Chapter 10 – Analogue
Prompt #2 - Clock
September 2000
Home, Work, School, Hospital, Travelling, Lost, Prison, Mortal Peril...
The Weasley clock had always fascinated Hermione; from its peculiar labelling to the unflattering photos on each person's name. She recalled first seeing these hands ahead of the Quidditch World cup in her fourth year. The adolescent faces of Ron and Ginny had been quite the sight – a sight at which Hermione had had great restraint to refrain from laughing aloud. One of the most fascinating things she had witnessed was how the photos aged alongside their physical counterparts. Ginny's had gone from petite and nervous looking to quietly fierce and bold. Ron's had gone from the lanky fourteen year old he had been when she had come across the clock, to still lanky, but also the matured, brave man that she was in love with.
Fred Weasley's had stopped ageing.
Whilst the change would be barely noticeable at this point 2 years on from the war, it would become increasingly significant as the years went on. People would go from teenagers to fully fledged adults, to middle aged employees. But he would stay young and smiling. This was why, 4 months after the war, Molly and George mutually agreed that it was easier to take the hand down from the magical clock. Now, it lay, polished amongst dust, on top of the Burrow's living room mantle piece.
Everything about this clock was so wonderfully different from the simple, analogue clocks that they had in the muggle world. Hermione smiled at the memory of her father explaining to Arthur Weasley how they worked, and how the digital ones that were becoming popular worked too. Her father, like herself, was also entranced by the clock and listened with the sharp curiosity she had inherited as Arthur and Molly explained how they had created it. She couldn't deny that, out of the many wonders that could be found in the Burrow, this was the one she loved the most.
'Hermione, would you mind coming into the living room? I want to show you something.' Mrs Weasley asked Hermione, putting a hand on the shoulder of the girl sat in the long grass of the garden talking to Fleur and baby Victoire as many of a whirl of redheads played 3-a-side Quidditch. With a nod, Hermione followed the now slightly greying older woman into the epicentre of the house.
It wasn't hard to notice Ron and Harry already sat in the room, smirking as they watched on. She raised an eyebrow in passing, aware that they knew something she didn't, and the two resumed their smirking.
Mrs Weasley was currently sorting through the draw of a bureau pushed against the wall between the kitchen and the living room. The curiosity Hermione felt was immense, and with great strength she refrained from walking over and asking what was going on.
Molly finally turned around, something wrapped between her wrinkling, ageing hands. Her look was one of happiness, sparkled with the tears yet to fall that shined in her eyes.
'Arthur and I wanted to give you this.' She said, unravelling her folded palms and presenting the object to Hermione. The younger woman couldn't conceal her gasp.
Long and silver, the clock hand glistened in Hermione's eye line; early Autumn's evening light bouncing off the metallic material. At the top lay a moving photograph of her as she was now, 2 years on from the battle. Young. Not so thin anymore. Smiling. Hair, a wild mane as ever, and brown eyes alight. She imagined that she was probably thinking about Ron at the time it was taken. As she got older, would she still have that same look? Would she still have that look that came with being so ridiculously in love with Ron Weasley? Probably. She thought to herself. Aside from the photograph, the most striking thing she noticed as the intricate, carefully construction of her name. Hermione. In swirling letters, just like the Weasley's own ones.
'Mrs Weasley – Molly, I-' Hermione stumbled
'We had it made a while ago, and it just arrived a couple of days ago. We've wanted to give you something like this for a long time, but now felt like the right moment. Because the truth is that you've been a member of this family for many years now, and with that- Well. With that comes a hand on the clock.'
'I don't know what to say...' Hermione whispered, her voice catching as she uttered the words.
'You're family Hermione. You've been like another daughter to us for years. Even though things haven't always been perfect, mainly on my part...' Mrs Weasley admitted, smiling with regret, 'We love you, and we have for a long time. Like Harry with Ginny, whether you were with Ron or not, you would still be a member of this family, and always will be. We've all been through too much together not to be.' Both turned and looked over to where Harry and Ron were now pretending like they hadn't been listening in and watching, but smiled knowingly.
'And now you're engaged and getting married soon. And whether you take Weasley or remain Granger, you'll be an official Weasley.' Molly added.
Hermione was left speechless. The wedding was of course the official point of her and Ron becoming each others' family, but this felt in many ways equally significant. She and Mrs Weasley had had their ups and downs, particularly in her fourth year, and she had always gotten along with Mr Weasley, with whom she frequently discussed muggles and muggle objects and technology. To her, whilst this was from both Arthur and Molly, it felt like Molly's completion of acceptance, and that meant more than she could surmount in plain English.
So instead she flung her arms around Molly, in the hope that a hug could make up for the words she couldn't string together.
'Thank you.' She croaked and felt Molly's arms hug her back tightly. After a few moments, the two separated and Molly lifted the clock hand again, heading over to the clock where it was meant to belong. As the elder Weasley headed over, she felt a younger Weasley and the famous Potter come and stand by her side.
'Wonder how she'll react when you tell her you're keeping Granger.' Harry murmured, smirking
'Shut up, Harry.' Hermione whispered, laughing in the quiet. As Molly slid the hand onto the clock and smiled back at them before heading off to check on the potatoes, Hermione felt Ron's arms wrap around her from behind. Her engagement ring pressed into his hand, reminding her that this was real; so wonderfully real.
'Did you know?' Hermione asked Ron, turning in his arms to give a quick kiss before Harry cleared is throat and they broke away slightly.
'Maybe.' Ron smiled, 'It's perfect isn't it?'
Hermione watched the newly placed hand move by magic of its own accord to sit next to Ron's resting on the word 'Home.'
'Yes.' She beamed, 'It is.'
Author's Note – 27/7/2016 This is probably going to be my last update of Until the End until after Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been released this Sunday. So, good luck and I hope everyone loves it and that what we get gives us a little more conclusion. Remember to #KeeptheSecrets.