Speak Up - Female Deaf Harry Potter AU

Under water

Hari held up her wand threateningly. #)You've got three seconds until I curse you. Three, two, one! (# -They scattered and Hari darted forwards, freeing Fleur's sister before swimming with her to grab Draco. The girl looked so small and fragile.

She swam upwards, Draco and Fleur's sister weighing her down like lead weights. Hari's legs were seizing up with the effort to keep swimming; her shoulders aching horribly with the effort of dragging Draco and the girl...

She could barely breath or swim anymore, the potion slowly wearing off, she could feel the water beginning to seep into her lungs

Then suddenly she was grabbed, dozens of grindylows swarming her. She cast levitation charms on Draco and the girl, watching them shot towards the surface, as she was pulled down into the dark dark weeds. Weakly struggling as the water filled her lungs.

•  •  •

[Draco's POV]

Draco Malfoy's head broke the surface of the lake and he looked around him. The last thing he remembered was Snape's wand as he put him to sleep. A small girl with blond hair appeared at the surface beside him and immediately awoke, starting to sink. Draco cast a floating charm on her and looked around wildly. Where the hell was Hari? 

And then he saw it, the green tread of light coming from him, going straight down into the water. It was getting weaker by the second. Draco took a deep breath and dove, his ears popping as he used his wand to propel himself further and further down into the darkness. He saw the swarm of Grindylows before he saw the unconscious girl in the centre of them. He blasted a path through them with boiling water and grabbed Hari, forcing them both upwards.

It was done in a matter of seconds as both their heads broke the surface. He pointed his wand at her chest, expelling the water from her lungs and was relieved to see her start breathing again. She was alright, Hari was alright. And then the gravity of the situation hit him. Hari Potter had been sent into the lake to retrieve who she would miss most. She had been sent to retrieve him. As touching as it was that he was who she would miss most, this wouldn't go down well, not remotely well.

She opened her eyes slowly, head resting on his shoulder as he treaded water. She seemed half asleep, or maybe in shock. That spell often did that to people.

Draco looked around. Much had happened in the 30 seconds he'd been underwater again. Fleur had mannaged to escape Madam Maxime, with whom she had been fighting tooth and nail, and had dived into the water for her sister. "Is Hari alright?" She asked from where she treaded water next to him, holding her sister in her arms.

"She is now."

Draco and Fleur swam to the bank, both dragging their respective small girl.

They made it to the bank and Hari was pulled out of Draco's grasp the one of the Weasle twins who had run, splashing, into the water. He pulled Hari into his arms, wrapping her up in the towel he was holding, burying his face in her soaked hair. While it was just the two of them standing knee deep into the water, the twin turned to him. "I never thought I would say this, but thank you. I don't know why you were the one down there in the lake, but thank you for saving her." The redhead cradled her gently, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Draco gave a small nod, then made his way out of the water, he couldn't show caring here.

[Fred's POV]

Fred watched as Madam Pomfrey fussed over the half asleep girl whom he refused to put down, sitting on the bench with her in lap as Madam Pomfry handed her a potion that stopped her shivering. She seemed to be slowly waking up more.

"Why'd you take so long?" Fred asked her

#) I was the first one there, but I was worried for the other hostages. (# She said in an adorable sleepy voice.

"Leave it to you to rescue two hostages."

Hari gave a small adorable yawn and buried her head in his shoulder. Fred watched as Dumbledore crouched at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female. He was making the same sort of screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water; clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. Finally he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."

Fleur made her way over to where Hari was sitting on Fred's lap. "You saved her!" she said practically crying. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

Hari nodded sleepily at her, #)Yeah, I couldn't just leave her. (#

"Thank you so much!" Fleur pulled the girl into a hug then backed away to hug her sister again.

 Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside them, making everyone but Hari jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows. . . ."

Fred nudged Hari to get her attention and pointed towards Bagman.

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

Applause from the stands.

"I deserved zero," said Fleur sadly, shaking her head, "They should give all my points to Hari."

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour." Enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd; Fred saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look. "We therefore award him forty-seven points."  Cedric looked over at Hari, who, Fred noticed, gave him a small thumbs up.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration into a shark, which, while it could have gone very badly, was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"Hari Potter used an experimental underwater breathing potion to great effect," Bagman continued. "She returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that miss Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in her return was due to her determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely her own."

Hermione gave Hari an half-exasperated, half-commiserating look.

"Miss Potter rescued her own hostage as well as Miss Delacour's, mannaging to send them to the surface, however she was then pulled down to the bottom by Grindilows as her potion ran out. She had to be rescued by her hostage. Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber, her potion running out is because of this, and merits full marks. However . . . Miss. Potter's score is forty points."