, but… wait a minute… something seemed off…

He backed up further until he could see his whole body, his face breaking into a breathtaking smile after a moment of inspection. Yes! Finally! Harry laughed, suddenly not caring about any other changes. He was right! He grew taller!

It made him look even skinnier— a ritual couldn't correct years of malnutrition he supposed— but I mean— finally! After years of being teased for his 5ft 5 frame, he grew! He would guess by only 2 or 3 inches… but still!

He continued to smile as he went over to the wardrobe, picking out a set of robes that seemed closest to his new height. He hummed happily as he stripped off his clothes, jumping into the bath for a quick wash.

After about ten minutes, he stepped out of the tub, grabbing a plush towel to wipe off the water clinging to his skin.

He sighed again as he looked into the mirror, sticking his tongue out at himself and crossing his eyes. Damn… how was that possible? Even making such a silly face it still looked like he could be on a magazine.

Well how about… Harry gave the mirror a roguish smirk, raking his hand through his hair—

O-oh…

Okay— note to self, never, never make that expression in public.

He dressed quickly after that, still a bit unnerved with his new looks. Exiting the bathroom while rubbing the towel over his hair, he was surprised as he noticed his father sitting on the newly-made bed with a tray of food by his side. Harry sat down on an armchair facing him, folding the towel over the arm once he felt his hair wasn't dripping anymore.

Harry watched his father curiously, Crowley had looked up from his phone once he exited the bathroom, and had not stopped staring at him since.

Crowley cleared his throat "You—" he cleared it again "Your hair looks so much like—" He cut himself off, adding softly "Just a bit shorter and curlier…" He sighed, picking up the tray of food and placing it on Harry's lap.

"Take the potion before you eat." Crowley looked into Harry's eyes seriously "Julian let me know he explained about the horcrux, but the Goblins found something else."

"Apparently you have malnutrition and some poorly healed bones..." Crowley growled "If it wasn't for the food at Hogwarts chances are your growth would have been severely stunted for the rest of your life, not to mention the countless medical conditions that you could have gotten as a result, or you might have even gotten so sick that your body couldn't handle—"

Harry coughed, interrupting the angry and panicked tirade. Crowley sighed "Anyway, the potion is supposed to help correct it, along with a proper diet of course."

After waiting for Harry to finish up his meal, Crowley clapped his hands sharply "Now, we are going shopping. We can't keep you in those rags the Dursleys dressed you in, eh?"

Harry shivered… what? …where did this sudden feeling of dread come from?

Well it couldn't be that bad, right?

...He shouldn't have ignored that feeling.

Harry groaned as he watched Crowley and a shop girl furiously search through clothing racks. He tried to protest but a short 'no son of mine is going anywhere dressed like that,' silenced him. He was quickly dragged out of the hotel and into what he found was the magical shopping district of France.

He was surprised to find that France was a lot more modern, seeming to incorporate muggle items as well as magical. It was also a lot brighter and… cleaner than Diagon Alley. He was actually enjoying the atmosphere, well except for the fact that witches and the occasional wizard wouldn't stop gawking at him as he walked down the street.

He smoothed down his hair over his scar, or tried to, as his new curls just bounced back into place, maybe he should grow his hair out? Wait, his scar was gone, wasn't it? Were people just staring at him because of his new features?

Harry laughed as two young witches collided with each other, apparently too busy staring at him to pay attention to where they were walking. He blinked as light hit his eyes, looking around for the source but shrugging it off a moment later as he and Crowley entered a store boasting clothes the 'best of magical AND muggle fashion for young witches and wizards!'

Of course, what Harry couldn't know at the time is that he would end up on the cover of a popular French witches gossip magazine, which would then spread to England's Witch Weekly, both scrambling to find the young wizard who charmed many with just one photo for a modeling contract.

I had so much fun with this chapter lol, is it weird that I kinda fangirl over my own story? I'm just really proud of how this is turning out.

At first, I wasn't going to really change how Harry looked too much besides changing him to look a bit more like Crowley, but then I did some research on Cambions where it described them as "angelically beautiful…" and "able to persuade even the most strong-hearted individual to do his or her bidding."

Also, if you're wondering about the whole "Your hair looks so much like—" part, Crowley was talking about Gavin—which if you don't know, was Crowley's son.

Sorry this chapter took so long, I had writer's block at the start of the chapter. I already have the majority of the next chapter outlined, so hopefully I won't get stuck again.