Speak Up - Female Deaf Harry Potter AU

Quirell

Her scar hurt the moment she stepped into the room. Hari decided that the best tactic was to make Quirell think she was expecting Snape not him, as it would give her an advantage. Hopefully, she would get a villain monologue that gave her time to think.... that always happened in books she read. It would also give her evidence, as people could view the memories from her head. She also hoped he would also explain why the mirror of Erised was in this room, this must have been where Dumbledore moved it to.

'You!?' She signed, acting betrayed and surprised. 

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

'But I thought -- Snape--'

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"


'But Snape tried to kill me!'

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

'Snape was trying to save me?' Still acting scared and surprised, she was in-fact very happy to be getting so much evidence. It would be useful, if she survived.

"Of course," said Quirrell, "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular... and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Hari. NO, no no no no, she was terrified being held down in any way, she started to panic.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"I was the one who let the troll in of course. I have a special gift with trolls -- you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off -- and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly."

"Now, wait quietly, Potter, not that you can make noise. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

Hari struggled, feeling faint. Her breath coming in short bursts.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell said, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he's in London... I'll be far away by the time he gets back... and Snape, well Snape can't come. One might say he's stuck." he paused "He was on to me from the very start you know. Tried to frighten me -- as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side..."

Quirrell stared hungrily into the mirror.

"I see the Stone... I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"

Harry struggled against the ropes binding her, seeing black on the edge of her vision.

Quirrell cursed. "I don't understand... is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it? What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"

And to Hari's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself, and she could hear it, somehow she could hear it.

"Use the girl... Use the girl..."

Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes -- Potter -- come here."

He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Hari fell off. Hari barely managed to not collapse, struggling to stay of her feet, she backed away from Quirell.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated, waving his wand, an invisible force dragging her towards him. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

I must lie, she thought desperately . I must look and lie about what I see, that's all.

Quirrell moved beside the mirror, so that Hari could see his face. Hari breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. She closed her eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again.

She saw her reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at her. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket -- and as it did so, Hari felt something heavy drop into her real pocket. Somehow -- incredibly -- she'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Hari screwed up her courage. What did Quirell think she would see.

"I see myself talking" she invented. "And being able to hear, being normal"

Quirrell cursed again.

"Get out of the way," she said. As Hari moved aside, she felt the Sorcerer's Stone against her leg. Dare she make a break for it? But she hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke again, directly into her mind.

"She lies... She lies..."

Quirell looked livid.

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to her... face-to-face..."

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough... for this..."

Hari felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting her to the spot. She couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, she watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.

Harry would have screamed, but she couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Hari Potter... " it whispered, and she could still hear it. She wished she couldn't. Of all the things to be able to hear.

Hari tried to take a step backward but her legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Hari's legs. She stumbled backward, almost falling over.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."

'LIAR!' Hari signed.

Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching... " it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, girl, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

Hari sprang toward the door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HER!" echoing through her brain. and the next second, Hari felt Quirrell's hand close on her wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Hari's scar; her head felt as though it was about to split in two; she struggled with all her might, and to her surprise, Quirrell let go of er. The pain in her head lessened slightly -- she looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers -- they were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize her! SEIZE HER!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Hari clean off her feet landing on top of her, both hands around Hari's neck -- Hari's scar was almost blinding her with pain, yet she could see Quirrell howling in agony. Quirrell, though pinning Hari to the ground with his knees, let go of her neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms -- Hari could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"Then kill her, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Hari, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face -- Quirrell rolled off her, his face blistering, too, and then Hari knew: Quirrell couldn't touch her bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain -- her only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.

Hari jumped to her feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as she could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off -- the pain in Hari's head was building -- she couldn't see -- she could only feel Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HER! KILL HER!" resonating through her skull.

She felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from her grasp, and fell backwards to be caught by... Snape? Her brain, waving in and out of consciousness was having trouble processing. She watched, barely understanding as Snape, holding her with one arm, fought Quirell and won, before turning to Hari. 

She felt his footfalls against her headache as he ran carrying her. up the passage, through the flames without a potion, past the troll, across the chess set, and into the room with the keys. He grabbed one of the brooms, and flew, then started running again. She felt as she was laid down, and opened her eyes weakly. She was in the hospital wing. She saw Snape, who appeared to be shouting at Professor Dumbledore. She only managed to make out words. "Your fault........ set her up........why......child." Eventually he stopped shouting, and came and sat beside Hari. She wanted to move, to tell him thanks, but her limbs were lead, and her eyes, now closing, refused to open again.