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

If there was one thing that went right, it was that the dog had not returned from his mission. The last thing Severus needed was to deal with him yapping about some plan doomed to failure, or hear his complaints that he couldn't understand the simplest philosophical concept. Some days Severus swore he took a wrong turn and wound up in hell, not Purgatory.

He sat upon the couch and picked up Aristotle's Metaphysics from the top of the pile. He stared at the title, as if it would offer some answer to the questions he dared not to ask.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Severus glanced up and gave the intruder a small smile. "Hello, Dismas. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's about time for your weekly update. Since Sirius is gone I thought this would be the perfect time to do it."

"Indeed it is," Severus replied. "Where is Black anyway?"

"He's in France monitoring Mr. Weasley." Dismas glanced at the sofa.

"He has been there for quite some time." Severus slid over and set the books onto the floor. "I thought he'd be finished with that by now."

"I have a feeling he finished spying hours ago, but he's decided to enjoy some of the scenery."

"Doesn't wandering the earth go against the spirit of the program?"

"It does," Dismas sat beside Severus. "But he's been working hard at his mission, so a little leisure time may not be out of order. Besides, if he gets too out of line Metatron will deal with him."

"His prosecutor?"

"Yes."

"Isn't he busy prosecuting other cases?"

"Trust me, he's never too busy to intervene in the affairs of mortals, even if he is a little..." Dismiss hummed. "Zealous about it."

"It may be best not to call in Metatron then. The last thing I need to Sirius whining about how mean he was to him."

Dismas suppressed a laugh.

"Besides, St. Peter seems capable of handling Black on his own."

"He is, but at some point somebody needs to admit the souls into heaven." The thief straightened out his robe. "Besides, Metatron has been itching for a chance to return to earth since his little excursion in the United States."

"What did he do there?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but he seems proud of whatever he accomplished."

"Hopefully if it is necessary to call Metatron, he will get Black back on the straight and narrow. If we're lucky he may even talk him out of his latest harebrained scheme."

"What is Black's latest idea?"

"He is convinced that Ms. Granger should reunite with her alleged true love, Ronald Weasley."

"You don't seem enthused about the plan."

"You are more perceptive than he is."

"Why aren't you in favor of his plan?"

"It won't work."

"Why are you convinced of that?"

"Ms. Granger can do so much better than Mr. Weasley," Severus answered. "He is rude, lazy, dunderheaded, and all around unworthy of her."

"That is a very unflattering description." Dismas scratched his chin.

"It is accurate though."

"It's interesting that you have such an unflattering description of almost everyone you met," Dismas crossed his legs. "Which makes me wonder what you think of Ms. Granger."

"She is compassionate, hard-working, intelligent, and worthy of so much more than Mr. Weasley could ever provide."

"You may very well be right, but that only begs the question of who you think she deserves."

Severus frowned. "You cannot seriously be going down this line of inquiry."

"All I'm saying is that Black seems to have a decent idea in focusing in on Ms. Granger's personal life. Aristotle did discuss the benefit of human relationships in achieving eudaimonia after all."

"He discusses friendship, not true love."

"No, but Plato discusses love in The Symposium. If I recall he goes in depth with love and makes some beautiful points about it."

"He's discussing sleeping with teenagers."

"True. Still, I think the same lessons could apply to relationships where everyone is of age."

Severus scowled.

"What's the actual issue?" Dismas asked. "Are you opposed to the idea, or are you opposed to anything Sirius proposes?"

"If he proposed any good ideas I would be in favor of them. This is not a good idea."

"How do you know it's not a good idea if you haven't tried it?"

"There are some things of which I am certain. This is one of them."

Dismas' glow became a light yellow.

"Don't look at me like that. I am not opposed to trying new ideas…"

"So long as you come up with them."

Severus closed his mouth.

"I sense this has as much to do with pride as anything else."

"How can thinking something through be prideful?"

"From what I understand from St. Peter, you refuse to give this idea a second thought."

"I know Ron Weasley, and this will not work. I also know Ms. Granger, and she does not want to be with him."

"Did you ask her this?" Dismas asked.

"I didn't need to. Some simple spying revealed the truth," Severus explained.

"Interesting. What did you find?"

"When I was last in her apartment, I scoured the place for any sign of Mr. Weasley. I found photographs of Potter, Draco, Ginevra, and even a few of her bloody cat. What I did not find was any sign that she even knew Mr. Weasley."

"Have you told Sirius this?"

"I haven't had time since I explored her house tonight."

"When he returns that should be the first thing you tell him."

"Fine." Severus' glow lessened.

"Then I would explaining to him what kind of person you believe should be in Hermione's life."

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Unlike Sirius, you've read through Nicomachean Ethics. You know what Aristotle proposes as the friend who helps one grow in virtue. Hermione has friends, but they are drifting in directions which she may not be able to follow."

"I've noticed as much."

"So then, what could a virtuous friend for her look like?"

Severus' glow intensified. "He would need to be intelligent, someone who could keep up with her mind. She would need to be challenged without being pushed into doing things she is uncomfortable with. It would be nice for her to banter with someone since she enjoys intelligent conversation. Her new friend would need to be attentive to her needs without being overbearing. If he could do household chores that would be nice. She's hopeless when it comes to cooking, though I'm trying to aid her in that."

Dismas' lips curled up. "It sounds like you've just described yourself."

Severus' glow went a stark white. "I am none of those things."

"Oh?"

"No, I could not be a virtuous friend."

"You're learning virtue, as is she. That seems to be a good foundation for a relationship.

"Relationship?" Severus sputtered. "We have no relationship other than client and aid."

"Is that all she is to you, a client?"

"How could she be anything more? I'm trying to get to heaven by helping her. Once I achieve that task, the next time we'll see each other is there."

"So you plant to see her in the afterlife."

"Why wouldn't I? She is…"

There was a twinkle in Dismas' eyes.

"This is irrelevant." Severus frowned. "She needs to find a friend who is not me."

"I'll let you and Sirius discuss the friend then."

Severus' glow went a light red.

"Now, I couldn't help but notice your glow was blue when I entered." The playfulness evaporated from Dismas' expression. "Did anything happen down there?"

"Nothing of note happened."

Dismas folded his hands.

"Fine, I saw Potter."

The former thief hummed.

"He was upset because someone had slandered me." Severus' glow went to a light shade of blue. "Far more upset than I expected him to be."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. What exactly is being said about you?"

"This person is painting me to be a power-obsessed opportunist who committed adultery and was incapable of love."

"That must be very upsetting."

"I don't know if I'm upset honestly."

Dismas cocked his head.

"Part of me doesn't care what others think of me, yet another part of me is beyond infuriated." His glow grew a bright red. "I don't need to be acknowledged as a hero, but why can't anyone allow me to rest in peace?"

Dismas bit his lower lip.

"I never wanted Potter to release my memories." Severus' glow was becoming orange. "I wanted those memories to remain private, yet he took it upon himself to advertise my most intimate moments to the entire world."

The saint stood.

"He knew people hated me. What did he think would happen when he made my entire life public? Someone was bound to twist everything I'd done! How could anything else have happened?"

Dismas backed away from the couch.

"I wanted to be left alone!" Flames engulfed Severus' body. . "I just wanted some peace, yet Potter made me out to be a hero! Why did he need to save me? Couldn't he have left me alone like I wanted?"

The good thief's gaze was upon the fire.

"I just want peace! Is that too much to ask?"

"No."

The flames were extinguished.

"It isn't too much to ask for peace."

Severus' glow dimmed.

"One of the most difficult pats of being dead is that we don't get the final say."

Severus kept his eyes on the ground.

The saint put a hand on his shoulder. "It isn't fair that we don't get to write our own stories after our death."

"You had someone stand up for you though." Severus slumped. "St. Luke told your story correctly. You became a beacon of hope for all those in need of salvation. What have I become?"

"You will become who you were meant to be."

"I know, but you became who you were immediately. Everyone knows your story!"

"It took almost a century for my story to be told correctly."

"I didn't want my story told at all!"

"I know. Sometimes the living don't know what will give us peace, so they make decisions which would have upset us in life."

Severus' glow returned to its blue hue. "What will bring me peace?"

"I cannot answer that. You must find your own peace."

"Sometimes I despair of that happening."

"It's hard to have hope, but you have an opportunity almost no other soul in Purgatory has. You have a chance to rewrite your story, to show at least one person who you truly were."

Severus looked at Dismas.

"I cannot tell you how your journey will conclude or what will bring you peace. All I can say is that you have a beautiful chance to write your own story. You should not squander it with pride and wrath."

Severus relaxed.

"You have very strong emotions surrounding Potter." Dismas returned to his place beside him. "I would imagine it was difficult to see him again."

"He came unexpectedly. I thought I could handle it, but I was mistaken."

"It must have been hard to be taken off guard."

"What is most upsetting is that he is grieving me, and I am still unclear why. I was nothing but cruel to him, and I have no fondness for him. Why would he mourn me?"

"I don't know. All I know is you're not the first soul to be surprised at the people who grieved them."

Severus' glow became a dull yellow.

"Sometimes souls are surprised that mortal enemies attended their funeral to pay their respects, or that loved ones danced upon their graves. We don't know what impression we leave on others until well after our death."

"I am certain you didn't expect to be portrayed in several Hollywood films as comforting Jesus anyway."

"I couldn't have even imagined what Hollywood was. I mean, moving pictures which record everything? How could anyone from the first century imagine it?" The saint chuckled.

Severus grinned. "I suppose they couldn't."

"It is clear you have unfinished business with Potter." Dismas settled himself. "Obviously you cannot resolve it with him, at least not at this moment. Still, you can help his best friend. Perhaps as you do so you'll understand his thought process better and why he felt the need to exonerate you."

"I understand his thought process perfectly. He's a Gryffindor who fails to grasp the nuances of the world and has a massive savior complex."

"You seem to think you have everyone figured out."

"I taught Potter for years. It isn't hard to figure him out."

"Seven years have passed since then."

"So? Some facts will never change."

"You'd be surprised how quickly things change. If you had asked anyone a week before my execution what my last moments would be, they would not have imagined I would have repented of my sins. Yet look what became of me."

"You're different though."

"How? I was a human being, just like Sirius was and Potter is."

"You aren't like them."

"How would you know? We never met in life."

"I can tell from our conversations that you were never anything like them."

"You only say that because you know how my story ends. You don't know how Sirius or Potter's story will end. Perhaps it's time to help right those stories instead of critiquing their even move."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know exactly what it means."

Severus buried his face in his hands.

"All that being said." Dismas rose. "You look as if you could use a distraction."

"It has been a difficult day." He raised his head.

"It wouldn't hurt for you to spend some time outside in the clouds."

"You would allow me to do that?"

"Sure. You need to regroup before seeing Ms. Granger. It'll do you some good to walk around the outskirts of heaven. There are some places I haven't visited in awhile I wouldn't mind showing someone."

"Thank you," Severus' glow had returned to its usual hue. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you've done."

"I haven't done much for you other than give you some food for thought. You're the one who needs to put whatever plan you have in motion."

"I think I can do that."

"I know you can."

With that, the two spirits left for the clouds.