AN: I decided to post this early since my afternoon is fairly full. Thank you for the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Once again, Ms. Granger could not be bothered to appear in her sitting room on time.
Severus sat upon the couch, a scowl etched onto his face. Crookshanks glanced up from the chair across from him and growled. The spirit glared at him. After yawning, the half-kneazle closed his eyes and relaxed.
"Mister Snape?" A voice called down the hallway. "Are you here yet?"
"Yes, and you are late once again."
"Sorry, I'll be out with you in a moment!"
"Fine," he grumbled before picking up a scroll of her notes.
Within a few minutes, he heard footsteps draw near. "I apologize for not being in the sitting room, but the shirts took longer than I expected. I may need to stop and take out the jeans as well."
"Your attention is divided then."
"I know, but you have an eternity to help me with my potion. I only have until Friday morning to get my laundry done."
"I may have an eternity, but some punctuality would be appreciated," he snapped.
"I know, but in my defense you were five minutes early."
"So I was." Severus' eyes fell upon the black lacy underwear atop the t-shirts.
"Don't stare at that," She put the basket behind her back.
"I won't stare at it if you don't shove it in my face."
"I didn't shove it in your face. I just had it at an odd angle."
"You mean you weren't attempting to display your panties for me?"
"No."
"At least you have some sense of propriety remaining."
She huffed. "I have plenty of propriety. You on the other hand are spending your afterlife sneaking peeks at women's panties."
"Only when they are displayed prominently for me to see."
"Pervert."
He smirked.
"Could I have a minute to fold my clothes?" She asked. "I don't want them to get wrinkled."
"Could you not use an ironing spell on them when we finish with this meeting?"
"I could, but I don't like casting it."
"Why not?"
"I have a nasty habit of singeing my clothes.."
"I used to have that problem."
"Oh?" She picked up the basket.
"Yes," he answered. "I found an upwards motion was less likely to ruin the clothing than a downward motion."
"I thought that wouldn't get the wrinkles out as effectively." She made her way to the bedroom.
He floated behind her. "Not if you wave your wand slowly enough."
"You aren't supposed to linger on the clothes though."
"True, but taking a half second to run your wand over a particularly difficult area should do the trick."
She put the basket on the bed.
"If you allow me to take your wand I could show you how to do it."
She pulled her wand out of the right pocket of her gray sweatpants. He attempted to grasp it, but his hands went right through.
"Please touch my wand."
He grabbed it, but felt neither the smoothness of the wood nor the crackle of magic. There was no energy coursing through his veins, nor was there the adrenaline of preparing to cast the first spell in years. What he held was nothing more than a stick of wood. It was disconcerting, yet unsurprising given his new reality.
She set a turquoise t-shirt on the bed. He raised an eyebrow. "Angel Cake Bakeoff?"
"It was something from my mother."
"I suspected as much, given that you do not seem like the type of person who would participate in a bakeoff for your own pleasure."
"I don't have the time or the patience for cooking."
"Understandable. Cooking takes a certain temperament to enjoy, one which you seem to lack."
"I take it you had the perfect temperament to be a chef."
"It was one of the few things I could do to relax during the war."
She burst out laughing. He frowned.
"I'm sorry," she caught her breath. "I am trying to imagine you ironing out your black clothing while your cookies are baking in the oven."
"I will have you know that I made amazing cookies."
She laughed harder.
He crossed his arms over his shoulders. "You would have killed for my sugar cookies."
"Did you put little sprinkles on them?"
"Of course not. I put a special lemon frosting upon them."
She silenced herself.
"Then I put the sprinkles on them."
She covered her mouth, hoping he wouldn't hear her giggles.
"I had a secret recipe for the icing which I suppose died with me."
Her humor evaporated.
His glow dulled. "It was quite good, something which in retrospect would've benefited a few people had I shared it."
"Who would you have shared it with?"
He shrugged. "Draco I suppose, though he probably hasn't so much as seen an oven. Still, he loved my cookies. Every time I visited he would beg me for them."
"Ginny would have made the cookies. She's an amazing cook."
"Why would I have given her my recipe? I thought she would marry Potter."
"A lot has changed since you died."
"Apparently."
Silence fell between them.
"Is Draco doing well?" Severus finally whispered.
"He's doing great," Ms. Granger answered. "He and Ginny have been married for five years. They have two children, Scorpius and Cassie."
"Cassie?"
"Her full name is Cassiopeia, but I don't have enough time in my life to pronounce her name every time I see her."
Severus couldn't help but chuckle.
"If you want, I can ask them over sometime," she offered.
"Why? I cannot interact with them."
"So? I can talk and play with their kids. You'll at least see that they're doing well.
He twisted his lower lip.
"Who knows? They may feel your presence."
His glow brightened. "I would like that."
"I haven't spoken to them in a while anyway. It might be nice to have them over, even if Scorpius isn't happy that he can't read what he calls 'the pwetty wooks."
Severus smiled. "How old are Scorpius and Cassie?"
"Scorpius turned three last January, and Cassie will turn two in July."
"I'm happy for him." Severus' expression was distant. "He always wanted to be a father. I am glad he finally got the chance to do so."
"He's an amazing dad," Ms. Granger replied. "I feel bad for ever doubting him."
"Did you oppose him having children?"
"I never said anything to Ginny, but at times I wondered if she knew what she was doing when she announced her pregnancy."
He shook his head. "I have difficulty seeing him and Ginevra together."
"At first I did too, but now I think they were destined for each other."
"That is doubtful. Soulmates are fictitious."
"I think they are too, but if they exist, Draco and Ginny would be it. They know what the other is thinking before it comes out. Sometimes I don't think they even use words to communicate."
Severus hummed.
"Harry and Luna are the same way. They are perfect together."
"They are an odd couple too."
"They fit though. Some people are meant for that connection and others…" Ms. Granger sighed. "Others are meant to iron clothes in an upward motion."
"Yes, I suppose we do need to get on with this ironing," he muttered.
"We do." She smiled. "I'm beginning to fear it will acknowledge you as its owner instead of me."
"We can't have that, now can we." He purred.
"No, we cannot, so please show me how to iron out my shirt so we can move into research."
Severus focused on the shirt in front of him and waved the wand upwards. "Calca ridurile."
Nothing.
He said the phrase again and moved the wand upwards. The shirt remained as it was.
He turned red. "Calca ridurile!"
No change.
"Calca ridurile!"
There was no magic coursing through his body, no power emitting from his essence, or even a twinge of change. Her wand was just another stick in his hands.
His magic was no more.
He slumped. "Apparently spirits lack magic."
"Oh."
"I had hoped there would be at least some magic left." His glow was blue. "I had hoped something I loved from my earthly life would have remained. Apparently I was mistaken."
"There's no need to feel bad." She took the wand from him. "I can learn how to cast the spell myself if you guide me."
"It isn't your ability to learn that I question," he answered. "I wanted my magic to remain, if only so I could remain myself. All my life I was defined by magic. Without it, who am I?"
"Your Severus Snape, someone who is undergoing a transition but will come out of it stronger than before."
His glow was a dark blue.
"You shouldn't be upset about all this. The afterlife may not be concerned with magic, which may not wholly be a bad thing."
"I can make shapes out of clouds," he noted. "Then again, Dismas can do that, and I'm certain he was a muggle in life."
"Maybe spirits have a different kind of magic."
"True. I can walk through walls and appear anywhere at will. I suppose that's a type of magic."
"Who needs magic anyway?"
His glow turned white. "Excuse me?"
"Perhaps I like having magic, but why would you need magic anyway? It isn't like your robe is in need of cleaning or ironing."
Severus' hue lightened. "It is odd to think I have not changed clothing since the day I died."
"Yet even in death you wear a black tunic."
"Would I be in any other color?"
"I couldn't envision you in anything but black. Then again I always thought angels wore white."
"Everyone else wears white."
Ms. Granger grinned.
His glow returned to its usual hue. "I suppose even in death one is only themselves. Magic must not have been as big a part of my essence as I had initially believed."
"Even if you only have spirit magic, you're still Severus Snape, one of the most brilliant men I've ever met, and the best person to help me make a potion."
"I hope to live up to those statements."
"You do."
His glow brightened.
"Who needs laundry anyway?" Hermione strolled to the door. "It can wait."
"Perhaps I could teach you the motion another way."
"How?"
"I will watch you do it and critique your technique."
"I really don't need to iron now."
"I beg to differ."
"You won't get to heaven until I create a potion and now you want to do laundry?"
"No, I want to be an actual teacher."
She blinked.
"I demeaned you as a student and squelched any potential you could have had in creating potions. Had it not been for your dad, you never would have come within ten meters of a cauldron after Hogwarts."
"You were trying to wear a mask to protect us. I understand why you couldn't be kind to us."
"Yet I am not wearing a mask now," he argued. "If Purgatory is meant to help me repair the damage I've done, then I should teach you how to iron your clothing and create potions."
"You don't need to…"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay." She pulled out her wand.
"Now, do an upwards motion from the lower hem of the shirt right up to the neck."
"Is it diagonal?"
"No, just a straight line."
She took a deep breath.
"Anytime you are ready, just say the words."
"Calca ridurile."
She raised her wand over the shirt and waved it from bottom to top. One by one, the wrinkles straightened.
"Very well done Ms. Granger." Severus began. "Very well done."
Ms. Granger's eyes gleamed. "Thank you, Mr. Snape."
His glow warmed.
She was an outstanding student.