An Outdated Map

Saturday Morning

A/N: I couldn't wait until Tuesday! Fridays may be the new update day for this fic. I love you all, thank you for sticking with this and lemme know what you think!

Playlist: An Outdated Map on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1v0sepRQZF6r8M8T5Cxtru?si=-JbqIkrtRCKrXhjDrBCEoQ

"I'm sorry if it's all too much
Every day you're here, I'm healing
And I was runnin' out of luck
I never thought I'd find this feeling
Symphony (feat. Lara Zarsson) – Clean Bandit

Everything surged around him, moving faster than usual. He felt stiff, stuck in place. His limbs heavy and weighing him down. His eyes whipped from side to side, catching the commotion as it swelled back into existence around him. He blinked as Wix blurred around and through him. He moved to lift his arm to cover his eyes from the blinding sun, but it never came up. All his joints were stiff. He let out a frustrated growl, watching as the world continued on without him. He screamed. He needed to find her. He needed to see her. Tell her – well – maybe not tell her anything yet. It didn't matter; he just needed to see her.

He closed his eyes, willing his telltale Weasley temper to cool down. It wouldn't do him any good to have it explode when he couldn't direct that energy at something. That's when it occurred to him. He smirked, channelling all that unkempt energy and felt the warmth spread back through each limb, from shoulder to fingertip, all that way down into each toe. It didn't take him long until he had full function again. The world slowed down to an average pace, and he took off in a run towards the Leaky, back to her. He felt high, free. He faded through the front door and turned towards the stairs.

"Hermione!" He shouted, the thrill of new beginnings thrumming through him.

He flew up the stairs and directly towards her door. Reaching it, he stopped abruptly to center himself. With a smile, he flickered through her door to see that her bed was empty and perfectly made. She was already awake. He took a few steps into her room, noticing that she had laid out her clothes for the day. His attention was drawn away from her bed to the ajar bathroom door. He could head the shower running by the echo in the background. He was eager to speak with her, but he knew he needed to wait.

He took a moment to stand and be still. This was where he always wanted to be. With her. Near her. He wished he dared to tell her before things turned out the way they did. He entertained the thought of travelling back in time to tell her his true feelings. Bill's wedding would've been the perfect chance. He swore to himself as he made that connection.

He listened as the water turned off, and his eyes lit up. This was it, the moment when so much could change. Through the opening in the door, he heard her humming resonate in the acoustics of the bathroom, filtering into the main room. Excitement plucked at him as she slipped back into the main room.

He watched as she danced out of the bathroom into the adjoining room. Her hair was piled on top of her head, her wand securing most of it in place. It didn't do the job in entirety because there were curls haphazardly falling out and framing her face. One thick strand was even hanging over her shoulder. He grinned to himself. She reminded him of a fairy princess at that moment. Carefree and mischievous. Her humming progressed into a light melody as she double rolled the towel around her body to make sure it wouldn't fall.

He loved to see how many of her muggle habits bled through into the wizarding world. Instead of using a drying charm, she chose to wrap a towel around her and let herself drip dry naturally. It was such a simple charm used without a second thought by wizards but never by her. It endeared him to her even more. She never lost her roots. It didn't matter that she was thrust into an alien and magical world. She still held close to the things that were a part of her core.