Silent Love

Prologue

Baby Harry laid in his crib, tears streaming down his face. His mother was dead on the floor, and his father's body was laying at the foot of the stairs. Severus walked into the house, stepping over his old rival's corpse and walked up the stairs. He saw Lily's body on the ground, her once lovely green eyes staring blankly into nothingness. His loud sobs filled the air as he cradled his childhood love. Harry couldn't hear a thing.

Harry was used to being deaf. He had learned to read lips at school and was fluent in sign language thanks to his elementary school's outreach program, which was designed to help students with disabilities learn with the rest of the kids. His aid, Natasha, would sit in class next to him and translate the teacher's words to sign. When it was vocabulary day, she would write out the words and teach him the sign for them. He still had his voice, but he was too afraid to use it after living with the Dursleys for so long. He laughed sometimes, like when Natasha made jokes at Dudley's expense. He didn't speak sign. None of the Dursleys cared to learn it. They left a list of chores taped to the fridge. If they weren't done by the time given at the bottom of the list, he was punished.

He had found out he was deaf when the Dursleys took him to Leicestershire Home for Orphaned Children. They deemed him worthless and thought he was mentally retarded. They gave him a physical examination so they could determine whether he was healthy enough to be adopted. That determined his eating problem. After finding a file on him, they called the Dursleys back giving them the news of his health condition. What was odd was that Harry's file mentioned nothing about him being deaf. They explained how Harry's hospital file showed that the Dursleys had legal custody, and they had to bring him home. They would be charged with abandonment and lose Dudley if they didn't.

Harry wasn't dumb. Far from it actually. He was years ahead of his grade in reading. Natasha saw to that when he was punished for not knowing how to read the lists on the fridge. He learned how to read clocks, analogue and digital, by first grade. His school taught time reading in third. Dudley always beat him up when he caught Harry laughing. After his arm broke and the nurse had to set it in a cast, he stopped laughing. Natasha was moved to another student after she told the Child Protective Services that Harry was being beaten and the Dursleys paid them off for fear of losing Dudley. After that, he didn't communicate much, only the bare essentials like having to go to the bathroom, needing food or water, or saying that he understood.

The day he got his Hogwarts letter, He slipped it under the door of his cupboard and took the rest of the mail to the table. He thought he'd be punished if it was another letter from the CPA. When he was sent to his cupboard after finishing his chores, He opened the letter. He didn't understand any of the words, so he snuck it to school and hunted down his old aid during recess. Recess was break time for the aids since the kids in the outreach program had it together and the special education teacher watched them. Harry had a talent for slipping away unnoticed. He left the playground and went to the room where the aids ate lunch. Natasha sat in the corner nursing a coffee. Her new charge was rowdy and hard to communicate with since he refused to speak sign. Harry ran over to get and signed, Please help me read this. He pulled the opened envelope out from under his shirt where it had been hiding all day. Natasha's eyes flashed with recognition. He pulled the letter out of it and handed it to her.

Harry, you're very special. You've been chosen to go to a magic school, H-O-G-W-A-R-T-S. I went to school there. Harry's eyes widened. He remembered her telling him about her old school. She said he could go there someday. I'm sure you'll love it just like I did. She pulled him out of the break room and into an empty classroom. She pulled a stick out of her long sleeve where Harry noticed a strap-like thing that held it to her wrist. She waved it and a small fire appeared. She spoke words Harry couldn't hear, but he read her lips. Professor, one of my charges just got his letter. His name is Harry. Yes that Harry. Okay, you're sending- he couldn't catch that last word. It was probably a name judging by the topic of conversation. Yes, I'll see to him until then. The fire disappeared and she took his hand. They're was a tug in his stomach and suddenly it felt like his feet were taken out from underneath him, like the time Dudley threw him down the stairs.

When they landed, Harry wabbled and nearly fell. He sat down and wrapped his arms around himself, trying not to panic. Natasha kneeled next to him and rubbed his back. He looked at her and she signed with one hand, it's okay. He nodded and stood. This is my home. We're going to stay here until my friend can come pick you up.

Harry frowned. Aren't you staying with me? She shook her head, then held her hand out for him to take. Everything was happening so fast! Where was he? He'd never been to Natasha's house. He reluctantly took it and they walked to the kitchen. Natasha offered him a seat at the table and she made him some food. He looked at it, unsure of whether it was going to be taken away.

Go ahead. It's yours. Harry smiled and dug in. This was commonplace whenever Harry ate. Natasha was used to confirming it for him. Natasha put on a cartoon movie she found and was going to bring to work. There were sub-captions and the characters used sign language while they talked. She noticed that Harry didn't laugh at the funny parts, and if he did, he gasped and clapped his hand over his mouth. Hey, you can laugh here. Dudley can't hurt you here. You're safe. He nodded and tried not to look tense. An hour later, Harry was well fed and sleeping on the couch.

Natasha sat by her fireplace, waiting for Hagrid to come get Harry. She was nearly asleep when the embers flared up and burned green. She sat upright in shock as he walked through the Floo. "Hello there, Natasha! It's been a long time since I've seen ya! Is little Harry here? I remember the day I brought 'im to the Muggles. I hear they don't treat 'im right. Still regret there was nothing I coulda done to save Sirius. I just know he was innocent." Natasha nodded along while he rambled.

"Do you want to see him? He's gotten big," she offered.

"Why sure! That'd be great!" He ducked under the low ceiling before Natasha cast a spell to grow the space and he stood upright. "Thanks," he said. Harry was still sleeping on the couch, undisturbed by the noise. Only when Hagrid's footsteps shook the floor did he stir. Natasha walked over and spoke to him.

Harry, this is my friend, H-A-G-R-I-D. He's going to take you to that school we talked about.Can he speak sign?

No, I'm sorry.

Oh ok. Hagrid looked back and forth between them. Natasha noticed.

"He's deaf." Harry read her lips and looked unquestioningly at her. Didn't he know? Hagrid nodded. She cast a translation spell so Hagrid could talk to him for a short while. The spell was temporary and couldn't be used on multiple people at a time. Harry, Hagrid is going to take you to Hogwarts. Ate you going to be okay with him? He nodded. Natasha smiled and he took Hagrid's hand. They walked through the fireplace.

"Harry, this is the Leaky Cauldron. That there's the barkeep, Tom." Harry noticed there were a lot of people staying at him.

He signed, Hagrid, What are they looking at? The translation spell did its work, and Hagrid heard the words in English.

"Why they're lookin' at you! Yer famous here in the Wizarding World." The words were played back in his head so he could "hear" them.

But why? I'm not special.

"Why sure ya are! Yer the one who defeated the Dark Lord when ya was just a wee thing. Yer mum and dad gave their lives up to save ya!"

No, that can't be right. My mum and dad died in a car accident. That's how I got this scar. Hagrid looked shocked.

"Did those Muggles teach ya nothing???" Harry shook his head. Hagrid mumbled something about unreliable Muggles. "James and Lily Potter did not die in a car accident. They were murdered by the Dark Lord." Hagrid's face was angry.

Who's the Dark Lord?

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who, for short. He was the darkest wizard of our age. He killed thousands of Muggles and Muggleborn. He had a thing for Purebloods, old families who descend from the original witches and wizards."

But why? Hagrid shrugged.

"Bad people do bad things, Harry. I don't know what woulda caused You-Know-Who to be like that." Harry nodded.

He must have a name though, right?

"We don't speak that name Harry. Never."

But why not?

"Names have power. Besides, we're all too afraid to say it, the meaning it had in the Dark Ages still has power for some of his followers."

You could write it down.

"Don't know how to spell it." He saw Harry's expression and said, "Fine. It's-" he choked a bit trying to say it the first time, "Voldemort," he whispered. "And don't make me say it again!" Harry nodded. He knew because of the spell how he could sign it, but he'd have to spell it out. Great. A lot of the things here didn't have a proper sign and had to be spelled. Harry hoped there was an alternate sign language for wizards he could learn to make things easier. Hagrid suddenly jumped. "That's one of your professors! He's a new one this year. Name's Quirinus Quirrel. He'll be teachin' ya Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry nodded. He was a bit nervous about asking so many questions, so he let Hagrid ramble on. He tended to do that a lot. Quirrel spoke to Harry and said a few words he could hardly make out. He had a stutter. Harry nodded politely every now and then, not revealing he was deaf. Hagrid seemed to have forgotten again as well.

Hagrid took him to sit at a table and ordered food for them both. Harry stared at the massive plate of greasy chips and a cheese toastie. Hagrid motioned for him to dig in, and Harry slowly ate, waiting for it to be ripped away from him. When he saw Hagrid was eating and not waiting to rip the good away, he dug in with vigor. The last meal he had was hours ago, and before that he hasn't eaten in a few days. He had forgotten to mop the floors and was being punished.

The spell wore down slowly, but Hagrid didn't seem to notice as Harry wasn't speaking. Harry noticed, and tugged gently on Hagrid's sleeve. He was taught to do that when he had to speak to someone who wasn't looking at him. He tried signing, I can't understand you anymore, but Hagrid didn't understand.

"The spell must've worn off." It was dim and Harry could barely make the words out. Harry nodded and took a small spiral notebook out of his pocket. He pulled the miniature mechanical pencil out of the spiral wire and wrote down, Write on this. That way we'll both understand.

Hagrid said something Harry couldn't make out because of the beard. Then he made an o shape with his mouth, smacked the side of his head, smiled, and rolled his eyes. Harry's universal symbol for, "I forgot you were deaf and can't understand me right now." Harry smiled lightly and handed him the notebook.

Hagrid had a hard time with the small size of it, and beckoned Tom the barkeep over. A few moments of silent words later, Tom enlarged the size of the book and pencil, and the paper inside seemed to multiply. Harry gasped, even though he couldn't hear it himself. Harry saw that Tom laughed. Hagrid now used the massive book and decently sized pencil to write out a message.

I have to take you to Gringots so get money for school supplies. Dumbledore gave me a list and a key to your vault. Harry shook his head.

I have no money.

Why sure you do! Your mum and dad left some in the bank for you. You think they'd leave you an orphan without any funds? They planned ahead. They was smart.

I don't know. I never met them. Hagrid read this and patted his back. Harry knew it was supposed to be gentle, but it knocked the air out of him.

Let's get going. I can carry the book for you now it's big. Just tug on me sleeve if you need summat. Harry nodded and handed the book to Hagrid. He took Hagrid's massive paw of a hand and walked as he was led behind the building of the bar. Hagrid looked around to see if they were alone and counted the bricks. That was a new level of weird. He made an 'aha' face and touched the brick he was pointing to with the tip of his pink umbrella. The bricks moved before Harry's eyes, revealing a large street filed with people in strange clothing.

Hagrid smiled and took out the notebook again. Welcome to Diagon Alley.

Yay! First chapter! Yes, I misspelled and improperly grammered Hagrid's speech on purpose. Chips for the fellow Americans (Why did I have to be born here???) Are French fries. Cheese toasties are the proper term for grilled cheese. After spelling the words out the first time, they'll be used regularly.