AN: Hard to believe we're at the end! It's been so much fun writing and posting this story! I can't say Sirius will ever be my favorite character, but I like the redeemed version. Hope you all do too!
I have another story in the works, but I'm going to wait to post it until I have more chapters written. It probably won't be posted every day since I just don't have time to do that anymore. It won't be as philosophical, but hopefully it will be just as fun.
As always, thank you so much for the support! It's been so great to receive the kudos and read your reviews! Have a great Easter and I hope see you when the next story is posted!
Dismas looked up from his parchment and gave the soul before him a soft smile. "Eileen Snape?"
The spirit nodded, her eyes fixed on the white cloud below her.
"It's a pleasure to see you up here as a candidate for the Purgatory Program," Dismas continued. "I've heard quite a bit about you."
"I would imagine it was all negative," her voice barely rose above the chorus of "alleluias" in the distance.
"I heard more about you from the Trinity than anyone else. Lucky for us, they see the good in everyone, and are eager to share that information with others." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I value their opinion greatly."
"You don't need to pretend you've only heard about me from them." She looked him in the eyes as her glow turned blue. "I know you are close to my son. He must have told you about my horrendous treatment of him."
"I won't lie, he did not have the most positive view of you," the Good Thief admitted. "But as a former murderer, I am in no position to judge anyone."
Eileen scanned her eyes for any sign of deception. Coming up empty, her glow turned yellow.
"Now, your original sentence was for two centuries." He glanced back at the parchment. "But with the successful completion of the mission, you can reduce it by at least one hundred and fifty years."
"Could the program make my son forgive me?"
"No. We can't earn another person's forgiveness. It violates free will."
"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"
"I don't know. Only he can decide that." He rolled up the parchment. "What I can tell you is he is at peace now. If his life continues on the trajectory it is, I believe he could find it in his heart to forgive you."
There was a gleam in her eyes as bright as the golden gate a few meters to their left.
"Now, your assignment is to help a man who is struggling in an abusive situation," the Good Thief began. "He's preparing to leave his partner, but he doesn't know what his next steps in life will be one he does so. He could use someone to show him what eudaimonia is and how best to rebuild his life."
"Oh no," she was stark white. "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"I couldn't do it for myself. How can I be of any help to him?"
"I think you'll find that you have more strength than you believe you do."
Her glow flickered as her eyes remained wide.
"Don't worry." Dismas' parchment disappeared. "We'll give you a few books on twenty-first century psychology as well as some Greek philosophical texts. I'm sure you'll find them very useful."
She bit her lower lip, a trait she hadn't been able to shed from her days as a mortal.
"I'll also be available to help you anytime you need me," Dismas promised.
"Can you come down to earth and help me with him?"
"Sadly no. I'll only be able to see you in Purgatory."
"So he can't see you?"
"No, the only spiritual being he'll be able to see is you."
"But if I do this, I'll atone for how I treated my son." Her glow became yellower. "And maybe he'll forgive me."
"I can't promise that Severus will forgive you," he replied. "But if everything works as intended, you could find peace."
"I would love some peace."
"You deserve peace, just like everyone else does."
Only the distant conversation of St. Peter and a few souls could be heard.
"I think I can do it." She grinned.
"Great," His parchment disappeared. "Let me get you set up in a room and you can decide where to go from there."
Dismas and Eileen disappeared.
"Alright, next we have…" Sirius; glow was as bright as the golden gate behind him. "James Potter!"
"Sirius!" The other soul raced over and embraced him.
"I was hoping to see you here." His essence reached for his, though came short of fusing with him.
"Are you kidding? The second I heard about this program I arrive as soon as I could." He backed away. "The Trinity knows I'd do anything to get away from the likes of Ahpuch."
"At least he isn't Metatron." Sirius' glow dimmed.
"Who's that?"
"Nobody you ever want to cross." Sirius returned his attention to the parchment before him.
"Before you give me my assignment, how is Remus?"
"Remus is great." Sirius' glow softened. "He says, 'hello.'"
"Is he happy up there?"
"He very much is, and he's eager for us to join him."
"Why haven't you joined him?"
"Because I want to work here for now."
"Why?"
"Because even though Remus forgave me for using him to almost kill Severus, there are other sins I need to atone for. Plus, it's more interesting working here than it is sitting on a cloud all day."
"He needed to forgive you for that whole Shrieking Shack thing?"
"Of course he did. I committed a serious wrong in taking advantage of a friend. I'm just lucky he found it in himself to forgive me."
"Spending time with Snivellus is more than enough atonement." James smirked.
"First of all," Sirius frowned. "Talk like that can tack on Purgatory time, not subtract from it."
James' face was more neutral.
"Second of all," Sirius's glow turned orange. "I'm going to have to ask you not to talk about one of my best friends that way. I get angry when I hear my friends being insulted."
"Oh my God, the reports were true." James' glow was pale. "You and Sniv…"
Sirius' glow was more orange.
"Eh, Severus, really are friends."
"James," Sirius' glow returned to normal as he patted him on the back. "This program is afterlife changing. Once you graduate from it, you'll come away with a far different perspective."
"Sure," he drawled.
"Now." Sirius glanced at the parchment below him. "Your assignment is to help a thirteen year old Slytherin girl."
"Poor thing" James muttered. "She's already in trouble being in the wrong house and all."
Unfazed, Sirius continued, "She's having some difficulty with bullies, and has a complex relationship with her parents. She needs someone to help her gain confidence and set her on the path to eudaimonia."
"The path to what?"
"Eudaimonia."
James stared at Sirius as if he's just announced that unicorns had three horns.
"You'll learn all about eudaimonia in the Greek philosophy books we'll provide," Sirius promised.
"I have to read philosophy?" James raised his voice.
"It really isn't that bad," Sirius replied. "You'll grow to like it after awhile."
James stared at Sirius as if the saved soul had lost his mind.
"You can always go back to Purgatory intake in Purgatory if you don't want to read and help her out," Sirius offered.
"No, that's fine," James' glow intensified. "By the time I'm done she'll have so much eudaimonia she won't know what to do with herself. I'm sure I can accomplish all of this in a week."
"I'm sure you'll help her just fine," Sirius gave him a knowing smile before glancing to his right. "St. Pete!"
The saint looked away from the couple holding each other at the gates. "Yes?"
"Are you free soon?" Sirius called. "There's something I promised we'd do that should happen now that I'm free."
"What did you promise exactly?" The saint slanted his eyebrows.
"I promised to teach you a skill you may want to use to unwind."
"Now I'm scared."
"Come on St. Pete! Would I ever lead you astray?"
"Yes," Peter watched the couple enter into heaven.
James snickered. This was the Sirius he knew.
"Oh come on! I promise you it'll be fun," Sirius said.
"Somehow I doubt this will be fun," St. Pete answered. "Still, you're liable to get into some type of trouble unless I accompany you, so let me escort these next two souls into heaven…"
"Actually," one of the souls who'd materialized before him began. "We would like to speak to Dismas before entering."
"If that's not too much to ask," the other soul added.
"Yes," St. Pete took note of the ashes dotting their gray smudged robes. "I think you do need to speak with Dismas. I'll show James to his room while you three converse."
With that, James, Sirius, and St. Pete disappeared.
"Okay," Dismas appeared to where he had been. "I think I have everyone set up for today. If there's anyone else I need to see…"
"We'd like to see you."
Dismas' glow pulsated. Before him a man with a scar on each wrist. The man beside him had a scar over his eye, one he'd obtained in a bar fight right before he'd met his demise.
"Gestas?" Dismas' glow pulsated. "Barabbas?"
They nodded.
Dismas remained speechless.
"We decided to come up," Barabbas began.
"We heard all about what you did with Severus and thought maybe it's time to see you," Gestas answered.
"How did you hear about Severus?"
"Let's just say the demons were griping that they were fewer souls working intake, causing more than a few backups."
"We talked it over, and realized if Severus and Sirius could be saved, maybe we could be too, Assuming," Barabbas turned blue. "You still want to see us."
"Because if you don't, we understand." Gestas' glow was just as blue.
"How could I not want to see you?" Dismas held out his arms. "I've been praying for almost two millennia you'd come up here!"
"I thought you'd be mad at me for not joining you when you freed the souls," Gestas stepped closer to him.
"And I thought you'd feel like I abandoned you, so you wouldn't want to see me either," Barabbas approached him.
"I don't blame either of you," Dismas' glow was bright as the sun on Easter morning. "I love both of you so much. I've wanted nothing more than for us to be together!"
The men rushed into each other's arms, embracing for the first time in almost two millennia.
Severus curled his toes, reveling in the feeling of the wet sand between them. The cool ocean breeze caressed his bare hands. Hermione's lavender perfume wafted in the air, assuring him that there was peace in this life.
"Thank you for talking me into going here." Hermione put her head on his shoulder. "I needed to get away from all the dunderheads."
"Dunderheads?"
She hummed.
"You're stealing my terminology now."
"A good term is a good term."
A chuckle bubbled from his throat. He said a silent prayer of thanks for the beauty of the island, and for Hermione's good sense for agreeing to accompany him on this journey.
The last three month had been pure chaos. He knew coming back from the dead would create a stir, but he had no idea reporters would hound him for simply breathing. Everyone wanted to know how he escaped to Mt. Pilatus, how he'd lived up there for so long, how he'd managed to connect with Hermione, and how much he planned to sue Rita Skeeter for slander. He'd yet to meet a reporter who would take "no comment" for an answer.
Hermione had been his constant. She had helped him obtain clothes, his wand, and his home. When the questions became too much, she was always there, prepared to calm him with a kiss and a comforting word when he entered their home.
If being with Hermione was paradise, then he was eager to be with her in heaven.
"Could you show me some of the constellations?" She asked.
"Certainly." Severus pointed to the sky. "That one right there is Orion. You can see the star on his belt preparing to become a nova."
"And there's a shooting star." She pointed into the sky.
Severus watched the object streak across the sky.
"It's odd though." Hermione replied. "It's going up instead of going down."
"That's because it's not a shooting star," Severus replied.
"Then what is it?"
Severus' lips curled up.
"I told you motorcycles were fun!" Sirius shouted above the motor. "And you're a natural at driving one."
"I must admit, I'm getting more joy out of this than I thought possible!" St. Pete gripped the handlebars, making the bike go upwards. The stars whirled by then, streaking together as the motorcycle increased its speed. Both were unaware they were being watched by two spirits on a nearby cloud.
"Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?" Theresa asked before taking a sip of her tequila, her eyes on the spectacle.
"No," Metatron poured another shot for himself. "And I have no intention of learning how to do so."
"Why?" She turned to him. "It could be fun."
"It doesn't look remotely entertaining."
"I don't know, I could see you driving a motorcycle."
"Or I could crash into hell, forcing me to deal with all the souls I've prosecuted down there."
"The ride might be worth it though." Her eyes glimmered.
"If you think it's fun to deal with all the people you've prosecuted, then you've had too much to drink."
"Spirits can't get drunk."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the Trinity made an exception in your case."
"I'm fine. The problem here is that you're no fun." She pouted.
"I'm plenty fun." He pulled out his spear. "And you know it."
Her glow turned bright pink.
From above, three benevolent beings watched over their creation.
"If souls keep arriving into the Purgatory Program in the numbers they are, we'll have Purgatory cleared out in fifty years," the Creator noted.
"We may even get some of the souls in the lower levels of hell to come up," the Sanctifier mused.
"They're already coming up," the Redeemer replied.
"True," the Creator replied. "We should welcome Gestas and Barabbas into heaven."
"Let them spend time with Dismas first," the Redeemer suggested. "They've waited long enough to see each other."
"He'll introduce them to us in time anyway," the Sanctifier replied.
The Trinity gazed into each others' eyes.
"This is how we intended it," the Creator began.
"The whole human family united," the Redeemer replied.
"Or as close to it as we can get," the Sanctifier answered.
With a serene expression, the Creator hugged the Redeemer. His essence rushed into hers. The Sanctifier landed on their shoulders. They erupted into a glistening, pure white fire.
The souls in heaven say that no fusion had ever been brighter. Over the years, it would become brighter yet. True reconciliation was being achieved with each passing day. The Kingdom of Heaven was touching earth.
All was well under the stars.