A/N: …I apologize sincerely for having not updated for soooo long, poppets! It's just that…well, I've been in a show, and my aunt's wedding, and a few reports were due, and some relationship problems…I know that's no excuseeeeeee….so please forgive me! I do hope my writing is up to quota!

Chapter 11, Hate is a Strong Word

The young boy with brown hair flourished the bouquet in front of Hermione's face. "These are for you," he said simply, and she took them, with a slightly surprised look on her face.

"Oh…well, uhh….who are they from?" she asked belatedly, as he turned to leave.

"Why, Sirius Black, of course."

She nodded. Only Sirius would try something this stupid. "Alright then, thanks."

The boy spun on his heel and ran off, no doubt to continue his delivery service.

Hermione slowly turned to face Lily, who she had previously been engaged in conversation with, but found that she was incapable of speaking because she was overcome by a bout of sneezing. "Lil, you okay?"

Lily shook her head and pointed to the roses, emitting another sneeze. "Roses," she coughed, then sneezed, "allergies."

Hermione's eyebrow raised and she smiled. She hadn't known Lily was allergic. But, back to the present, she reminded herself. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll throw them out. They're only from Sirius, anyway." Lily nodded, and Hermione left the Gryffindor common room in search of a trash barrel.

Her shoes made echoes off the corridor walls around her, and she picked up speed. As soon as she could, she would flame Sirius alive, but first she had to get rid of these roses.

As she took a left, she rubbed her arm briefly. As soon as she did, though, she found it necessary to scratch again. "What is this?" she asked herself, scratching her arm hard and throwing the roses down to the corridor floor. She began panicking. An angry rash was breaking out all up and down her arm. She walked as quickly as she could to the hospital wing, only to find that there was some sort of itching powder in the roses Sirius had sent her.

This discovery inspired her to get even. And when Hermione decides to get even, she goes full out.

Too bad Sirius didn't know.

………………………………………

"So, James, mate," Sirius said as he and his best friend made their way from the great hall to Gryffindor Tower, along with all the other seventh years, "seriously; you think she's the one?"

"Yep."

Sirius arched an eyebrow, and James's smile broadened. "I really do, Padfoot. She's amazing."

Shaking his head, Sirius replied, "Prongs, I think you're thinking a bit too far ahead. You two have only ever shared one legitimate date, and already you're calling her the one?"

James nodded. "Yep," he reiterated, still smiling. "One legitimate date was all I ever needed. She's just perfect. The way she talks, and the way she smiles, and her laugh—"

"Stop." Sirius's bemused smile disappeared. "James, you realized what you sound like right now, don't you?"

"What?" asked James absentmindedly; he was now surveying a painting with an expression that displayed total dazedness.

Sirius reached over and grabbed the front of James's shirt. "A sappy old-fashioned lovey-dovey mushey-gushey romance story, that's what!" He released his grip and growled sullenly, "I knew my rose speech was good, but not that good. I didn't think you actually cared about her."

James blinked. "Well…I do. I care a lot about Lily, Sirius."

"That's exactly what you said about Hermione. James, are you listening to yourself talk? Or is it all just coming out on its own?"

An awkward silence was aroused at the mention of Hermione. James looked down at his feet, and said in a slightly muffled voice, "So…about Hermione, Pads….you never told me—"

"I told you enough," Sirius responded, a little aggravated that James had managed to change the subject. "I told you that she walked in on me coaching you along, and we had a discussion about it afterward, and then she turned me down for a date. And then I filled some roses with itching powder, and that's the end of that. Actually, now that you mention it," he said, looking around abruptly, as though expecting Hermione to swoop down on him from anywhere, "she should've gotten those roses by now. Wonder why she's not in retaliation mode yet."

James chuckled. "You know she's gonna get you back good, right?"

Sirius grinned, rather ruefully. "I thought that that would be the case, but…" he glanced around again, "seeing as she's hasn't ripped my head off yet, I think I just may be…" he grinned wider, "off the hook."

"Off the hook?! OFF THE HOOK?! Sirius Black, you had better have an explanation for me!"

James looked quickly over his shoulder, stifled a laugh, muttered, "She's gonna kill you," and then booked it.

Sirius gulped, and turned around.

There was Hermione, marching down the corridor towards him, her arm outstretched, brandishing her wand, and seething. Her teeth bared, she stopped before him, her wand merely inches, oh precious inches, from his face. "Any last words?" she growled, gently pressing the tip of her weapon onto his nose.

He loosed a roguish, yet frightened, grin. "I love you…?"

She barked out a laugh, and said, "Not gonna cut it." Sirius braced himself for impact, and then—

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"So, as I was saying to him earlier, George, the whole entire joke-selling business is going down the drain. No one really knows the craft anymore. And so, we must take the fateful mission unto ourselves and try to educate the younger—"

"Fred, you know that no one would ever go for a speil like that one, mate. Honestly, I think we really just need to take some time, and seriously think to ourselves, '—WHAT THE HELL?!"

Hermione had burst through the portrait hole, her fingers pinched around Sirius's left ear, dragging him along and screaming mad phrases like, "I'm going to flambé you alive!"

But this was not what had caused the abrupt outburst from George. The thing that had caused this lovely upstart, was the amount of blood and tears running down Sirius's face, which he was trying desperately to hide.

"Hey…Hermione?" George asked timidly.

"WHAT?!" she barked, looking over at him swiftly.

"How about…" he and Fred hopped up from the couch, walked over to the pair, and smiled warmly, "how about you release young master Sirius, and allow us to help with the situation?"

Hermione sent him a look that stated clearly that she would rather have her eyes gorged out than release Sirius's ear. "That's the ticket," said Fred in what he clearly thought was a winning and jaunty voice, as he prized Hermione off of Sirius.

She let go of him, very reluctantly, and then said, "Make no mistake, Sirius Black. I will not take anymore nonsense from you."

Sirius nodded, looking anywhere but directly at her. She turned on her heel, and then stomped up to the girls' dormitories.

"Wow," breathed George, steering Sirius into a chair and sitting across from him. "You're lucky we caught you guys. I think she just might have killed you."

Fred followed suit, and dropped into a chair. "What did she do to you, anyway?"

Sirius's eyes opened wide, and he shook his head from side to side. "…things…horrible things," he whispered.

Fred and George exchanged one look, and agreed to say no more on the topic.

Then, someone swore loudly from the boys' dormitory stairs. "Sirius, what the hell happened?" Remus walked over quickly, and pulled out his wand. He siphoned the blood off of his friend's face, and looked at Fred and George, who shrugged.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I hate him."

"Who?"

"Sirius."

Lily laughed, and waved to the black-haired figure across the lake.

"Lily, are you even paying attention to me?" Hermione snapped.

Lily looked at her. "No, no, I'm listening. But…most of me is over on that side of the lake."

Hermione groaned exasperatedly and stormed away. Lily jumped up and followed. "Oh, c'mon, Hermione. I'm sorry. I didn't know this was that big a deal. Why do you hate him now?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The roses! And then he's always being such an egotistical prick! I can't help but hate him."

Lily grinned. "I think you like him," she said in a teasing tone.

"What?" Hermione as good as shrieked, causing several birds in a tree nearby to take flight. She laughed. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. If there was ever a boy that I detested more than the idea of failing a class, I would loathe him less than one Sirius Black."

Lily giggled.

"What?"

"Well," she smiled, "that just proves it. I hated James. And then, I gave him a chance, and I couldn't be happier." She shrugged. "I don't know, Hermione. Maybe, maybe, you should give Sirius a chance."

Please don't hate me!!!!!!!!! This chapter REALLY stinks, and I'm SO SORRY for not updating! Don't kill me!!!!!

Oh, but I would like everyone to check out my cousin Steph's user name: Stephanie Pascal, because she has a bunch of RENT fanfics, which we composed together. Now THOSE are funny.

Well…I would like to say, once again, that I apologize for the suck-ish chapter, and I apologize again for the looooooooooooong time without updating.

I love people who read my stories, and reviews make me dance, and write more!

-Sa x33

P.S. Prank ideas are STILL in demand! I really have none left----hence, suckish chapter!