Here We Go Again (Sierra Lestrange Book 3)

Chapter 8: Boys. Enough Said.

Hey guys! I know most of you donât read authorâs notes, but I wanted to ask if you guys think I should enter this story into the watty awards 2013? Yes? No?

I woke up in a cold sweat. My hair was stuck to the back of my neck and I barely suppressed a scream. I felt like I the water was still pressing around me, trying to drown me, trying to kill me.

I felt like I was choking. I didnât know what to do so I got a drink of water. It stopped the choking.

It was different from the water in the dream. In the dream, it was black, poisonous. This was clean, pure. I sat on the bed and hugged my knees to my chest.

That was one of the most realistic and terrifying dreams Iâd ever had.

So, for a few minutes, I just sat there thinking and taking deep breaths. Who was that in my dream? Why had that happened? How had that happened?

Scratch the first question. I know who that was. I knew why they had done it, but I didnât know how. How did he have power over dreams? I felt like I might be sick.

âRebecka?â I heard a voice next the bed ask. I jumped. âYeah?â I asked into the darkness. Yeah, I officially hate water and darkness now.

âYou alright?â It was Ginnyâs voice. I took a deep breath. âYeah, Iâm fine. Why do you ask?â

âYou were tossing and turning in your sleep, and you kept saying not again. Whatâs not supposed to happen again? What happened in the first place?â She yawned.

âNothing. I donât know why I was saying that. Sorry I woke you up,â I said, the first part a lie.

I could tell she was staring at me, though it was worriedly or like I was weird, I couldnât be sure, it was too dark to tell. âItâs fine. I wasnât asleep anyway,â she replied after a while.

We both kind of sat in silence for a few minutes.

âWhat time is it?â she asked. I checked my watch. â5:30 A.M.â She sighed. âI suppose itâs too early to go down to breakfast, huh?â I nodded, forgetting that she probably couldnât see me. âI suppose.â

I stood and stretched. I grabbed some day clothes to change into. âWhatâre you doing?â she asked.

âChanging. I have more schoolwork to do so I might as well do it now since Iâm awake and have time.â

Now, a dim light was coming in through the window and I could see the girlsâ outlines. I saw Ginny nodding. She stood and got her clothes, too. We both changed and went downstairs to the common room.

We opened our bags and started our work. Every time I glanced up at Ginny, she was staring at me, looking as though she wanted to say something.

âIs there something you want to say to me, Ginny?â I asked, after the fourth time of me catching her staring at me. She jumped.

She probably didnât know I was catching her. I hadnât looked up, or shown any sign that I had known she was staring at me. She shook her head rapidly.

âNo, why do you ask?â she asked quickly. I shrugged. âNo reason.â We both were silent while we continued on our schoolwork.

Gradually, people began to make their way downstairs. I put down my quill. âI think we can go down to breakfast now,â I said. She nodded and followed me down to the Great Hall.

We sat at the table next to Neville. âHey, Neville,â I said, taking the seat across from him. âHey guys,â he said brightly. âAre you going to Hogsmeade today?â I nodded.

âYeah, are you?â He nodded enthusiastically. He leaned down to take a bite of eggs and I caught sight of a fresh cut on his wrist. âWhat happened?â I asked.

âWhat are you talking about?â asked, pulling down his sleeve. I grabbed his arm and pulled back his sleeve. A large cut ran the width of his arm.

âWhat happened?â I repeated, worried. He sighed and leaned in closer to us.

âThe Carrowâs punishments have gotten worse. I almost miss Filch,â he whispered. Ginnyâs eyes were wide.

All I knew about Filch was that he was the old caretaker or something.

âSTUDENTS!!!â a loud voice in the front of the room shouted, preventing me from asking what Filch did. Everyone in the hall was silent.

Snape stood at the podium in front of the teachers table.

âAs you all know, we have a Hogsmeade trip today for those of you with the permission slip. Those of you without them will have to stay here and donât even think about trying to sneak away. We have teachers posted at every exit and if youâre caught, the Carrows have their ways of dealing with naughty children.â They grinned evilly.

I wanted so badly to go up and slap those grins off their faces. It took all my will power to prevent myself from it.

âEveryone with permission slips line up out by the main entrance. Now!â he barked.

We jumped up and made our way to the doors and got in the long line right behindâ€Â¦.. Draco.

Great. This was going to be a long wait,

+++

When we got to Hogsmeade, I went off to somewhere quiet where I could shadow travel without anyone seeing me.

I checked my pocket to make sure I had the little package that stunk like rotten  Good. I knew exactly where to go, but I still didn’t know who I was meeting or what I was getting.

Well, I’d find out. I found myself exactly where I needed to be. In Central Park. I looked down at my clothes and saw a piece of red hair fall in front of my eyes.

Dang it! I forgot to change into me. Yeah, that made sense. I looked around and quickly ducked into a bush. I took off the bracelet and stuffed it into my pocket.

“Sierra!” No. No no no no no no! NO! Not him. “Oh, Sierra, I need to talk to you!” Nooooo!!!

“Zeke,” growled under my breath.

+++

He was grinning like the idiot he was. I was still beyond mad at him. I know you’re going to say I hold a grudge, and maybe I do, but I hate his guts and want to tear him to shreds.

“Go away, you stupid donkey brain. I have something to do here,” I said, trying to walk away. “Sierra! Please listen.” I shook my head and quickened my pace.

“Why don’t you get Angela to listen because I don’t want to hear it.” I said Angela’s name as though it were a poison someone had poured into my drink. He stopped in his tracks.

“Sierra, I broke with Angela.” I didn’t stop or turn. “And your crawling back to me. Yeah, I feel appreciated.” He ran to catch up and caught my arm.

“I never loved her Sierra. Someone gave us a love potion.” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Okay. Call me when you have a better excuse. I have someone to meet here.”

I tried to pull away but he had gotten stronger. “It’s a trade? For your dad?” I stared at him cautiously. “How’d you know?” He pulled a small square box from his jeans.

“My father sent me here for a trade, too. He didn’t say it would be you meeting me.” He had that grin again. I hate that grin.

“Yeah, me neither. If I’d known I wouldn’t have come.” His smile disappeared. “Just give me the box.” I said, pulling out the package.

“No,” he said. “No until you hear me out.” I gave him a glare. “Give me the stupid box,” I said slowly. “No,” he said, a cocky grin appearing. I glared and looked at my watch.

“Five minutes. That’s it. No more.” He grinned. “You know those twin wizards that fought for you in the titan war?” I nodded.

“Yeah, Fred and George. What about them?” He pulled a little bottle from his pocket and handed it to me. “What’s this?” I asked, not getting it.

“Well, they and the Stolls kept in touch. Apparently, Fred and George own a joke store in the wizard world.” I nodded. “Yeah, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes or something like that.” He nodded.

“Yeah. Well, they sent this to the Stolls asking them to test it on someone.” He looked at me with his gorgeous eyes, looking as though I should get it. I shook my head slightly.

“What was it?” He sighed. “Read the label.” I looked at it, but couldn’t read it. “I can’t read it. Dyslexia.” He nodded and gently took the bottle.

He was one of the few demigods without ADHD and dyslexia.

“It’s love potion. He put it in my and Angela’s cups at dinner when we weren’t looking. See? I never really loved her.” He looked into my eyes.

“I loved you, Sierra. I want you back.”

Don’t look into his eyes! I thought. He’ll only hurt you. “I know I’ve done some awful things, but I want to make them right. Please, Sierra, I-”

”I have a boyfriend,” I blurted, cutting him off.

+++

“What?” he whispered.

Why did I say that? Peter’s not my boyfriend, no matter how much I want him to be. “I have a boyfriend,” I repeated. He looked hurt and that made my heart ache.

“You broke my heart, again. He made me feel so much better. He picked up the pieces and helped me put the back together.”

Which was true. He had made me feel better. He’d comforted me. Made me feel better. Zeke looked down at his feet. “Oh,” he whispered.

“Zeke, I don’t want to get hurt again. How do I know you won’t hurt me again?” I asked, looking him in the eyes. He looked like he wanted to answer, but didn’t know how. He sighed.

“You deserve someone better than me,” he whispered, barely audible. “Someone who won’t hurt you. But, Sierra, if you give me another chance, I swear, I’ll never do it again.”

I sighed, barely holding back tears. “You don’t have to answer now. I’ll wait for you, Sierra. I’ll wait for your answer.” He held out the little box. “Here, this is what you came for.”

I pulled out the package and handed it to him. I felt awful as I went return to Hogsmeade. I leaned against the tree and sunk down. I felt the bracelet in my back pocket.

I slid it on, not looking to see who might be there. I turned back into Rebecka and felt a warm tear slide down my cheek.

“Rebecka?” a voice asked, sounding a bit scared. I looked up. There stood a wide-eyed, terrified looking Peter. It took me a second to realize why he looked so scared.

He had just seen me change into Rebecka

+++

“Peter!” I said, jumping up.

“You-you’re not Rebecka,” he said, pulling his wand. I didn’t pull mine, I didn’t want to seem like a threat.

“Peter, please listen. I know I just changed in front of you but I-I-”He held up a hand, cutting me off. “Who are you?” he asked. “I am Rebecka, well, it’s complicated.”

He looked me up and down, probably deciding if I was a threat. He, deciding I wasn’t a threat, put his wand away. He came closer and grabbed my hand.

He pulled off the bracelet. I turned back into Sierra. “Better have an explanation for this,” he said. I nodded. I started from the beginning.

“My real name is Sierra. I’m 16 years old, and I grew up on Long Island, New York. When I was fourteen, I found out I was a witch.” You read the story, so you probably don’t need the summary.

“So, I went to Hogwarts as Rebecka to hide from the Dark Lord and to help,” I concluded. He had been silent through my entire story. I couldn’t tell if he believed me or not.

“Hermione Granger?” I nodded. “You didn’t happen to go to Camp Half Blood, did you?” I stared at him, surprised, “Yeah. How’d you know?” He nodded.

“It adds up. By step-brother is a demigod. Son of Apollo. His name is Trevor.” I nodded. “Yeah, I know him. Thirteen, blonde hair, gray eyes?” I asked. “Yeah.” I nodded.

“Yeah… had a crush on me.” He laughed. “You’re joking.” I shook my head. “Nope. Sent me a flower everyday.” He grinned. “You’re pretty brunette?” he asked.

“That’s what he called me?” He nodded. “I guess so.” I laughed. He smiled.

“I guess you have that effect on boys in my family.”

Before I knew what was happening, he leaned over and kissed me.

 Zeke or Peter?