All Harry Potter Characters don't belong to me.
The Source - Chapter Thirty
"Speaking"
<Thinking>
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Ginny was sitting in her office and in her disguise waiting for Felicity Lateris to arrive. She had received a letter from Felicity which requested a meeting with the Source to discus some business. Ginny was sitting casually behind her desk in her chair when the door to her office opened and in walked Felicity.
She walked to the desk and sat down in the chair in front of Ginny.
"What can I do for you, Lateris?" Ginny asked in her deep gruff voice.
Felicity smiled. She had had a bad experience with The Source the last time. But since everyone says he is the best she wanted to use him again. (Ginny is going to be a 'him' when she is the Source)
"I want some detailed information on someone," She answered him.
"Cut to the chase, Lateris," Ginny said slightly annoyed.
"I want information on Ginny Weasley."
Ginny was utterly surprised. But years of doing business had trained her to remain calm through nearly everything. She thought quickly on how to handle this and also protect herself at the same time.
"Sure," was Ginny's answer. "Anything specific you want to know."
"Yes," Felicity said desperately. "Besides all the general things, I also want to know what she has to do with Draco Malfoy."
Ginny raised an eyebrow behind her mask. "As far as I know," Ginny said. "She has no link with Malfoy besides the common Weasley Malfoy dispute."
Felicity smirked. "I know there is more to it than that. And don't tell me you can't give me this information. I'm sure the Weasley's are not rich enough to pay you off. So that means their information in not protected, so I'm expecting a good answer." Felicity said snobbily.
Ginny was very annoyed at the tone Felicity was using, therefore she didn't think straight before snapping back.
"Well if she really did have any sort of relationship with Draco Malfoy then his payment to me would also protect that information and I would not be able to give it to you," Ginny said arrogantly.
Felicity smirked. "So are you implying that there is something between the Weasel girl and Malfoy?"
Ginny's hand clenched as she kicked herself for her mistake, but she fixed it up quickly. "No. I am not implying anything. You will receive the report in a few days."
"Good," Felicity said and then placed a few Galleons on the table before walking out.
After she had left Ginny slammed her fist onto the table and cursed. <Damn you Felicity Lateris. She means trouble and I have to fix her up soon before she does anything. I think some deeper digging into this girl's background is needed>
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It would take some time for Ginny's sources to help her find out more about Felicity's past, therefore in the mean time Ginny gave Felicity the minimum amount of information she could about herself.
All the normal things about herself, like family background, friends and hobbies she could tell Felicity without any worries. Ginny obviously left out all the things about her being the Source and personally caring for Draco. Not another living soul could know about that, besides Hermione and Sirius, and especially not Felicity Lateris.
Felicity had accepted the information but wasn't very happy about it and came back to yell at the Source. Ginny managed to convince her that there really was no connection between her and Draco so Felicity just had to accept it.
Ginny was sitting in Draco's room thinking about how much of a problem Felicity was. Her outside Source had not contacted her yet so she didn't have a background on Felicity. Ginny had a really bad feeling about her. Even though Felicity kept a diary, Ginny didn't think that it was very usefully in finding out about her past.
Draco had been looking at Ginny for a couple of minutes now and was wondering what she was thinking about.
"Hey Weasley," Draco said.
This managed to get Ginny's attention and she snapped out of her daze.
"Yeah," She said still unfocused.
Draco shook his head. "What is going on in that little mind of yours?" he asked curiously.
Ginny smiled. "My mind is not little," She said. "And what goes on in there is none of your business." And she turned back to her books.
Draco left her alone for a while and then spoke up again. "I think I should tell you that I won't be at school this weekend," He informed her.
Ginny looked up at Draco curiously but then she nodded her head understandingly. "You have to go to your annual Dragon race, don't you?" she stated.
Draco nodded
"It must be exciting," Ginny said enthusiastically.
"That's one way of putting it," Draco said while smiling. "Have you ever been to one?"
Ginny shook her head. "But I've heard a lot about them from Charlie. Sounds interesting, but dangerous too." Ginny said concerned. "Are you sure you'll be safe?"
Draco nodded his head. "Don't worry Weasley," he said confidently. "I've trained with Dragon's since I was six, also I've been racing for a few years now…"
"I know I know." Ginny interrupted. "And you know perfectly well how to protect yourself. But you can never be too careful." and she gave Draco one of her big beady eye looks and he couldn't argue with her. Instead he thought of an idea.
"Why don't you come with me?" Draco suddenly asked.
"What?" Ginny said surprised.
"I said come with me," Draco repeated.
"I know what you said, But. I. We." Ginny stumbled.
"So is that a yes you will come?" Draco said hopefully.
"No," Ginny answered. "I mean. I can't. I have school and everything, plus what would I tell everyone?"
"Just tell them you're off at St Mungo's doing some more work experience," Draco said hopefully. He was really starting to like the idea of Ginny coming to watch him race.
"That's only to fool the students though. What would I tell Professor Dumbledore? And Madame Pomfrey? And the other professors? They wouldn't believe that lie and then they would find out the truth and then what? The whole school might know about it and that would be a disaster!"
"Calm down Weasley," Draco said exasperatedly. "Do you always worry this much?" he said while smirking at her.
Ginny glared at him "Of course I worry. Do you know how much trouble it will cause if it got out that we…"
Ginny didn't get to finish because Draco placed his hand over Ginny's mouth to stop her from talking.
"Shhh Weasley," Draco said calmly. "If I can figure this out for you, will you come with me?"
"How could you possibly figure this out?" Ginny protested "What are you going to do, what are you going to say, who are you…"
Again Draco silenced her. "Just leave the complicated stuff to me and I promise I will find a good excuse for you," he said confidently. "Now to answer my question. Will you come to the Dragon race with me?"
Ginny could see he was very hopeful and she just couldn't bear to say no and make him feel disappointed. Plus she had never seen a Dragon race before and this would be a very wonderful experience.
Ginny gave in and nodded her head. "It would be my pleasure," she said while smiling.
Draco also smiled. "Alright then, I'll have that organised as soon as possible."
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Bright and early the next morning, Draco had woken up and ran to Dumbledore's office. He knew the headmaster was usually up early, so when he reached the statue he found Dumbledore was just heading up the stairs to his office.
"Professor," Draco called.
Dumbledore turned around and smiled at Draco. "Good morning Draco. You're up early this morning," He said cheerfully.
"Good morning Professor," Draco greeted. Though he was impatient it didn't mean he would forget his manners. "I actually wanted to discuss some things with you."
"Very well," Dumbledore answered. "We'll head up to my office then."
Draco was sitting in front of Dumbledore and waiting for his headmaster to sit down after getting a cup of tea. Dumbledore finally sat down and Draco was impatient to begin.
"Professor," Draco started. "You know I have the annual Dragon race this weekend."
"Yes," Dumbledore said quite excited himself.
"Well, I was wondering if I could take someone from school with me."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and a smile made its way to his mouth.
"May I ask who this someone is?"
"Er…" was the only sound Draco made as he was desperately trying to avoid answering the question. He knew he needed the permission of the headmaster to take anyone out of the school, but at the same time he didn't want anyone knowing he was taking Ginny to a world known wizarding event. These Dragon Races are like the muggle Olympics but even more amazing because there are a limited number of people allowed to attend and tickets cost a fortune.
Dumbledore noticed Draco's discomfort and his smile widened.
"Very well Draco," He said and Draco's attention was averted back to his headmaster. "I will give you permission to take one student from Hogwarts to the Dragon Race. But one student only."
Draco immediately smiled and was very excited. "Thank you Professor," he said very cheerfully and then headed for the door.
"But Draco," Dumbledore said and this made Draco stop and turn to look at his headmaster. "I would be careful as not to let the Gryffindor's know about this. Especially Miss Weasley's brother, I wouldn't want any trouble to arise from me granting you this special request."
Draco was surprised to say the least but was still able to nod his head. "I will be careful Sir," and then he left, once again surprised by his headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled to himself as he sat in his office. Nothing ever happened in this school without him knowing about it. Especially something as big as The Source, whose knowledge was capable of ruining any student's life. But Dumbledore had faith in Ginny that she would never do something that drastic.
Fawkes flew on to Dumbledore's shoulder and squawked.
"Looks like our little Ginny is all grown up now," Dumbledore said to the bird and then stroked its feathers.
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Later that day, Madame Pomfrey approached Ginny and told her that Dumbledore had found a good opportunity for Ginny to have more training. Ginny was curious as to why it suddenly came up but then after Madame Pomfrey had explained that it was happening this weekend and that she was to report to Dumbledore's office early Saturday morning she knew that it must have something to do with Draco and his Dragon race.
Ginny just followed with the excuse and told all her friends that she was going on more training this weekend. None of them suspected anything, which wasn't very surprising to Ginny. Anything Dumbledore organised would never be suspected.
That night when Ginny went to Draco's room, he explained to her about what Dumbledore said and when Draco said how he was surprised that Dumbledore knew that it was her he was taking, Ginny wasn't surprised at all. She knew that Dumbledore was very resourceful and also knew that he knew she was the Source.
Ginny managed to persuade Draco to stop worrying about how Dumbledore knew and told him to concentrate on his race. Ginny also stopped worrying because she had a good excuse to go now and was very excited to be going to a wondrous event.
Saturday morning arrived quickly and Ginny was already in Dumbledore's office waiting for Draco to arrive. When Draco walked in, he saw that Ginny was already there and was patting Fawkes.
"Sorry I'm late," Draco said.
"Of course not Draco," Dumbledore said as he stood up
"I was early," Ginny said and then walked to stand next to Draco.
Dumbledore gestured to a small metal statue of a gargoyle on his desk and spoke to them.
"That is the portkey which will take you to the race. I'm sure you all know how Protkey's work so I wont explain. Good luck with the race Draco and I hope you have fun Ginny."
Draco and Ginny both thanked Dumbledore before they touched the statue and disappeared.
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Ginny opened her eyes when she felt the ground under her feet and saw a wonderful sight before her.
She was standing on the edge of a dusty road while lots of movement was around her. The street looked like the streets of some where in Italy and there were stalls everywhere and people walking around chattering. There were carts that were moving without anything pulling it and also performer's obviously performing magic. Ginny came to the conclusion that she was in the wizarding world of Italy.
She was shook out of her thought by Draco pulling at her arm. "Come Weasley or we'll be late."
Draco had his hand around her wrist pulling her along and Ginny was following him while he weaved in between the crowd like a real snake.
After a few minutes they stopped in front of a very large and round stone stadium. Ginny looked up at the large building with aw but Draco pulled her in through a door and she couldn't see it anymore. The guards gave Draco a nod as he guided Ginny in and for the first time in a while Ginny felt oblivious.
They were walking down a hallway briskly now and not in as much of a hurry as before. Draco was still holding Ginny's wrist as she tagged along behind him. He occasionally nodded his head towards some people and gave greetings.
"Draco," a voice called behind them.
Draco stoped walking and quickly turned around. A woman in her mid twenties was half jogging towards them and Draco sighed in relief.
"Francesca," Draco said. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
"Same here," Francesca said with a deep European accent. Ginny looked at this woman and analysed her. She had a nice curvy figure, pretty face and brown hair which was up in a ponytail. She was wearing brown boots, beige shorts with a belt and a light brown shirt. She looked like she was dressed for hunting but this didn't interfere with the air of beauty she emitted.
"You better hurry Draco," Francesca said and this woke Ginny up from her analyses.
"Yes I should," Draco said hurriedly. He was about to run off but then he remembered Ginny. "I nearly forgot. Francesca, this is Virginia Weasley, she's one of my guests. Could you look after her for me?"
"Of course," Francesca said and then smiled at Ginny. Ginny smiled back.
"Great. I'll see you all later then," Draco yelled as he ran off.
"Good luck," Ginny called out to him.
"I won't need it," Draco called over his shoulder and then disappeared into the crowd while Ginny smiled at how arrogant he was.
"Virginia Weasley is it?" Francesca said, getting Ginny's attention.
Ginny turned around and smiled at the lady. "You can just call me Ginny."
"Ok, Ginny." Francesca said while also smiling. "My name is Francesca Capadino and I am Draco's Dragon trainer as well as his personal trainer. Come with me and I'll get you ready for the race."
Ginny followed Francesca as she walked in the opposite direction that Draco went.
"What do you mean by get me ready?" Ginny asked.
"It's nothing to worry about," Francesca reassures her. "it just means you will have to change out of them school robes you have. They are not very good to wear under the hot sun here."
"Oh. Ok then," Ginny said and just followed Francesca. They came to a door and Francesca opened it for them to go in. The room was decorated in cream and gold in a very luxurious European style. There were lovely carved poles which extended from the ground to the roof and also silk sheets of fabric all around acting as curtains and as decoration.
Francesca picked up a dress which was draped on a chair and handed it to Ginny. Draco had told her he was bringing a guest so she had prepared it for her.
"You can change into this, it will be more comfortable and you will not stand out as much with your school uniform."
Ginny thanked her and walked behind a curtain to get changed.
Francesca smiled at Ginny's shyness. All the girls she knew were not shy about showing off their bodies to other girls.
Francesca also shed her clothes and put on a pair of beige pants and slightly long and loose hunting shirt. She finished off with her boots and a belt around her waist over the shirt.
Ginny stepped out behind the curtain and Francesca was surprised. Ginny was wearing a white long v-neck dress that went down to her ankles and sandals.
Francesca smiled at Ginny's nervous look. "You look beautiful, Ginny," She said.
"Thank you," Ginny said meekly.
"Come here, I'll see if I can do something with that lovely hair of yours."
Ginny walked over to Francesca and sat down in a chair. Francesca got her wand out and was performing a hair spell. Ginny ended up with hair which was slightly curly, where some was up in a bun with vines wrapped around to give an earthy look and the rest fell down her back.
Francesca looked at Ginny and smiled. "Come now. I better take you up to the stand so you can see Draco."
Ginny was led up a flight of stairs and at the top was a platform where there were only two seats and a table filled with Fruits and drinks. Ginny and Francesca each sat down in a chair until Francesca called out.
"There," she said and pointed down.
Ginny leaned forward in her chair so she could look down and she saw Draco. He was standing there with a few other men and he was dressed in boots, brown leather pants and a peasanty sort of loose shirt that showed off his torso. Ginny smiled at the god like look of Draco and sighed.
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The stadium Draco was standing in was a very large oval shape one and the walls making up the stadium were made of stone. The walls extended a few hundred metres high and were actually places where audiences could sit and watch the race.
Draco looked up searching for the stand which he had reserved and when he found it, saw the smiling face of Ginny looking down at him. Their eyes locked and he waved. 'Be careful' Ginny mouthed and Draco nodded.
Ginny sat back in her seat and looked at Francesca. She was sitting back in her chair relaxing and eating some grapes.
"My brother is a Dragon trainer too," Ginny said
Francesca smiled. "Is his name Charlie. Charlie Weasley?"
"Yeah, that's him, have you met him before?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, I have worked with him a few times," Francesca answered happily. "He is a very talented Dragon trainer, and very handsome too."
Ginny smiled, being very proud for her brother.
"Have you come to a Dragon race before?" Francesca asked.
Ginny shook her head. "No. I think that's why Mal- I mean Draco brought me today."
Francesca smiled. "A lot of people have not seen a Dragon race before, but Draco doesn't bring them."
Ginny was confused at what Francesca was trying to say and gave her a questioning look.
Francesca noticed this and started to explain what she meant. "Draco has come to watch these races ever since he was six years old. He started racing three years ago, but besides his parents he has never once brought anyone to watch before. You must be a very special girlfriend if he brought you to his race."
"I'm not his girlfriend," was Ginny's immediate answer. "I'm just …"
Ginny couldn't finish her sentence because she really didn't know who she was.
<What am I to him?> Ginny wondered <Friend? Stalker? Source? Blackmailer?>
"Just what?" Francesca asked curiously.
"Just his medical advisor," Ginny said sadly "I'm just here because he needs to take medicine that I make every night."
"Oh," was all Francesca said and then the race began.
A Dragon race is a yearly wizarding event held to race Dragons. Not the full grown Adult Dragons but the younger one's who are not as big yet. These Dragon's are about two to three years old and are a little bit bigger that a horse. There are special saddles designed for the riders to sit on, and the race is made of laps around the stadium while over coming obstacles.
This race not only tests the speed of the Dragons but also the ability of the rider to control their Dragon and use the Dragons abilities to defeat other competitors.
There were smaller Dragon races which were held in the time span of a few days, testing younger riders and different abilities of Dragons, but today's race was the Grand Race and tested very skilled riders.
There were a total of seven competitors this year and all of them were lined up ready to begin. A whistle was blown and the Dragons flew forward.
The first obstacle was a flaming hoop the Dragon and rider had to go through.
Ginny sat in her seat fidgeting while praying that Draco would not get brunt. She followed him with her eyes as he was the third to get through the hoop safely, and only then did she let out a sigh of relief.
Francesca was smiling at the worry Ginny was showing, while she just sat there relaxing. She knew very well what Draco was capable of, and Draco was definitely going to win this race because he is the best. <I don't believe that this girl is just a medical advisor to Draco. I'll have to ask him about it later on> she thought but then adverted her attention back to the race.
The next obstacle was a maze of sharp spiky poles that the Dragons had to weave through. This obstacle was to test the ability of the rider to control their Dragon.
Once again Ginny was on the edge of her seat praying Draco would not get hurt. Drago held onto the rein on his Dragon and guided it in between the sharp poles. Behind him he heard a scream and he could only guess that one of the riders got hit, or their Dragon was not under control and slammed into a pole.
The next obstacle was a bunch of sharp beaked Ravens flying towards the Dragons to try and attack their eyes. The ravens were not real, and the point of this was to test the control riders had over their Dragon's abilities.
Ginny squeaked when a Raven just flew past Draco's head, while he was busy ordering his Dragon to burn the birds away with its fire breath. However, one of the other Dragons were attacked by a Raven and plummeted to the ground.
Ginny thanked Merlin that the Dragon on the ground was not Draco's but didn't have time to rejoice anymore because the next obstacle of shooting arrows had begun and Ginny was once again panicking.
One by one the competitors were dropping off because of the difficulty of the obstacles so now there was only Draco and another competitor left.
The last obstacle was the most dangerous and Draco had to concentrate hard. As he was flying along side the last competitor, a volcano suddenly erupted from the ground. Draco was quick to act and guided his Dragon upwards to avoid hitting into the rising ground. As Draco was steadying himself and his Dragon, the Volcano started spitting out balls of lava. Draco had to dodge them and at the same time get over the volcano so he could get to the finish line. Dodging the lava balls, Draco headed upwards towards the mouth of the Volcano and he saw that the other competitor was doing the same thing. They both reached the mouth of the volcano and as they were flying over it a spray of lave shot out. Draco acted quickly and was able to just miss the scolding substance but the other competitor was not as quick and his Dragon was hit so they plummeted to the ground.
Draco flew down the other side of the Volcano quickly and reached the finishing point where he landed his Dragon and got off. Cheers erupted all around him and he smiled and waved like a winner.
End of Chapter Thirty. Thanks for reading and I Hope you Review.
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