Sunday morning wasn't much nicer than the previous day, keeping them all indoors. Although not cold and not really rainy, the drizzle made the day look unpleasant and prevented the Granger family from riding their bikes, as they had initially planned.
Harry and the girls didn't really mind. They cuddled together on the sofa and watched the children programs on TV. Harry had never been allowed to watch TV until then. He had managed to watch some at Mrs. Figg and sneak a few glances at it while at the Dursleys. Being able to leisurely watch any program he wanted was a welcome novelty for him.
Fleur had known about it but had not had much of a chance to watch television programs, as her parents didn't have one. They didn't have any electrical instrument, really, nor electricity in any of their houses, so they had no chance to experience it, except when visiting muggle places.
This was really a cause of concern for the Granger adults. Dave wondered if he would be able to use the electrical shaver. It had been years since he shaved any other way. Jean was worried about her hair drier and even more about their mobile phones. They needed to be available for their patients even during vacations, if only to advise them. None of the youngsters knew for sure if magical environment wouldn't damage the delicate instruments. Hermione thought this subject was worth some investigation, yet it wasn't too urgent. She could still spend some time being a lazy teenager.
It was mid-morning when their phone rang. It was Alain. "I was wondering if it would not be wise to let you know my wife before starting the vacation. Can we come now?"
"We are at home and have no plans, as the weather is not too nice, but will you be able to come before noon?" Dave asked.
"We can be at your place in a few minutes, if that's fine with you," Alain assured him.
"Then I think you may come. We're all one family now, aren't we?" He meant his question to sound humorous, but it sounded more like he wasn't sure about it. Dave really didn't know how to treat the new additions to the family, being so unusual, at least for the muggle environment.
Two loud "pop"s were heard about five minutes later and the doorbell rang. Dave opened the door to Alain and a beautiful woman who was clearly Fleur's mother.
Apolline was glad to meet the Grangers and even gladder to meet the youngsters. She kissed Fleur on both cheeks before hugging her and then did the same with Hermione and with Harry, who blushed terribly when he felt her bosom pressed onto his chest. Once released, he wondered why he had never had a similar reaction when Mrs. Weasley had hugged him, with her much larger bosom pressing even tighter on him. Could it be that Mrs. Weasley looked so plain compared to Apolline, or was it the natural sex-appeal that the latter had? He wasn't sure.
While his wife was busy getting to know her hosts, Alain wanted to talk with Harry, who was flanked by his wives.
"Harry, you need to hold a press conference, as I promised the journalists at the train station. I'm sorry to have forced it on you, but that was the only way to temporarily rid you of them. I also think it may be to your benefit."
"What should I tell them? I'd rather keep my marriages private." Harry was far from enthusiastic at the idea.
"I don't think you can keep it secret. The ministry has recorded the marriages and that information is accessible to the public. If you don't tell them anything, they may just speculate and fabricate stories. I believe it's better if you tell them the truth, although you don't need to go into details."
Harry looked at his wives. They both nodded, affirming Alain's words. "Well, it looks like I don't really have much of a choice," he said grumpily.
"True, but you may use it to further your cause. You can denounce the remaining Death Eaters and their supporters, endorse the actions taken to clean the ministry of questionable employees and even announce your support for ideas you believe in, like fair treatment of house-elves or equal rights to Veela." Alain winked at him at the last word.
They spent some time deciding on what could be safely revealed and what not, as well as thinking on ways to help further their cause. Alain left them alone after a while, joining the other adults. "I'm sure you can manage this, considering you have two very smart advisers."
Harry didn't like talking to the press, but if he had to, then he wanted to do it as soon as possible and get it over with. His wives agreed it was for the best. They needed to decide what to tell the press and what to keep secret.
"You can't keep our marriages secret," Fleur told him. "The records are open to the public, so anybody can just look there and see that you are married to both of us. We need to think of how we should present it, though."
"Can't we just tell the truth?" Harry asked.
"We can't tell everything," Hermione said, "as Harry may get much more attention than he already gets if they find out it was his magic, but what else can we say?"
"Maybe we can claim it was something about your life-debts? That may work, I believe, but then somebody may ask about Ginny," Harry was airing his thoughts.
Fleur was thinking of it and then her face brightened. "Yes, we can claim that it was caused by our parents acknowledging the life debt, not mentioning Veela. We still have to consider Ginny, though."
"I think we shouldn't mention any life debt. It may only open some new cans of worms," Hermione said. "We can say that Harry had proposed to me long ago and then you fell in love with him but needed to keep it secret. We became friends and agreed to become co-wives after the tournament. Saying our vows as soon as our parents gave us their blessing."
"That's quite a Slytherin way of thinking," Harry commented.
"Well, the Hat considered that house for me, but as I'm muggle-born, it wasn't the best option," she replied.
"It considered Slytherin for me as well," Harry said, surprise evident in his voice.
"We now need to tap into that part of us and come with the best story for the press," she said, somewhat proudly.
By the time Lunch was served, they had their story tailored. The parents listened to their ideas and approved them. "I'll schedule the press conference for Tuesday," Alain said. "That would leave a few more days for you to polish your story and enough time for getting ready for your vacation in France."
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Harry chose to hold the conference at The Leaky Cauldron, where Tom was willing to let him use the whole ground floor for that, erecting a small stage at one end of the hall, where a table with four chairs was ready and a few rows of seats in front of it. Alain was waiting there before the set time.
The Potters asked Sirius to take them to his home and used the Floo from there. Fleur arrived first, stepping majestically out of the Floo. Harry came next. Fleur and Sirius had spent some time teaching him how to exit the Floo on his feet. He managed not to emerge on his back or on his belly, but he would have stumbled into somebody if Fleur didn't grab his hand to steady him. Hermione came last, stepping out with less dignity than Fleur, but firmly on her feet.
As soon as they were all seated, Alain tapped his glass with a spoon to catch everybody's attention. "As promised, Lord Potter has decided to give this press conference to sate everyone's curiosity. He only demands that you report solely the truth, with no fabricated stories and no personal comments. Lord Potter has been a victim of too many such so called 'reports' and made it clear that whoever tries to repeat such actions will be sued."
Alain sat back. Harry started by reading their announcement. "I've been a close friend with Hermione since first year. Our relationship deepened as we grew up and I proposed to her before the third task, promising to marry her if I survive. Fleur only met me last autumn. She first thought I was just 'a little child', but then she was drawn to me, especially after I rescued her sister in her stead during the second task. Noticing my feelings towards Hermione, she befriended her and they both agreed to marry me, knowing I had enough titles for several wives."
This brought a chuckle from all present.
Harry continued. "I didn't dare do anything more meaningful until I finished the third task, knowing the dangers the tasks presented, and knowing that some dark forces were acting behind the scenes. I thought they would use one of the tasks to try and get rid of me. In a way, they did."
There was utter silence in the hall, everybody waiting for him to continue.
"Unknown to me at the time, Viktor Krum had been imperiused to get rid of the other champions, so that I would be the one to touch the trophy, which was actually a port-key, intended to bring me to the cemetery at Little Hangelton, where Peter Petigrew and what remained of Voldemort were waiting for me. They killed Cedric as soon as we arrived. 'Kill the spare,' was the command Voldemort gave. As I was already injured during the task, I was unable to fight well enough. I was bound to a tombstone and had some blood taken from me forcefully in order to be used at resurrecting Voldemort."
Some frightened murmurs could be heard.
"When Voldemort gained his body, he first summoned his Death Eaters and then intended to duel me and kill me, to prove I was no better than any other wizard. A certain quirk in our wands helped me stall him long enough to escape and portkey back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body." There were tears in his eyes as he said it.
Somebody wanted to ask a question, but Alain raised his hand to urge the audience to let Harry finish his story.
"What happened next is already well known. Minister Fudge refused to believe my tale. Luckily, there seems to be somebody who did, as half an hour later, Voldemort and his close circle were all killed. I thank whoever did this from the bottom of my heart."
Harry waited for the audience to calm down before continuing. "I spent the night at the Hospital wing, recuperating from the injuries I had suffered during and after the task. When I woke up, both Fleur and Hermione were at my side, unwilling to wait any longer."
A wave of chuckles passed in the audience. "Fleur took me to meet her parents and we said our vows in front of them. Two days later, I repeated it with Hermione, after meeting her parents. We've all spent some time in England and we're planning to go on vacation abroad in a few days."
Harry was glad this was close enough to the truth to make it believable. He really would have preferred it to happen as he said.
Luckily, most questions dealt with his adventure at the cemetery, and Harry had no problems answering them. He refused to answer any questions about his relationships with his wives. Ten minutes later, Alain concluded the meeting, thanking all present and warning them that any misquote or unfair reporting would be severely dealt with.
"I think you were grand!" Hermione told Harry.
"You were magnifique!" Fleur said.
Alain only put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "You've handled it very well. I'm really proud of you."