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The Weasleys have a magical clock in their home, The Burrow. It doesn't tell the time, but rather tells where and how the Weasley family members are.

Mrs Weasley glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. Harry liked this clock. It was completely useless if you wanted to know the time, but otherwise very informative. It had nine golden hands, and each of them was engraved with one of the Weasley family's names. There were no numerals around the face, but descriptions of where each family member might be. 'Home', 'school' and 'work' were there, but there was also 'lost', 'hospital', 'prison' and, in the position where the number twelve would be on a normal clock, 'mortal peril'.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 10: "Mayhem at the Ministry", by J.K. Rowling

Since

Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts

in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, do we know what happened to his hand on the clock?

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    In my headcanon, it became a pendulum.
    – Radhil
    Commented Jun 7, 2018 at 11:35
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    All of the hands are stuck on 'mortal peril' throughout Half-Blood Prince. Unless the clock purposefully removes dead family members it probably, as awful as it sounds, stays stuck on 'mortal peril' forever. Commented Jun 7, 2018 at 13:57
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    Maybe one of the positions on the clock is "dead"?
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Jun 7, 2018 at 19:38

1 Answer 1

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One could also ask "how do the hands get added to the clock?". Does Harry get one when he marries into the clan, or do James and Albus get hands? Presumably, a spell is cast that adds a hand when a family member is added to the clan, or perhaps the clock has that capacity built-in. A new enchanted clock hand could be applied by a family member

Once that process is established, one could apply the reverse for when someone passes. It might simply vanish, or perhaps (more sadly) fall off, like a petal on a flower.

The most likely answers are the hand is removed, either manually, or via a spell, or if you want narrative drama, perhaps his hand is permanently pointing to "lost".

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