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No one knew what exactly was necessary to become a part of the Weasley family clock. Molly had received the clock as a wedding present from one of her estranged aunts, and had never really questioned it before. When Bill was born a small hand with his name appeared on the clock, pointing to home.
Then came Charlie, and with him another small hand on the clock. It was a tad smaller than Bill’s, but Molly was almost certain that Bill’s hand had grown since it’s appearance.
After Charlie came Percy, then the twins, then Ron, and finally Ginny. And Molly and Arthur figured that that would be the end of it, seeing as Ginny was their last child.
They were proven wrong however, when there was another hand reading ‘Harry’ at some time during the winter of 1991. Neither Molly nor Arthur really knew when it had appeared, (they weren’t even aware of it) bunched in as it was with the other four hands pointing towards Hogwarts. That is until Ginny loudly exclaimed, “Mummy, look!” frantically pointing at the clock.
The addition had both adults stumped as to when the clock considered the boy a part of the family, but Molly personally suspected it was the moment she took up her knitting needles to knit the poor boy a christmas jumper. After all he was family.
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For a while, the clock remained unchanged, and Molly got into the habit of looking at it whenever she felt anxious about the upcoming war. Which is how she discovered the newest addition almost immediately. There, pointing towards home, was another one, the name sounding oddly familiar and yet not waking any memories.
Fleur.
It wasn’t until the next letter from Bill that she realised what the hand meant, but reading the letter from her oldest son, telling her that he had found a wonderful woman he would love to bring to The Burrow soon, she understood. Without her even knowing about it, her family had gained another member.
‘So much for me having to accept them into the family’ Molly thought. Her next few days were filled with preparing for tea with Bill and Fleur, and with overthinking what made the bizarre clock tick; the latter without any success.
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The next addition to the clock came as less of a surprise. Percy had been friends with Penelope for years and when her hand appeared on the clock, Molly wasn’t as confused as she had been with Fleur.
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The war came and Molly watched anxiously as Ron’s hand turned from On the Run to In Hiding while Harry’s hand remained steadily on the first one. For the upteenth time, Molly cursed the clock for refusing to include Hermione’s hand.
When Molly stumbled home after the final battle, exhausted and emotionally shredded, she threw a customary glance at the clock and to her surprise and anger it was finally there. Hermione’s hand, standing directly next to Ron’s and pointing at Safe. Sometimes Molly wished that the clock would be a little more specific and tell her where exactly her children were safe. But as it was, she could only hope that they were at No.12, and that the Fidelius charm was still active on it, keeping the clock from displaying anything more specific.
Without her permission, her eyes wandered to Fred’s hand, wobbling between hospital and death. The healers had already told her that she shouldn’t expect any news until the morning. Even they had no clue if Fred would survive the night. One last glance and she decidedly turned her eyes away from the clock, catching up with Arthur as he made his way towards their bedroom. She needed sleep.
In the morning, Molly was relieved to see Fred’s hand pointing firmly to hospital.
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The clock was quite crowded, what with Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Audrey, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny on it. Nonetheless, the newest addition was very noticeable, seeing as it was a lot shorter than all the others. In a fine print it read ‘Victoire’.
Molly couldn’t stop herself from grinning brightly at the prospect of watching another handle grow longer over time.
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With the arrival of Angelina and Alicia on the clock (the twins’ girlfriends, although Molly wasn’t all that certain who belonged to which), Molly had had enough. The half-circle was positively overflowing with family members, to the point where she couldn’t even really read clearly who was where. With the help of Hermione she spelled the clock into a full circle and enlarged it, leaving the hands the same width while simultaneously making them longer.
And thank Merlin she did, because not long after there was another tiny hand starting to grow next to Fleur:
Dominique.
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The next addition to the clock was a shock to everyone.
It had been a regular Tuesday. Arthur was at work, Ginny at practice, and Molly had been baking an apple crumble when she noticed the newest hand.
Draco.
When Ginny came home that evening, Molly asked her if she had anything to tell her. And when Ginny seemed perplexed, she gestured to the clock. It took a moment for Ginny to see what the fuss was all about, but when she did, she burst into a fit of giggles.
“That’s most definitely not my fault. I promise. The wasps are keeping me far too busy for me to start dating.”
Molly grudgingly accepted her argument.
The next Sunday, when The Burrow was once again bustling with people for the weekly family brunch, she kept a careful eye on Harry. As did Ginny. Harry had never officially said he was interested in guys, but had neither denied it so far. And with how much Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had complained about Harry focussing too much on Malfoy, it would only make sense. Or so she thought. And when Molly tried to steer the topic towards dating and later on the Malfoys, Harry did look the slightest bit guilty, his face taking on a faint blush.
After all of the family members not living at The Burrow anymore had left, Molly sat down with Ginny.
“Anything seem weird with Harry for you today?” she asked her daughter.
“Yes, but I don’t think he is ready to talk about it yet. Harry never really knew how to keep his emotions secret, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want them to be just that.”
Lost in her own thoughts, Molly nodded.
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The mystery of Draco Malfoy, as Ginny liked to call it, was the secret and main topic among Ginny, Hermione, Ron and even Molly for weeks. All of them agreed that Harry was the most likely candidate to start up a romance with the Malfoy heir. They also agreed that if Harry hadn’t told them yet, he must have a reason for remaining silent and decided unanimously to not push him. Coming out was, after all, a rather big deal for some.
At least it was the main topic until one Saturday night, when Molly discovered the newest hand on the clock.
Severus.
The next day’s family get together would be interesting.
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It had been a few weeks since Charlie had been in England. The dragon mating season had kept him busy and away from home. When he stepped through the floo at The Burrow, he kissed his mother’s cheek and whispered conspiratorially, “I have so much to tell you.”
He glanced towards the family clock and sure enough, there was the expected Slytherin, pointing proudly towardshome, and Charlie felt a pang of fondness as he realised his boyfriend considered his shitty little hut home.
Before he could tell Molly about him though, the floo came alive and out stepped Fleur holding tiny Dominique in her arms. The floo turned green once more and Bill and Victoire came through, the little girl immediately reaching for Molly, calling “Nana!”
Charlie postponed his news in order to greet his nieces and his brother.
Hermione and Ron arrived a bit later and since Harry was still missing, they all settled down into the different armchairs and couches strewn across the living room, chatting about everything and anything.
The floo flared alive once more and Harry stepped out, causing most of them to look at him as well as causing Ginny and Charlie to stand up to get the tables ready. All conversations halted when Harry froze, his eyes focussed on the clock.
“He… He’s already on there” Harry said in astonishment.
Ron looked at him in confusion. “Who? Malfoy? Mate, his hand has been there for WEEKS.”
“We just thought you needed some time to actually tell us.” Hermione chimed in.
But Harry only shook his head, disbelief ringing through his voice as he quietly said, “No. Severus. He’s already on there.” His eyes never leaving the clock.
“SNAPE?” Ron exclaimed in shock. “But.. But wha- But what about Malfoy??”
As if called by the ruckus, Charlie stepped back into the living room, and as lightly as he possibly could with all the nerves flooding him he said, “That one’s actually my fault.”
All heads turned to him, leaving Harry alone with his emotional epiphany.
“But- You- why- HOW?” Ron spluttered, his eyebrows disappearing under his fringe.
“He left Britain as soon as he was allowed to and started a Potions apprenticeship in France. He came to the dragon reserve as part of his training and we got talking. And now that he finished his apprenticeship, he came to stay with me.” Charlie shrugged, before he sheepishly added, “I was waiting to tell you in person. I had quite forgotten about the damned clock.”
Everyone was silent, (except for little Dominique, quietly babbling in Fleur’s arms) the shock still settling in. Harry smiled weakly at Charlie.
He had known about Draco and him for quite some time now since Severus had kept in close contact with his godson, both for professional as well as personal reasons. Harry had had front row seats to the whole emotional debacle that had been the long distance relationship, and the endless pros and cons discussions regarding moving to Romania. Thinking about Severus left him staring at the clock once more, helplessly focussing on the hand with his name.
“Harry? When did you start dating Professor Snape?” It was Hermione’s voice, cutting gently through the tumult in Harry’s head.
“I- we- we’re not-...” Harry trailed off, unsure how to explain Severus’ hand. Shaking his head to clear it from the emotional fog, he tried again. “We’re not… dating per se. I don’t think so at least. We haven’t actually talked about it yet, but last night… Well I kissed him.”
No one said a thing, all lost in their own speculations. Normally a kiss wasn’t enough to grant someone a hand on the clock, but somehow here they were. It was Molly who finally spoke up.
“Well, I am glad to see you in good hands. Even though you may not have talked about it yet, Severus and you must really care for one another, otherwise the clock wouldn’t have added him. It hasn’t been wrong before and I doubt it is now. Do bring him over for family brunch once you’ve settled things between the two of you.”
Harry only nodded, thinking back on the previous night. He and Severus had met up like they did almost every Saturday, (since Hogwarts kept Severus busy during the week) since they had made a habit of sitting down and simply talking ever since Severus was recovering from the attack in the shrieking shack. The previous night they had sat down with a bottle of wine and played a few rounds of wizards chess before finally settling onto one of Harry’s stuffed couches and simply talked. Over the course of the evening, Harry had gotten closer and closer to Severus until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder and at some point Harry had simply stared at Severus in wonder until he couldn’t control himself any longer and leaned forward to kiss the older man.
They had kissed for only a few seconds — Severus’ lips warm and soft against Harry’s — before they had pulled apart. Shortly after Severus had gotten up and with the words, “I shall take my leave” and left Harry’s appartement.
So Harry had told the truth. It had been only a kiss and they hadn’t talked about the two of them yet. But seeing the hand on the clock, Harry knew that Severus was feeling as deeply for Harry as Harry was for him. It was oddly calming and very exciting.
“Excuse me, I really need to talk to Severus.” Harry woke from his daze, taking the few steps back to the fireplace, and flooing to Severus’ chambers in Hogwarts.
Ginny was sniggering slightly, while Molly and Fred and George began pelting Charlie with questions regarding his boyfriend.
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With nearly all her children having their significant other represented on the clock, Molly knew exactly who to question when another name appeared. The hand reading ‘Blaise’ had appeared on a Thursday evening, and Molly was secretly looking forward to the next family brunch already. Ginny had teased all her brothers mercilessly for having the clock announce their relationships, and it appeared that now the time had come for the much warranted revenge.
When Ginny arrived at The Burrow that Sunday, Molly took care to treat her as normally as possible and waited until Ginny had just taken a bite of scone before speaking up.
“Ginny, dear. Why didn’t you bring Blaise with you? Surely you must know he is always welcome here. He is family after all.”
Ginny nearly inhaled her food before hastily swallowing and coughing, turning bright red. As predicted, her brothers pounced on her like vultures.
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At last, Molly had thought that the clock would finally stop adding hands out of the blue. The only new hands she was expecting to see were to be announced BEFORE they were born (she had made that very clear to all of her children). Nonetheless there was a new hand when she did her cursory clock check on a Friday evening. In the field of hands pointing towards home stood another hand, the stem reading ‘Pansy’.
Without even trying to guess why it had appeared, Molly grabbed her wand and conjured her patronus. “Family meeting. Now.” she commanded, before sending it off to all of her children and possible in-laws.
Within minutes everyone apparated into the living room, except for Charlie and Draco, who were a) most likely already asleep, and b) not able to spontaneously travel the distance between the UK and Romania. But that was okay, if she couldn’t get her answers now, she would get them on Sunday at the latest, and the chances of either of the two dating a woman were almost non-existent.
With everyone present, she calmly pointed to the clock behind her and asked, “Which one of you is dating a Pansy?”
Hermione and Ron each grew red and both raised their hands. The almost fearful atmosphere from being summoned so suddenly transformed into relief and joy as the reason for their summoning became clear, and quickly the living room was filled with questions and congratulations.
“Do bring Pansy round for Sunday, will you?” Molly asked, when most of the others had left and Hermione and Ron were getting ready to leave as well. Both of them reassured Molly that they would, before stepping through the floo.
Staring at the crowded clock, Molly once again wondered how exactly the clock knew when to add a new member to the family. It was beyond her, but the clock had never been wrong and despite the chaos, Molly couldn’t wait to see another hand appear.