House: Gryffindor

Position: Prefect

Category: Drabble

Prompt: [Object]Pocket Watch

Word Count: 739 words, excluding header, author notes, and title.

Beta: Shay – thanks lovey!

A/N: This was written for The Houses Competition, Y3R1

Nothing but Time

"It used to be your father's," Sirius had told him gently as he handed Harry the watch. "I was going to wait to give it to you, but I thought you could use it now with everything that is happening…" Sirius finished, uncertain.

Harry stared down at the golden pocket watch in his hands, the weight heavy and comforting.

"This used to be my dad's?" Harry asked shakily. He turned the pocket watch over in his hands, and the light glimmered off of the etched words that were displayed on the backing.

"Yes," Sirius nodded, "Lily surprised him with it on their wedding day… some Muggle tradition. James had no idea about it, and he was frantic trying to figure out what he could give her before the wedding. He had convinced himself that she would run off if he didn't get her a perfect gift. It was probably a good thing that James didn't find out about the gift-giving tradition until the morning of the wedding, or he probably would have driven Lily off by giving her the most ridiculous and overtop gifts if he had had time to think about it. Your dad would have given her anything."

Harry tore his eyes away from the pocket watch to stare at Sirius.

"Did he ever find something to give my mum?"

Sirius smiled at that. "Yes, he did. He gave her his school journals."

Harry scrunched his face. "His school journals?"

"Yes, you see your father had always been obsessed with Lily from the first time they met on the Hogwarts express when they were eleven years old. Your mother was a lot like our Hermione here, she was kind, smart, gifted, and always standing up to any wrongdoing. The first time they met on the train Lily told him off for making a joke at Remus's expense, of course, we didn't know what great friends we would become at that time, but Lily saw someone in need and immediately came to the rescue. In the years following, James used always to say that that exact moment was when he knew he was going to marry her. Nonsense if you ask me, but nevertheless James kept trying to win her over, I am sure his journals were littered with thoughts about Lily, and he wanted to prove to her that he has always loved her," Sirius finished with a shrug and a sad smile.

"I wish they were still here," Harry mumbled.

Sirius put his arms around him and gently pulled him to his side, "I wish they were too. They would be so proud of you. Don't ever doubt that. I wish I had more from them to give you, but this was the only thing I could manage before… well before the manhunt for me began."

Harry nodded solemnly and walked out of the room, his mind focused solely on the pocket watch that he held in his hand.

A lot had happened since that day, but Harry refused to go anywhere without it. It was one of the only connections he had to his parents and now to Sirius, whose death still haunted him.

He pulled the watch out from his pocket and rubbed his hands over the etching. Sometimes the pocket watch gave Harry great comfort, the golden hue gleaming in the sunlight, shimmering with hope. Other times it seemed like a cruel joke, the etched words laughing at him.

James,

I can't wait to spend my life with you. We have nothing but time.

Love Always,

Lily

Harry shook his head and blinked the tears away. Time had been taken from them in a cruel turn of fate.

He sat on the edge of their campsite and was rubbing his hands aggressively over the engraving, trying to make sense of everything. Ron had just left them, and their hunt for Horcruxes wasn't getting any easier, he was beginning to feel hopeless.

He stared back down at the watch and the worn words but this time he didn't feel sadness or anger as he read them, he began to feel the spark of hope. So many had given their lives for him, and Harry was determined to make sure that they didn't die in vain. He was going to make sure that everyone still living had all the time that was promised to them and to do that he needed to defeat Voldemort.