AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!

Perhaps if Severus ignored Black long enough, he would discard the notion of a Golden Trio reunion.

After their conversation, Black had vowed to ask St. Peter about visiting Ronald. So far heaven's gatekeeper had yet to make an appearance. Perhaps even he foresaw the futility of the dog's mission.

Ron Weasley was a complication Severus didn't need. With some luck, others would agree with his position.

Unaware of any spiritual drama, Ms. Granger was seated at her kitchen table, jotting down her final notes. After dotting the last i she grinned. "There."

Severus stood over her and hummed. "If my calculations are correct, which they usually are, this should serve as a nice base for our potion, if not be the cure itself."

"If you say this is the base, then it must be so."

"There was a reason I was called a potions master anyway."

She glanced up. "Doesn't it feel weird to be standing in the middle of a table?"

He took note of his position in the center of the table. His lower robe was obscured by the wood, while he was chest deep in piled parchments.

"I barley notice where I am it to be honest."

"So you can't feel anything?"

"I thought I made it clear earlier that was the case."

"I know, but I thought you'd at least be able to sense when you walked through something like a table."

"No, there is no difference between standing here and sitting on your couch."

"Is it ever disconcerting not to feel anything?"

"It was at first, but at this point I am accustomed to my existence as a spirit."

"How long did it take for you to get used to it?"

"It was much less time than you'd think."

She cocked her head.

"I haven't felt any kind of touch in years. After a certain period of time I forgot what it felt like."

"I guess after so much time has passed it would become normal," She replied. "Yet, how much time passed before not touching things felt normal?"

"I am unsure," he replied. "After death I was in a white waiting room for what could have been years, though for me it only seemed to be a moment. Time becomes contorted in the spiritual realm."

"You are supposed to be eternal, so I guess in that respect time would lose its meaning."

"Yet it holds some importance."

"Oh?"

"Sometimes it seems as if I only have a few minutes between our meetings, yet recently the hours when we are apart drag on. That part baffles me."

"When you're in heaven I suppose things will be more consistent."

"Perhaps."

"Still, being timeless is hard for me to imagine."

"This whole thing is beyond my wildest imagination. Nothing could have prepared me for it."

"Are you at least happy?"

"I'm content enough anyway."

"You should be more than content."

"Contentment is more than I have felt in years. I am already enjoying the afterlife much more than I did my earthly one."

Silence filled the room.

Ms. Granger rolled up the parchment. "If I go ahead and purchase the ingredients tomorrow I will be later than usual, assuming the stores are still open when I get off of work."

"That is fine. I can come later."

"No, just come at seven and be aware that I may be in by 7:30. I will return though, so feel free to sit and wait for me."

"Very well then."

She exhaled. "I just hope I can pick everything up in time."

"If you must wait until the weekend to get some of them I will not be too inconvenienced."

"Perhaps, but then what will you do in the days between now and then?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you aren't helping me with the potion then you'll be in Purgatory, which would upset me greatly."

"Why?"

"I quite like having you around in the evenings. As entertaining as Crookshanks is, I've enjoyed carrying on a two way conversation."

He raised an eyebrow. "I've never been accused of being a good conversationalist."

"When you're relaxed you are a quite pleasant conversationalist."

Severus twisted his lower lip. He could concede that he was more relaxed than he had been in decades. Now that there was no spying to be done, no facade to maintain, and no unstable masters to please, he could let his guard down. That realization stirred up some emotion in him, something which could be best defined as peace.

It was an unfamiliar emotion.

"Still, if you can only communicate with me when it's a part of your mission, I wouldn't want to waste your time."

"I've told you, there's more to this mission than helping you with the potion, though for the love of me I cannot figure it out." He strolled away from the table.

"I suppose we can talk about anything else then."

"We could do that." Severus' glow intensified. "Or we can go over a few recipes."

Ms. Granger frowned. "I don't like to cook."

"Do you not like cooking, or did you give up on learning the skill?"

"I didn't give up. I just know my limits, cooking being one of them."

"Were those limits set by your abilities, or by you giving up on learning how to cook?"

"They are based on reality. I'm so bad at cooking I burned a baloney sandwich."

"That's possible to do if you're making a panini…"

"Oh no, I did not intend to heat it at all," she shook her head. "I was boiling up some chicken noodle soup from a can on the stove. Crookshanks knocked over a few of my books, startled me, and the sandwich flew into the fire. It was a total loss."

Severus couldn't help but chuckle.

"Laugh now, but the reality remains, how can someone who cannot even make a sandwich learn how to cook?"

"If I can learn how to cook you can as well."

"I would beg to differ."

"Then perhaps you should prove me wrong."

"By failing to cook?"

"Yes."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't I doing that already by not cooking?"

"No, you are proving to me that you lack any Gryffindor courage, and that you give up on tasks too quickly."

She stood. "Excuse me?"

He smirked. "Go ahead, prove to me you cannot cook."

"Fine." She marched over to the fridge. "What am I supposed to cook?"

"Do you have any eggs?"

She opened the fridge and turned to the door. "I have a carton Luna gave me a week ago."

"It seems she has faith that you can cook."

"She's delusional." Ms. Granger pulled out the egg carton and set it onto the counter.

"We'll see about that," Severus' glow brightened. "Now get out a pan."

She walked through him in order to reach into a cupboard. Once she pulled the pan out, she set it onto the stove.

"Go ahead and heat the pan."

A flame leapt out as she turned it onto the highest setting

"It does not need to be set that high."

"It'll get done faster if it's that hot though."

"This is not always the case." Severus floated beside her. "Sometimes the outside of something will be hot almost to the point of burning, but the inside is not heated evenly. Medium heat is usually better, unless the recipe calls for high heat."

"Whatever you say," she turned a knob. The flame lessened.

"Now do you know how to crack an egg?"

"Believe it or not, I am quite experienced in that part."

"Then prove it."

She pulled out an egg and cracked it on the edge of the pan. Then she ensured the insides landed where they were meant to be.

"Very well done."

"Glad this meets your approval." She began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Severus barked.

"To get some plates. I am going to eat this, aren't I?"

"You need to attend to your food."

She blinked.

"I cannot pick up your egg if it burns. You need to ensure it is heated without being burned."

"When I was on the run I walked away from frying eggs all the time. They were fine."

"Those fires were not nearly as hot as this one."

"I was quite good at making fires."

"I have no doubt that you made due with what you could, but right now we are learning to cook in a way that doesn't burns your food. Attend to your egg."

Ms. Granger mumbled something under her breath before stomping over towards the egg. "Okay, I'm watching my egg. It's sizzling. What do I do?"

"Make sure the egg consistency is correct," he answered.

"How do I determine that?"

"You want the edges white while the yolk is firm."

She looked at the pan. "How do I tell if the yolk is firm?"

"It stays in place."

A few moments passed.

"Okay, I think it looks good," Ms. Granger announced.

"Then turn off the stove and put the pan off the burner."

She did so.

"Now, you may get your plate and eating utensils. It may also be wise to put the egg carton away."

Ms. Granger followed his directions. Once she got the plate she slid the egg from the pan onto it.

"Now, clear off a space at the table so you can eat."

She took some parchments and piled them across the table.

Severus rolled his eyes. He considered lecturing her about keeping a clean table, but there was only so much he could accomplish in one night.

"Am I done?" She asked.

"Yes, you may now eat."

Ms. Granger sat at the table and cut her egg. She took a bite. Her eyes grew. "This is actually good."

Severus' glow brightened. "Is it not much better than the greasy eggs you eat."

"My restaurant food isn't always greasy," she pointed her fork at him.

"Some of it is greasier than my hair was."

"Your hair wasn't that bad."

"Even I can admit my hair was far from my most attractive feature."

"I don't know." Hermione shrugged. "It was nicer than mine anyway. At least you could brush it without pulling half of it out. I feel so vain sometimes because it takes me a good ten minutes just to get most of the tangles out in the morning."

Severus chuckled as she gave him a small grin.

"All that being said," The humor evaporated from Severus' eyes. "Poor eating habits affect your health severely in the long run. Your poor diet could already be affecting you in ways you are unaware of."

She cut her egg. "How?"

"A poor diet can cause one to become tired more easily, as well as more irritable."

"You were irritable, but your diet was fine."

"I had much to be irritable about though."

"So do I. Perhaps not as much as you did, but there's a reason I am who I am," She took another bite of her egg.

"All I am saying is that you will be happier if your diet improves," he continued.

"Yes, but cooking takes time."

"Indeed, but the benefits outweigh the costs."

"Oh?"

"If you cook enough you will have nutritious leftovers. You can eat those for days, or freeze them and eat them later."

"I suppose that makes a certain amount of sense, but the same can be said of restaurant food."

"True, but you have to wait for them to prepare it, do you not?"

"Yes."

"Then consider cooking every once in a while. It takes much less time overall, it is healthier, and you will ultimately save money."

"Perhaps." She looked at her half eaten egg. "Still an egg isn't as exotic as tikka masala."

"It's like learning a language. You need to build up to cooking exotic meals, but you can learn to do so," Severus replied.

Ms. Granger glanced at him.

Severus leaned closer to her. "You've always been a good student who was eager to learn. Isn't cooking a skill worth learning?"

"Well," she smiled "It would give you a reason to come down here until I can get the potions ingredients I need."

"It would," he answered.

"So." She sat up straight. "Grab a pillow and we'll shake on it."

"Must I grab the pillow?"

"Yes," she laughed. "You need to grab the pillow so we can have a proper shake."

Severus groaned before gliding into the living room and grabbing the pillow. Once he returned, he grabbed one end of it and allowed her to shake the other.

Once again, Ms. Granger was his student.