Speak Up - Female Deaf Harry Potter AU

Cedric Diggory

The weather worsened steadily as the first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff drew nearer. The day before the match, the winds reached howling point and the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns were lit. 

On the day of the match woke up really early. She was very anxious. Wood had pointed out Cedric Diggory to her in the corridor; Diggory was a fifth year and a whole lot bigger than Hari. Seekers were usually light and speedy, but Diggory's weight would be an advantage in this weather because he was a lot less likely to be blown off course than her.
Hari whiled away the hours until dawn in front of the fire, getting up every now and then to stop Crookshanks from sneaking up the boys staircase. The blasted cat kept trying to eat Scabbers. At long last Harry thought it must be time for breakfast, so she headed through the portrait hole alone.

She was nibbling on toast when the rest of the team arrived, she was never very hungry, and even less so now.

"It's going to be a tough one," said Wood, who wasn't eating anything.
"Stop worrying, Oliver," said Alicia soothingly, "we don't mind a bit of rain."
But it was considerably more than a bit of rain. However, such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual, but they ran down the lawns toward the Quidditch field, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went.

The wind was so strong that Hari staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field. Rain was splattering over her glasses. She waved her wand, putting an impervious spell on them, so the rain would avoid the glass.

The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. Diggory looked at Hari, and smiled, Hari gave a small nod in response

Hari rose fast, but her Nimbus was swerving with the wind. She held it as steady as she could and turned, squinting into the rain. Within five minutes Hari was soaked to her bones and frozen straight through. Shivering, she flew backward and forward across the field past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game.

She lost track of time. She could barley hold her broom straight now. The sky was getting darker, as though night had decided to come early. Lightning forked across the sky. This was getting more and more dangerous. Suddenly Cedric was pelting up the field towards her, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them

With a jolt of panic, Hari threw herself flat to the broom-handle and zoomed toward the Snitch. And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over her, inside her, then dementors were moving towards her in the air. It was as though freezing water were rising in her chest, cutting at her insides, filling her lungs. Pain, all she could feel was pain and despair. She felt her broom slip from beneath her, and then there was darkness.

[Cedric's POV]

Cedric was chasing after the snitch, hardly noticing as Potter sped towards him from the other direction. But something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling across the stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It was as though someone had turned off the sound, as though he had gone suddenly deaf -- what was going on? He looked up and saw dementors flying through the air towards the two of them. A meter from the snitch, he watched as Potter slipped sideways, and then fell off her broom. Forgetting the snitch, Cedric sped after her, catching her before she hit the ground. He flew strait to Madam Hooch. 

"Cancel the match, it's not safe." And with that he flew towards the hospital wing, the small unconscious girl still in his arms.

[Hari's POV]

Hari's eyes snapped open. She was lying in the hospital wing. There were two people dressed in mud splattered quidditch robes asleep in two chairs next to her, one, not surprisingly, was in red and gold, but the other.... the other was wearing canary-yellow and black. Suddenly it was as though Hari's memory was fast forwarding. The rain -- the lightning -- the Snitch -- and the dementors... She felt the cold pressing in on her again, even safe in the hospital wing. 

Not sure what to do, Hari gently nudged the person closest to her, the Hufflepuff, who slowly awoke. As he lifted his head from his hands, she saw that it was Cedric Diggory.

"Potter!" he said, looking relieved. "How're you feeling?"

The Gryffindor sat up, it was George Weasley, no, Fred. "Hari! You're awake!"

What happened? 

"You fell off your broom," said Fred."Must've been -- what -- fifty feet before Diggory caught you."

You caught me?

"Yeah, I couldn't just let you hit the ground could I?"

Thank you

Diggory nodded

What about the match? What happened? Are we doing a replay?

"I called off the match as I brought you up to the castle, I don't know if we're doing a rematch, a tie, or leaving the points as is."

Oh, Did someone get my broom? she asked Fred

"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away," said Fred

And?

"And it hit -- it hit the Whomping Willow." Fred looked down at the floor, reaching down for a bag at his feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Hari's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.

"Sorry." he said, looking at her as though he thought she'd be mad at him.

No, it's not your fault, I can get another one.

"Glad you're alright Hari." Fred said after a minute, "I'm going to go tell the rest of the team you're okay, they left a few hours ago, but told me to tell them if anything happened." He left the wing.

How long was I out? she asked Diggory

He checked the clock, "Five or six hours."

Thank you again.

"You would have done the same thing."

She smiled, Or tried too, You're a lot bigger that I am, I'm not sure if I could catch you.

He laughed, then stood to leave. "Well I should be going, it's past curfew. Glad to know you're alright, see you around Hari."

She noted the use of her first name, See you.... Cedric