I’ve seen a handful of AUs where Harry is deaf and I love it but it also makes me laugh because I just imagine Tom Riddle monologuing in the Chamber of Secrets and finally turning to a confused Harry who just signs “I’m deaf” and Tom is just like ??????
Voldemort isn’t present Harry’s 3rd year because his spirit is too busy learning sign language because god forbid he can’t monologue to Harry Potter come 4th year when he finally has a body.
Oh my god,
It took Voldemort two years, because remember, the Tom in Chamber of Secrets is the part of Voldemort’s soul that lives inside his horcrux. Once the diary is destroyed, that soul piece goes, too. I don’t think Voldemort gets it back. (Though that could raise some interesting possibilities…well in any event I’m pretty sure he doesn’t get it back.)
BUT he was possessing Quirrell in Harry’s first year. He absolutely knew Harry was deaf, and honestly I imagine it took a while for most of the teachers to learn British sign language (most of them probably just use that charm to make letters/words appear and float in midair; Snape refuses to do even that and Harry has to watch him like a hawk because he ALSO doesn’t care that Harry needs line of sight for lip reading), and Quirrell, out of a combination of his nervous nature and the side effects of his possession…well I doubt he was very much up for learning or practicing a new language, let alone one that requires reasonably precise finger movements.
All of this is to say, please picture an increasingly annoyed ghost Voldemort hanging out for not one but TWO GODDAMNED YEARS learning BSL to that Harry Goddamned Potter will understand him PERFECTLY the next time he wants to monologue.
God this is so extra, I love it
See this is why disability representation improves literally everything.
Published
Question of Smoke 