It was that time of year again, thought Albus Dumbledore, as he made his way to the cabinet in his office that held his pensieve, along with his, admittedly rather large, collection of memories, swirling silvery-white within their crystal bottles. Now that the students had gone home for the summer holidays, it was time, once again, to go through the stock of memories that Dumbledore had acquired throughout the years. He went through this process at the end of each school year. He would review the old memories, the details of which he may have forgotten.
Albus had just taken all of the bottles out of the cabinet, and set them up in rows on his desk. He picked up the bottle nearest to him, and poured its contents out into his pensieve. He bowed over the odd devise with its runic markings. He left his office behind, his feet leaving the ground.
Albus arrived, alongside his seventeen-year-old self, in his old house in Godric's Hollow. It was his birthday, and he joined his younger self, Aberforth, Ariana, and his mother, Kendra. The latter held out a carefully wrapped box, which the young Albus took, and unwrapped.
There, in the bottom of the box, sat a beautiful golden pocket watch. He turned it over in his hands. The watch had twelve hands, with planets along the edges. The watch, however, had no hands, yet Albus, the genius that he was (even at that age) deciphered the time with seemingly no problems. He smiled up at his mother.
The older Dumbledore's feet left the scene in Godric's Hollow, and he found himself, once again, in his office. Albus mulled over the memory. It was one of the last times he had spent with his mother, he reflected. A tear fell from his crooked nose.
He replaced the memory in the cabinet, and fell into the chair behind his desk. This memory had affected him. Drastically. He was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions: for his late mother, for the sister who died not long after, for the father who had not even made it to see that day. For his brother, all he had left.
A/N: This story was entered in the Dabble in a Drabble Competition on the HPFC forum. My prompt was clocks, which I modified to make this story. I really hope you enjoyed it, and all reviews will be greatly appreciated!