Note
I want to give thanks for all the favs and follows you have given me. I'm beyond happy about all the support I have received and I want to give my special thanks to Not-Gonna-Update, JJFicFreak and the two guests who took the time to leave a review. That made me really happy!
I'm sorry about any spelling mistakes you may find, I'm still looking for a beta, is anyone interested?
I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint; please let me know what you think!

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Harry knew the moment he regained consciousness that something was wrong.

He could feel soft earth underneath him, moulded to fit his body perfectly and he could hear the soft chime of a bird's song.

Why would this feel wrong?

But Harry knew with every intake of breath that he was very much alive and that this wasn't the afterlife he had hoped for.

He was supposed to pass on, after all, the third time is the charm and as Harry flickered his eyes open, he was hit with tiny specks of sand in his eyes.

Pinching his eyes shut, he moved his upper body into and upright position. Blinking while willing his eyes to shed tears, he saw his first blurred view of his current location.

A few meters away, Harry could see the beginning of a forest. The treeline came together by big, almost leafless trees. He followed the line of trees with his eyes first left, then right, but he could see no end.

With the sand now gone from his eyes, Harry turned around and saw barren ground and thick fog shielding the view to the east, where he could see rays of sunshine coming through the damp morning fog.

Having now looked around, Harry was no closer to finding out where he was. He was not going to sit around but he knew that he could not call on his magic to help him. The normal calming presence of his magic flowing beneath his skin wasn't there anymore.

Feeling like crying for real this time, Harry took several deep calming breaths. Yes, he was all alone and yes, his magic, the thing he came to love and cherish the most, was out of his reach but he was still Harry Potter and he would not cry.

Even with his mind made up, tiny tears still escaped down his cheeks. Harry laughed pitifully. "What's wrong with me? I feel like a hormonal teenager girl."

It had been a long time since Harry had had to go through the uncomfortable teenager years and, as he was now hundred and twenty years old, he hardly felt that it was right to have a fit.

Harry took his right hand to his face to wipe away the tears, but stopped short at the look of it. Stretching his arms out in front of him, he could see that he still had ten fingers and two hands but these weren't his.

Harry's hands were normally small with slender, long fingers. These hands in front of him were still small but the fingers were thicker and the skin a lot tougher.

Tracing himself with foreign hands, while looking down his new form, Harry came to the conclusion that he was in a stranger's body.

His nose was bigger, his thighs thicker and he was short. Running his new hand through his hair, he found it waist long and silky smooth. Apart from his slightly bigger nose, he assumed his face looked the same with his small ears and high cheekbones on a slim face.

His arms were shorter and they had a thin, even layer of soft hair over them. Looking down at his legs, he discovered that they too possessed a layer of hair.

Harry was actually happy about this new discovery as he never had the ability of producing body hair in his old body.

Looking down on his bare feet, he was surprised to discover that his feet had become even smaller than before.

His toes were slightly red from the cold ground and he desperately wanted a pair of shoes along with some pants, since a long green tunic was the only clothing on his body.

Reaching down to grasp the end of the tunic, he pulled the material up to have a final look at himself. He still had his rosy pink nipples and slim, pretty cock. He was still thin with a small waist but he had gained a healthier and curvier body with prominent hips.

He felt younger, his skin was smooth and young and his hair was raven black. Before he had died, he had obtained a few wrinkles and laugh lines along with a couple of grey hairs. This new body was young.

Feeling his feet getting colder, Harry glanced back towards the forest. Should he look for help between the trees?

Harry was reminded of the Forbidden Forest outside of Hogwarts. But this gloomy forest had an air of familiarity his body shuddered at the thought of going in between the trees.

Harry would say that like a bird knew how to fly, his body knew that he would not thieve in the forest and thus he turned his body towards east, in hope of finding help.

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After walking around in the fog, in what Harry assumed was three hours, the fog finally cleared. He hadn't met anyone or spotted anything that showed signs of civilisation.

But with the fog finally gone Harry could spot what he unconsciously had been heading towards all this time. In the far distance, he could see a mountain and after having lived all his life in the UK, he was awestruck by the sight. The sheer height and mass, it looked so close and yet so far away.

It was beautiful.

Harry knew that he wouldn't get there by nightfall and he was slowly losing hope of finding help before darkness enveloped the whole sky.

He had neither warm clothes nor the means to light a fire, but if it came down to it and he had not found help before the sun came down, he could survive through the cold night. He could feel his young body brimming with energy and he felt no strain after the many hours of walking.

After sunset, Harry kept walking and he tipped his head back many times to look at the unfamiliar starlit sky.

His feet were ice cold but Harry couldn't will himself to stop in the middle of the barren field for sleep and rest. He would feel vulnerable without some cover to protect him.

Further ahead, he spotted a giant stone with a few surrounding dried bushes. Happy at the thought of resting his cold feet, Harry hurried ahead but stopped short at the sight of light coming from behind the stone.

Treading quietly forward, Harry could hear two male voices talking. They sounded friendly as they both spoke with light voices and a laugh or two were shared between them.

He did not get the chance to make himself known to the company before he was stopped by the presence of blade pressed against his lower back. By reflex, Harry flickered his wrist but his hand remained empty.

Silently cursing his luck for being defenceless against an armoured foe, he slowly raised his hands into the air to show that he was defenceless, as the stranger at his back spoke. "Run little assassin and I'll run you through with my blade."

Everything was quiet, even the light conversation from behind the stone had stopped, instead there were two curious faces poked out to look directly at Harry.

They didn't look unfriendly, in fact they gave of a homely feeling like Mrs. Weasley; one of the men even wore the most ridiculous hat, Harry had ever seen. And when he said that, it would've to be true as he had seen many weird hats in his life as a wizard.

"No need to be so serious with the lad, Sanix," the one with the silly hat spoke. "I hardly think that an assassin would come against us defenceless."

"Let me be the one to decide what he is Bofur, after all you are the toymaker and I'm the warrior, there is a reason I came along on this trip," the one behind Harry, Sanix, said as he now lightly tapped the blade against Harry's side. "Let us move into the light."

Stepping into the camp and coming closer to the fire, Harry could not help but sigh out in light pleasure as the fire warmed his cold toes.

"Now, would you care to explain who you are and what you are doing out here on your own?" It was Bofur who asked and Harry lightly turned around to face all of the three men… dwarves.

Revelation dawned on Harry. They were dwarves, he was a dwarf that explained his new, short, hair-covered body. With thoughts running through his head, Harry failed to answer the question but the three dwarves hardly noticed Harry's hesitation, for they were in awe of the sight before them.

Never before had they seen a creature this beautiful, for before them stood the Maker's perfect creation with marble white skin, a face carved and caressed by the Maker's tender touch, arms and legs filled with soft hair that their hands were eager to run over. When their eyes graced his hair they wanted nothing more than to plait their families' signature braids and beads into the black locks. His two small hands were not made for the harsh work of mining but for holding and taking care of young ones. He stood on two perfectly formed feet and the three dwarves only dared a quick look, but even just a glance had their ears turning red. Finally the eyes, those green emeralds shone in the firelight brighter than any gem.

Closing his mouth, which had hung open all that time, Harry finally gathered himself enough to answer; after all he had to make the best out of his situation, so he could worry about his problems later.

"I'm sorry for sneaking up on you. I had no ill intentions. My name is Harry, I do not know where I am and how I came to be here. I was just looking for help."

"You are by the very foot of Erebor, how can you be lost?" the third dwarf asked.

"I'm not familiar with this place, I just woke up today all alone and I'm freezing, hungry, afraid, and tired of not knowing where I am," Harry said, not really knowing how to explain his situation. He could even feel the beginnings of tears forming in his eyes, he suddenly had the urge to sit down and cry.

"Well, why don't we all sit down by the fire so we can start fixing all of those problems for you. I'm Bofur, at yer service." Sitting down, Bofur indicated to the dwarf next to himself to continue the introductions. He introduced himself as Bifur, Bofur's cousin. The last dwarf went by the name Sanix son of Filix.

Harry was handed a thick blanket and some pants by Bifur, while Sanix was working on filling a bowl with the stew they had hanging over the fire.

After having pulled the too big pants over his legs, Harry took the bowl of steaming stew from Sanix's hands with a grateful smile, one that Sanix couldn't help but return. This in turn made Harry smile even more, feeling accepted by the company of three, who were no longer suspicious of him. He was happy for the first time that day.

Harry brought his bowl closer to his face to avoid spilling on his borrowed clothes, stuck his feet out from under the blanket to lay them closer to the hot flames, and started eating.

Delighted by the taste, he looked up from his meal to complement his companions on their delicious stew but stopped himself, when he saw that their attention was fixed on something behind him.

Turning to look over his shoulder he could see nothing of noteworthy interest. Turning his head back, he could not help but ask. "What are you all looking at?"

Harry noted that the three dwarves looked nervously at each other and he was reminded of the time when he was babysitting his godchildren and had caught them doing something they oughtn't. What had he missed while eating?

He had to ask. "What's going on?"

It was Bofur who answered him. "Well, lad, when we are presented with such a pair of feet, it is hard not to stare."

Harry was completely lost, he felt like the three other dwarves where speaking a completely different language even though he understood Bifur's and Sanix's mumblings of, "We did not mean to look," and, "We are sorry," while avoiding looking at him.

"What's wrong with my feet? I can understand that they're dirty right now but I honestly cannot understand what all the fuss is about. I want you to be frank with me."

Harry waited patiently for an answer while wriggling his lightly roasted toes.

Bifur finally met Harry's eyes and Harry could see that he was confused by Harry's statement. "You don't know? How old are you?"

Deciding to humour them, even though he could not see the relevance of the question, he spoke the truth. "I'm a hundred and twenty now."

"Bless the Maker," Bofur exclaimed. "You are young alright, but at that age you should know better than to dangle your feet around strangers."

"What are you all going on about? Bifur, please explain what it is I'm missing." Harry turned his question towards the only dwarf who seemed to understand that Harry honestly did not know, what was going on.

"Feet are particularly significant to the dwarven race, they're what carry us around all our life. We would not be able to fight, mine, or carve a life without them. That is why we only show our feet to our significant other, with whom we choose to walk together on the path of life."

Pulling his feet back under the blanket, Harry asked. "Do you always have your feet covered? What about walking around barefooted in the summer? What about the children?"

"How can you not know of this?" Bofur asked.

"I do not know anything about being a dwarf, I'm lost..."

"To answer your earlier question then, yes, we cover our feet in public and even in the company of family. It's only in the solitude of our room we shed our shoes and mostly it only happens when we bathe or go to sleep. When a dwarf is born, the mother and father cover and wash the baby's feet until the child is old enough to do so themselves." Sanix said, all the while keeping eye contact with Harry; to make him understand that this was no light topic.

Harry looked at the three dwarves, hoping that he hadn't ruined the opportunity of friendship between the first people he had met in this new world.

"I apologize for showing my feet so casually but you have to believe me when I say that I did so without the knowledge I now have. Please forgive me if I have offended any of you."

"If anyone should apologize it should be us, we had no right to gaze upon your feet but did so anyway even though we knew it was not in our rights to do so." Harry could see and hear the shame Bifur felt as he spoke this to Harry.

"I could not be angry at you, for you have given me clothes, food, and company in a time where I most needed it, so thank you."

"If you look at it like that, we'll have to thank you as well for the wonderful show you put on earlier." Bofur was only too happy to make a joke of this.

"Feet hold a certain sexual appeal to us and after a long day of walking through Mirkwood, we certainly deserve such a reward, thank you, Harry." Bofur ended his rant with a shameless wink.

Bifur stood up and started running after a laughing Bofur, shouting that he would defend Harry's honour against his vile cousin. Without knowing it, Harry had put on a sexual display but his embarrassment was forgotten with the good mood in the camp and he could not help but smile and laugh.

Having settled their misunderstanding, the dwarves wanted to hear Harry's tale, so he told them how he woke up in front of the forest he then came to know as Mirkwood, and how he wandered about.

In turn the dwarves told him an entertaining tale about their day in Mirkwood. Bofur had been in need of different sorts of wood to make children's toys and he had needed help to collect and carry the word, which was why Bifur and Sanix had joined him.

Harry was surprised to learn that there were elves in the forest he had seen earlier that day and that the three dwarves in front of him showed great dislike towards them. Even though, Bofur, Bifur, and Sanix praised Mahal for their luck to have escaped an encounter with an elf, Harry still wanted to meet one.

After some more light conversation, Harry was about to lie down for today; Bifur had already given him his pillow as he would not need it for his guard duty. Harry laid his head against the pillow but as thoughts of the day's events ran through his head and he could not help but ask.

"You did not seem shocked about my age, can I ask how old you three are?"

"Well, me and Bofur are pushing around two hundred while Bifur is around the two fifty," Sanix relayed.

"Now that you are over one-hundred you are of an ideal age to marry."

"Are any of you married?" he asked then.

"I have the loveliest dwarrowdam waiting for me back home," Bifur said, from his place against the big rock. "But these too knuckleheads here, Harry, aren't that lucky."

"How come? I've not met many dwarves but I know that anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Dwarves don't marry on a whim, we marry for life and we are picky in our choice for a life partner." Bofur smiled brightly at Harry while saying this. "You really do not know anything about being a dwarf, do you?"

Harry was suddenly faced with the reality of his current situation and he couldn't help but become nervous about his future. He was in a strange new world with different creatures and societies; would he even fit in?

He turned his eyes away while mumbling, "not at all."

"Yer nervous?" Bofur had immediately known by his hunched shoulder.

"You have nothing to worry about, Harry. We won't leave you at the entrance of Erebor. We will get you settled and show you the ropes."

"Of that you can be sure," Sanix added. "We will make a fine dwarf of you, my friend."

As Harry went to sleep, he didn't see the three dwarves staring at him as they all share the same thought: he would not need any help to be well-liked among their people.

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