A/N: I'm happy for every feedback and constructive criticism but I will not respect straight out hate or trolls in the comments.

DON'T LIKE DON'T READ! This is an M/M story with mentions of infidelity, violence and abuse (all of which I don't condone).

Thank you for all the reviews, follows and faves!

HuffPride: Sorry, if you find any mistakes could you point them out to me so I can edit them when I find the time? I check my chapters when I edit them but the last weeks I didn't have a lot of time for FF and it was difficult enough to get the chapters up on time. I am trying to get a few chappies pre-written ATM.

thephoenixandthedragon4ever: Not yet. I am sure Severus and Marvolo will get Harry some jewelry and you'll see how they get into Gringotts without Albus knowing :D

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling - I just played a bit in her universe.

Thanks to miu-sama95 for prereading, betaing and helping with the storyline ;)

Chapter 13: Press Conference

Words: 3605

Severus was quickly losing his temper. Not that he didn't have a good hold on his anger but the headmaster was just driving him crazy today. Everybody in the school - even the first years - knew that you did not talk to Professor Severus Snape until he was at least halfway through his second cup of strong, black coffee, otherwise everyone in the castle would feel his wrath. If that happened no one was safe - not even the headmaster and today the headmaster was digging his own grave.

Not only had he accosted Severus before he had even poured his first cup. he had since then nagged the Potions Master about his whereabouts, the potion he had "freshly brewed" for Harry and anything else that floated through the headmaster's mind.

Severus had already been in a grumpy mood because of his son's nightmares and being up since dawn because of them but now it was deteriorating faster than ice cream melting in the sun. He had hoped for a quiet and peaceful breakfast which would have been a possibility since all students except for 5th and 7th years didn't have classes anymore so they had no need to get up early. There were actually a lot less students than usually in the Great Hall but the headmaster was ruining it all.

Severus made a quick visual sweep of the house tables only to see many of the students in attendance watching him carefully and subtly moving further away from the head table. So they had noticed.

Good.

By lunch everyone who valued their life would be avoiding him at all costs. His gaze landed on his son, who was also watching him carefully. When Harry locked eyes with his father he only raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Severus conveyed with an eye roll and the tiniest nod possible that YES he would in fact blow up at the headmaster in a second. He watched in amusement as Harry's eyes widened at the realisation before he turned to his friends and started whispering to them.

No matter how much the students may hate their Potions Professor, they knew there was no way to save anyone stupid enough to talk to him before his coffee. So the students usually enjoyed it when he blew his fuse. Especially if it was at another teacher and not a student since his blow ups were legendary.

Time to give them a show.

'... and I really can't understand, why you… ' he tuned into the headmaster's chatter again before interrupting in his deadliest voice possible.

'Headmaster.'

'Yes, my boy?' Albus looked rather startled at being interrupted but he didn't seem to notice that his use of the so-called endearment finally pushed Severus over the edge.

'Firstly, headmaster, I am not your son, so I would very much appreciate you calling me by my given name. Secondly, I am trying to eat breakfast here. Please be so kind and stop sullying my quiet time with your endless chatter! I have not even had my second cup of coffee and my food is getting cold because of you unnecessary questions! It is non of you damn business what I did all weekend and I do not like being interrogated on my whereabouts when I was busy brewing an antidote for YOUR GOLDEN BOY who had managed to get bitten by a manticore! A manticore YOU had put in this stupid maze of yours for that good for nothing tournament YOU insisted on hosting where a 14 year old managed to get chosen as Champion and then YOU allowed him to compete although he was not of age! All of this just because he is THE BOY WHO LIVED! So leave me the fuck alone to enjoy my breakfast since I didn't even have any yesterday!' By the end of his rant Severus was practically screaming which meant that his voice was barely above a whisper and every word was pronounced extra sharp but everyone knew that that equaled anyone else screaming. Dumbledore looked rather embarrassed for being scolded in front of everybody but Severus didn't care.

'I'm sorry you feel that way about Harry, Severus. I will see you in my office?' Albus said quietly and after getting a court nod from the Professor he stood up and left through the teacher's entrance.

With an inaudible sigh Severus turned back to his breakfast. Finally quiet. After a minute or so the usual chatter in the Great Hall picked up again but it was a lot quieter because none of the students wanted to draw attention to themselves. Term may be over but until they were on the Hogwarts Express they could still get detentions.

A quarter hour after the headmaster had left, the Potions Master had also finished his breakfast and calmed enough to face the old fool. He got up and left for the headmaster's office after sending his son a signal to wait a bit before following.

Meanwhile Harry had been caught up by Hermione on all that had happened since Saturday. All of the champions had been in the hospital for some time, so they had to postpone the Winner's banquet until tonight. Hermione guessed that they couldn't delay it any further because the other schools were scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning.

Harry found out that while Fleur had only been stunned and had some minor scratches, Victor had been imperioed by someone or possessed by something and stunned as well. Fleur had been released again on Saturday night while Victor had only been let out Sunday afternoon. Being imperioed or possessed was not something you got over that easily, so Victor would have to see a Mind Healer over the summer. He had told Hermione after he had been released.

They also decided to just stay friends for now because Bulgaria and Britain were just too far apart and neither wanted to leave their family. Harry was sure that Hermione had a standing invitation to Kum's home and he was also sure that she would visit him but they were better off as friends.

After Hermione had caught him up on everything they lapsed into a comfortable silence to eat.

'Hermione, I have to go up to the headmaster. I'll come and find you afterwards?' Harry broke the silence.

'Alright. Do you want me to go with you?'

'No that's alright. I'll be fine.'

'Okay, if you're sure. I will try to get Ron out of bed and then I think we will go outside. It is such a nice day after all.'

'I'll come and find you when I'm done.' Harry promised and got up to start the trek up to the headmaster's office. While it was not as high up as the common room, it was still a bit of a walk, especially if one took the long way there as Harry did. He dragged his feet since he didn't want to answer the headmaster's questions and he also wanted to give his Dad a few minutes to talk to Dumbledore alone.

Up in said office Albus and Severus stood staring at each other. While Severus was still angry about breakfast, the headmaster was seething. How dare one of his subordinates talk to him like that. How dare he!? He wanted to stare Severus into submission, not thinking about the fact that Severus was probably THE most stubborn person on earth. When neither of the wizards gave way, Severus decided to be the adult in this situation.

'You wanted to see me, headmaster?' he sneered.

'Yes, Severus. I had wanted to get your input on where young Harry could be found but since he turned up at breakfast that won't be necessary anymore.'

'Find? Wasn't he in the infirmary? I brought the potions to Poppy in the Hospital Wing.'

'No. Poppy had him somewhere else to protect him from the press but she wouldn't even allow ME to talk to him. He must have been completely isolated from everyone. I need to know what happened before someone get's the idea that Harry killed Cedric.' Albus carefully explained while not giving his true motives up. 'I also need a way to ensure that he is telling me the truth about the incident.'

'Why wouldn't Poppy let you see him?' Severus decided to play dumb. It usually worked with Albus. 'And how do you plan on getting the truth?'

'I don't know but Poppy is very protective of Mr. Potter after all the time he spent in her care. I thought about using a bit of Legilimency on him. Harry is too inexperienced to notice and we won't have much time until the Minister and everybody arrives for the press conference.' the older wizard admitted. Severus was seething on the insides. Using Legilimency without consent was illegal and it was even more severe if the person was a minor.

'Legilimency seems like the best option but you can't use it while talking to the boy.' Severus agreed before setting his newly composed plan into motion. 'How about you talk to him while I use it on him. That way there won't be a reason to suspect anything.'

'Alright. Thank you, Severus.' Dumbledore quickly agreed, happy that he didn't have to dirty his own hands.

Just then there was a chime signalling someone coming up the stairs and a moment later there was a knock on the door.

'Come in, Harry.' Albus called out cheerfully.

'Headmaster, you wanted to see me?' Harry asked once the door had closed behind him. When he noticed his Dad next to Dumbledore he nodded respectfully in his direction and murmured a greeting. 'Professor Snape.'

'Yes, Harry. I asked you here to talk about Saturday's happenings. Also I would like to inform you that at 9 o'clock there will be a big press conference with everybody.'

'Didn't you hear what I said in the Great Hall?' Harry was clearly uncomfortable at the prospect of having to tell his story again.

'Was it the truth?' Albus questioned calmly.

Harry's eyes shot up at the silent accusation and anger flashed in his eyes. That was the reaction the headmaster had hoped for because it gave Severus the perfect chance to look into the boy's mind.

'Of course it's the truth! You don't actually believe that I would kill Cedric to win a Tournament I didn't even want to partake in the first place!'

'I'm sorry, Harry. We just had to check. The press will surely ask as well as the Aurors investigating the incident.' Dumbledore said, trying to calm the agitated teen while seeing out of the corner of his eyes that Severus gave a tiny nod. So the boy had told the truth.

'Maybe you could tell us what happened up until you and Mister Diggory took the Cup? It would help ease everyone's mind hopefully.'

Harry thought about the request that was more a command than anything. He knew he would have to tell the Aurors and the press all of this as well. It was a long story and emotionally taxing for him to tell so he only wanted to tell it once. After a quick glance at his watch he saw that it was already 8:50. Thankfully there was not enough time to tell them.

'I only want to tell it once, headmaster. It's not easy to talk about for me. We only have a few minutes until the press conference, so why don't we head down? Then I can tell everyone at once.'

Albus had wanted to hear it alone at first but there was really not enough time. They couldn't be late just because of a discussion to satisfy his own curiosity.

'You are right, my boy. Let's get down to the Great Hall and get this over with.' Albus conceded, standing up from his desk to accompany his student.

'The Great Hall?' Harry asked with trepidation. 'Aren't there OWLs or NEWTs today?' The press conference being there would mean that there would be a lot more people watching him.

'Of course! You are after all the new Triwizard Champion! And the exams will simply start a bit later than usual.'

With that the headmaster strode out the door with Harry and Severus following him. On the stairs Severus put a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder, knowing he was getting more nervous with each step he took. Although the contact was only brief it grounded Harry and he knew that his father was there for him.

As the entered the Great Hall, Harry saw all three schools were fully assembled. Additionally there were a few Aurors, the press, the Ministry officials and the champion's families. He avoided looking at the Diggorys but he was very happy to see all of the Weasley's in attendance as his surrogate family. Even Charlie and Bill were there for him.

Once the crowd noticed Albus leading Harry to the head table they all fell quiet while they walked through the throng of people.

The first one to react was sadly Amos Diggory. He jumped up, completely enraged, and screamed 'Aurors! Arrest him! He killed my son!'

Harry had expected this and had hashed out a plan with his Dad this morning. He turned around and faced the older wizard and while holding up his wand he slowly spoke a vow.

'I, Harry James Potter, swear on my magic that I did not kill Cedric Diggory. I also never entered my name into the Goblet of Fire or coerced anyone else into doing so for me. So I say, so mote it be!' After feeling the magic of the vow settle he raised his wand and cast his favorite spell, fuelled by the knowledge of having people who cared for him. 'Expecto Patronum!'

Out of the tip of his wand jumped his wonderful stag and after galloping around the Great Hall once Prongs disappeared again, leaving everyone in awe of the young man's power. The patronus charm was, after all, 6th year curriculum.

While everybody was in a shocked daze, Harry walked the rest of the way to the table and sat down in his assigned seat. He purposefully made some noise while sitting down, hoping the noise would release them from their petrified state. And it did.

Suddenly the Hall was once again full of people talking, whispering and screaming questions at him.

While the headmaster tried to quiet the masses in a civil manner in the end he cast a loud BOOM and screamed with a sonorous charm activated.

'SILENCE!'

At once all attention was on him and the Great Hall was in order again.

'We here at Hogwarts wish to welcome you all to the Triwizard Tournament Winner's press conference. Please welcome with me the British Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.' Albus stepped back from the dais to let Fudge do the talking.

'Thank you, Albus. It has been a great pleasure for all of us to host this Tournament here at Hogwarts. We have been shown exceptional talent and great knowledge by all of the participants and great school unity by all students. We hope that each and every one of you has managed to find a new friend or more in one of the other schools.' Cornelius started his speech with praise, knowing he had to talk about the negative things as well.

'Sadly, against all our newly implemented security measures, there were two occurrences that should not have happened and will be investigated further. Firstly Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire although he is only 14 and we just heard and saw his oath that he never entered the Tournament. And then on Saturday we tragically lost Cedric Diggory. The circumstances around his tragic demise are still unknown to everybody but one. May I ask you, Mister Potter to enlighten us as to what has happened?'

Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights but still gave a small nod to signal the Minister that he was willing to explain everything. Slowly he got up and rounded the table to stand before the people instead of hiding behind a table.

'I… Cedric Diggory was my friend, so this is really hard to talk about for me.' Harry began before starting to tell them everything that had happened in the maze and the graveyard. He began tentatively but once he started the words just poured out of him.

Harry told them about seeing Fleur being pulled under the hedges and firing sparks into the sky for her; about the imperiused Victor hexing Cedric and how Harry stunned him to save Ced; how he and the Hufflepuff split up again only to end up in the same corridor that led to the Cup.

There Harry had to take a deep breath and center himself since now came the harder part. He explained about the manticore and how it had attacked Cedric and how they worked together to bring the beast down; Cedric supporting Harry because he couldn't stand anymore with his injuries; their decision to share the win because a united Hogwarts was what they were and them grabbing the Cup at the same time.

Harry took another moment before telling everybody the hardest part: the graveyard. Of course he only told them the semi-true story he had agreed upon with his Dad but that didn't make it any easier. By the time Harry was done, there was not one dry eye in the whole hall. Not ever Potions Master Severus Snape's eyes were dry.

Harry had to fight against his own emotions before he turned to Mr. Diggory to address him personally.

'I am so very sorry for your loss, Mister Diggory. I would like to say that your son was one of the most honest and loyal people I knew and it was an honour to compete with him. I also would like to honor his decision to share the Cup with me because without him I would not have made it even that far.'

Next he turned to the Minister and Bagman, Crouch and all of those important people to make his last statement.

'I will only accept the title of Triwizard Champion if it is rightfully shared with Cedric Diggory. Half of the prize is his since we touched the Cup at the exact same moment. I believe it is only fair if Mr. Diggory gets his son's winnings and that the Ministry pays for his burial. His death did not occur during but after the Tournament due to a breach of security. That's all I've got for you today.'

Using the element of surprise, Harry turned around and instead of sitting back down quickly ran out of the Hall through the teacher's entrance. He then used every passage to get to his dorm as fast as possible. Harry didn't want to hide up there but he needed his invisibility cloak to go watch the events occurring after his sudden departure. Thank's to his vast knowledge of the castle it only took him ten minutes to get back to the last flight of stairs before the Great Hall.

He ran them down while throwing his cloak over himself and was happy to find out that the doors were not closed so he wouldn't even need to sneak inside. Just then he heard the headmaster's voice booming through the whole castle. It seemed like an overpowered sonorous charm was the only way to quiet down the masses.

'QUIET! Show some manners!' Albus Dumbledore boomed. 'Since it seems impossible to get you all to quiet down we will have to close the rest of the press conference to the public. All students - OUT!'

Under a lot of murmured protests the students of the three schools slowly left although a few lingered outside the doors.

'Now we would like to invite the press representatives, the champions and their headmasters as well as the Ministry officials to one of the smaller conference rooms. The Great Hall is needed for the Owl and NEWT exams. Families of the champions you are welcome to stay on the grounds of Hogwarts or spend this nice day in Hogsmeade, the wizarding town nearby, until the banquet tonight where the champions will be awarded their prizes.'

Slowly people trickled out of the Great Hall, none noticing the Boy Who Lived watching them from under his cloak.

Ron and Hermione had waited in the Entrance Hall for the rest of the Weasley family and after a short discussion they decided to spend the day together in Hogsmeade. Ron didn't look happy about leaving Harry behind but since they didn't know where he disappeared to there was nothing they could do.

Harry moved forward and lightly brushed his hand along his boyfriends arm to let him know he was there before whispering in his ear.

'Go. It's alright. Press would be awful. I'll spend the day with Dad. See you tonight!'

Ron gave a miniscule nod before following Hermione and his family out onto the grounds. He was more than happy to leave for a nice day out.

Ironically just as Harry turned around to go down to the dungeons, Severus came out of the Great Hall and sealed the doors behind himself. He must have set up for the first exams.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and started following his Dad down into the dungeons, still wearing his cloak because you never know who is watching and maybe just maybe he could get away with sneaking up on his Dad for once…

TBC

First posted on: 28. May 2017

Next update planned: 04. June 2017