AN: Thank you so much for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Sleep eluded Hermione.
She could still see Professor Snape's closed silver casket. It was both a curse and a blessing. On the one hand she would have liked her last memory of Severus to be less bloody, but on the other she didn't have to gaze upon the gaping wound in his neck. It may have been for the best to keep the casket closed.
A closed casket also protected the body from any potential protesters. Although Harry pleaded Professor Snape's case and managed to get him exonerated, skepticism abounded. Several nasty opinion pieces ran denouncing his crimes and rumors abounded that Harry only defended him because he was Professor Snape's illegitimate child. After the fist person who dared tell that lie to Harry's face was hexed, the whispers quieted.
How many of Professor Snape's detractors had Rita spoken to in order to write her book? Harry had never mentioned an interview with her, so he was more than likely not a source. It was doubtful she had looked at Professor Snape's memories either. Even in death he could not obtain peace or understanding.
Yet Hermione was all too eager to profit off of Rita's book.
After a few hours of restless sleep, she decided that research into her situation was in order. The logical place to start would be a book on delusional disorders. If she was going insane from the guilt of Professor Snape's death she wanted to know what to expect before her sanity disappeared.
Wand lit, she entered her sitting room and scanned two of her four bookshelves for any book on abnormal psychology. Over half the rows were double stacked, meaning she needed to set some books onto the floor just to get a better glimpse of the titles she sought.
On the third row of the second bookshelf, she grabbed a book to put on the floor. Yet she paused. The book's cover was a stenciled illustration of humanoid trees being plucked by vultures with human heads. It had nothing to do with psychology, yet it spoke to her problem more than she cared to admit.
If she wanted to know about the afterlife, why not start with Dante's Divine Comedy?
As she clung to the book, she considered the possibility that Severus had run into trouble during his time in the afterlife. Perhaps the angels had been just as merciless in their assessment of him as human beings had been. If Purgatory existed and he was reaching out to her to help him avoid being trapped there, didn't he deserve her aid?
Hermione frowned. This whole thing was ridiculous. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to understand what Severus could be going through, if only to silence the lingering notion that this may not be just another dream.
Releasing a breath, she decided to read. At the very least, it could make her drowsy and give her some much needed sleep.
The sun peeked through the windows of her apartment, illuminating the shine of the leather couch. Still, her entire attention was on the souls sitting on the shores of Purgatory, awaiting entry so they could fulfill their centuries long sentences.
Down the hallway, her alarm rang. She set the book and shook her head. This was madness. If anyone deserved to be in heaven, it was Severus Snape.
She trudged down the hallway, her mind swimming with images of divine punishments and souls.
Hermione needed to consult an expert on matters such as this.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice."
Luna entered into Hermione's office. "It was no trouble at all. I was going to be here anyway. Harry wanted a copy of Severus Snape: Saint or Scoundrel? We wouldn't dream of buying it from anywhere else."
"Yes," Hermione drawled. "About that book. There may be a few inaccuracies."
"Oh I know the whole thing is rubbish," Luna closed the door behind her and put a hand on her swollen stomach. "Harry only wanted to know what kind of lies Rita was telling so he could defend Severus if he needed to."
"I know, and I shouldn't be selling it."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why not? It's a best seller."
"Yes, but I may have been so overeager to sell it that I didn't consider what I was doing to Professor Snape's reputation."
"He's dead, so his reputation may not matter to him, unless you are worried about a harpy attacking you."
"I actually have been thinking about harpies quite a bit lately."
Luna held up her hand. "Say no more. I have a harpy repellent at home I can loan you. If you need me to I can brew some for both of us."
Hermione sat at her desk. "I don't need a harpy repellent."
"You might if you feel what you're doing is unjust, although I think they'd be more interested in attacked Rita. Guilt alone is a good harpy repellent."
"I don't need to know about harpies." Hermione gestured towards the wooden chair across from her. "Though I do need your help with another type of creature."
Luna's eyes lit up.
"What do you know about spirits?"
Luna sat, doing her best to find a comfortable position despite her enlarged abdomen. "What kind of spirit?"
"The kind that belongs in the afterlife but for some reason can't make it to heaven."
"Like a ghost?"
"No, they aren't tied to the earth, but they can't make it into heaven either. They're stuck in Purgatory, only not really."
"Oh, they must've missed the train."
"What train?"
"Harry said there's some type of train that takes one to the afterlife, they must have missed it."
"I know he said that, but let's say one didn't miss the train but got off at the wrong stop. Do you know about that kind of spirit?"
"I don't know," Luna admitted. "I never took a theology class, though you might have."
"Actually I replaced my theology credit with another philosophy one."
"Oh." Luna tapped her finger on her belly. "Well, I'm sure you could find some books on it."
"Perhaps, but you know all about magical creatures. I was hoping you could tell me everything you know about spirits that go to the afterlife."
Luna hummed. "I know they don't work like ghosts."
"How are they different?"
"There are only rumors, but I hear they make the room warmer."
Hermione remembered the warmth of the room despite thinking she needed to add more wood to the fireplace.
"They have a different glow to them as well. They aren't always blue, but can change colors based on their emotions.. Still, spirits have found the afterlife. They want to stay there, and they have no reason to return to earth."
"What if the Trinity wants them to return to earth?"
Luna cocked her head. "The Trinity?"
"Yes, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier."
"Oh that Trinity."
"Yes, the Christian one."
"Why would God want spirits back on earth?"
"I don't know, but let's just say that for some reason, the Trinity wants spirits to return to earth to accomplish some mission. Would that be out of the realm of possibility?"
"It could. There are accounts of it happening like in The Christmas Carol."
"I'm pretty sure that's fiction."
"It may have been based on true events though."
Hermione opened her mouth, only to close it. At this juncture, logic had to be discarded in favor of any explanation which could enlighten her on her predicament.
"I suppose if they return to earth there must be a good reason for it," Luna concluded.
"What would that be?"
"I don't know. It may depend on the spirit."
"Should we help the spirit?"
"Probably. We should at the very least stay out of its way and let it do what it needs to do."
"Can it have a peaceful afterlife once it accomplishes its mission?"
"I don't see why not."
"A spirit would not want anything bad, would it? It wouldn't be after revenge for some wrong."
"I think you should help your spirit accomplish whatever it wants to do."
"What?" Hermione forced herself to laugh. "I don't have a spirit. I've never even seen a spirit."
"Yes, you have seen a spirit, and it's asking you to do something."
"No, no spirit is asking me for anything. I was only asking because I read Dante's The Divine Comedy. Since you know about magical creatures, I thought you might know about spirits."
"I knew the second I walked in that you'd had a magical creature experience. It wasn't until you began asking about spirits when I put the pieces together."
"There is not spirit! I just wanted to ask just because I was reading about them."
"You need to help Professor Snape find peace."
"No, Severus Snape is at peace."
"Obviously not if he's visiting you."
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "I am not being visited by Professor Snape's ghost."
"Spirit. He's a spirit."
"Yes, he's a spirit in the afterlife. He is not on earth."
"No, he's visiting you for help in accomplishing some task."
Hermione glared at Luna.
"It's okay to admit it. I think it's nice that he's visiting you."
"Professor Snape is not visiting me, but in a hypothetical world where he is, what should I do?"
"Listen and do what he says."
"Then he'll depart and I can live my life."
"Maybe, though it might be more complicated than that."
"How?"
Luna lowered her voice. "Spirits are weirder than any creature I've ever encountered. They can't be reasoned with, and they can't be deterred from their goals. It's best just to listen to them and appease them however you can."
"And if you just want the spirit to depart?"
"They'll find a way to come back until you do what they believe you were decreed to do."
Hermione slumped in hr chair.
"Make Professor Snape a friendly spirit. You may finally find peace."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Luna stood. "You know exactly what I mean."
"No, because I am very much at peace," Hermione argued.
"Then why are you seeing people from the afterlife?"
"I'm not seeing anyone from the afterlife!"
"Then why are you asking about spirits?"
"I told you, I've been reading too much Dante."
"Is that the case, or are you in such turmoil you refuse to believe you could ever find peace, even from on high?"
Before Hermione could answer, Luna breezed out of the room.