At least he could cast the less complex spells directly on himself, but only the simplest self-transfiguration was possible with great difficulty. His magical Animagus form of a thunderbird was now lost. Most likely he had a new form, since he couldn't find his inner thunderbird anymore. However, just the technical process of becoming a magical animagus would take around fifteen months and require an insane amount of magical power – something he lacked, as Jon Snow had not used his magic until now. After Harry's wife and children had died, the story of Merlin being a dragon animagus fascinated him. He spent around 60 years researching, experimenting, and travelling the world, searching for every little bit of magic and lore about animagi or shapeshifters before finally succeeding.