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

How could someone with a lab this immaculate have the rest of her house in such disarray? Better question, how could someone with a lab this advanced only dabble in potions?

Jars of ingredients were lined in alphabetical order along a shelf along the wall. Not a speck of dust could be found on the tables. The beakers did not contain a single smudge, and the cauldrons still gleamed in the candlelight.

Most importantly, there were a variety of potions ingredients, almost as many as he'd had at Hogwarts. The books on the far wall were for advanced potions students. Why was she not a potions mistress?

"Impressed?" Hermione asked with a small smirk.

Severus twisted his lips. "It is adequate."

"Which means by most people's standards it's amazing."

"It is professional anyway."

"Is that a compliment?"

"It very much is," he replied. "I have never seen an amateur potions maker design this advanced of a lab."

She blushed.

"Which only leads me to question why the rest of your house is such a disaster zone."

"I have to keep this space clean, lest I start a fire or injure myself. That isn't the case with the rest of my house, although I probably should make sure I don't start stacking books near the oven."

"You used to do that?"

"Yes."

Severus frowned and shook his head.

"What? Before you came I never used my oven. Why not use it as storage space until I could get bigger bookshelves?"

"I am beginning to see why the Trinity thought you needed so much help."

"I'm beginning to see why they are allowing you to get into heaven early."

"They should after this." There was a spark of humor in his eyes.

"Indeed they should."

"That being said," he wished he could've cleared his throat for the effect. "If you were better organized you might find your potions notes more easily."

"You may have a point there."

"No, I do have a point." He floated to the front table. He had a wistful expression as he gazed at the cauldron.

"Do you want to help me make the potion?"

He turned around.

"I don't ever want you to feel used, but I think you might like working again," she continued. "I do remember you mentioning delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins."

"You remembered that speech?"

"It was one of the highlights of my first year."

His glow was a bright yellow.

"Do you want to feel the sensation of brewing glory again?"

"I would love to, but," he glow was blue. "It is impossible for me to feel it throughout my whole body as I used to."

"I know, but I thought you may find some joy in reclaiming some of your earthly life. You loved potions, so why not create one last one?"

His glow returned to its usual hue.

"I want you to touch everything in my lab." She threw up her hands. "You may touch the cauldrons, the scalpels, the ingredients, all of it. If it will help you create our potion, then you may touch it."

He picked up the cauldron. His eyes glistened.

"Should we get to work?" She asked. "It will go faster if there are two of us."

His glow intensified. "Get out the turmeric."

How could anyone find a soulmate at a library?

Sirius wandered through the romance shelves, noting that more than a few of the patrons were in desperate need of acne cream. Yet there was one man with polished shoes in a gray business suit. His eyes darted across the shelves before he picked up a book. Blushing, he held it to his chest and darted to his right.

Curious, Sirius followed the man. Once they were in the middle of the library, the man stopped and took another look at the title.

Die Hard for Love

The man's face lit up as he opened the book and began to skim through the pages. Sirius rolled his eyes and strolled towards the nonfiction section of the library. Anyone who would read that trash had no business being near Hermione.

Sirius continued to watch the customers peruse the books. Some of the men were promising, but they either had rings or were checking out books she would never approve of. Finding true love was proving much more difficult than he'd believed.

Still, Sirius Black was not known for giving up. He would scour the land and sea for Hermione's soulmate, even if it took the next millennium!

Her soulmate couldn't hide from him forever.

Hermione watched scarlet steam waft from the simmering mauve potion. In forty long minutes they would add the final ingredients. Only the Trinity knew what was next.

"We don't need to stare at it for the next forty minutes," Severus began. "We can go into your sitting room unless you fear Crookshanks knocking the potion over in our absence."

"How could you suggest a thing? During the simmer stage we need to ensure there isn't an interaction which will destroy the lab."

"Congratulations, you passed the last test."

"You were testing me?"

"Indeed, only to get a message through your head before I left." He leaned against the wall. "Most potions students perfectly brew their potions, then leave for the restroom, only for it to explode. I wanted to ensure you were not one of them."

"I would imagine that most of them didn't take lessons from you though. If they did they would know the importance of being safe at all times."

"I suppose you sat close enough to Neville to know how paramount safety is."

She chuckled. "He wasn't all terrible."

"He was terrible enough," he muttered. "He almost burned down the school fifty-seven times."

"Fifty-seven?"

"Indeed, I counted."

"Oh you did." She stepped closer to him.

"There was little else to do while I was waiting for the Trinity to give their verdict." He scowled. "They took long enough anyway."

She hummed.

"It feels odd to ask, but how is he doing?"

"He's doing great." She sat upon a wooden chair and turned it so she was facing him. "He is working at Hogwarts as your replacement."

"Oh Merlin!" Severus was completely white.

Hermione burst out laughing again.

"I sweat if I had a heart I would have died of a heart attack at just the thought!" He was less pale.

"I probably would too."

"Then why must you joke as you do?"

"Because you're so easy to tease."

Severus gave her a playful snarl.

"In all honesty," she took a deep breath. "Neville is the herbology professor."

"I suppose he wouldn't be too horrid at that. At least he won't blow anything up."

"He's quite good from what I understand, and no, he has not blown the school up."

"Who runs the school now?"

"Headmistress McGonagall.'

"Oh." He mused. "She would be an excellent choice, a very worthy successor."

"She's done great, especially with help from your portrait," she answered.

"They made a portrait of me?"

"They did. Headmistress McGonagall says she talks to it every day."

"I would imagine it's quite the conversationalist."

"It's a poor substitute for you."

"But a more pleasant one for sure."

"No," her voice softened. "Not really."

"I take it you've spoken with it," his glow lessened.

"I honestly didn't have the heart to. It was only going to remind me of how much I missed you."

"Sentimental Gryffindor."

Hermione frowned, only to notice his half grin. She relaxed. "I suppose I am."

A comfortable silence fell between them.

"Once this potion is done, will you be in heaven?" She asked.

"I doubt it," he answered. "Unless you feel as if you have obtained eudaimonia."

"I have a better sense of well-being, and I feel happier than I have in years."

"I sense a but."

She gazed into his eyes. They were as black as the day we died, and just as mysterious. Even though he wasn't occluding, she couldn't decipher if he was hiding anything. It was both enticing and terrifying.

"What is preventing you from achieving eudaimonia?" He asked.

"Other than my dad surviving, which I need to be happy, I don't know what else will change. Sure I can stir fry, make boil pasta, and cook rice now, but it doesn't change the fact that I still can't cook anything else. My friends will all be married with children, and I'll be on the outside looking in."

"I would imagine that is difficult."

"It is, but as odd as it sounds, that might not be the worst aspect of you leaving." Her voice grew quieter. "I will miss you once you're gone."

"I will miss you as well." His eyes were the most vulnerable she'd ever seen them.

"I know we're supposed to be friends forever, but…"

There was a pause.

"But?" He drawled.

She lowered her head. What followed the "but?" What did she want to tell him that she hadn't already? Friends had come and go all of her life. What made Severus so special that she didn't want to fathom him ever not being by her side?

"Hermione?"

"But," she raised her head. Her voice was louder. "But I want to do something for you before you reach heaven."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes," her voice was stronger. "You once said you didn't want me to become another master, so I want to do something for you as a token of my appreciation."

"Please don't take what I said seriously. I was infuriated when I accused you of being my master. I didn't mean a word of it."

"You had a point though. I have been taking quite a bit from you and not giving much back. If you're going to be here for a while, then I need to do something for you."

"Helping me get to heaven is enough."

"No, it isn't," she replied. "I need to help you in some other way."

"Not to be rude, but what could you possibly do for me?" He stood up straighter. "There isn't much a living person could do for a spirit."

"Living," she whispered.

"Yes," he drawled. "You are very much alive."

"Was there something you wanted to do before you died?" Her eyes lit up.

He shrugged. "I expected to die before the war ended, so I didn't have any long term plans."

"Perhaps you weren't going to scale Kilimanjaro, but you must have had a few potions ideas."

"I had several actually."

"Did you ever brew them?"

"No," He slumped. "Some of them I created before I was a headmaster and then ran out of time to brew them. Others I created as a headmaster, but I obviously did not have time to create them."

"You remember them though."

"I am unable to forget anything in the afterlife."

"Then let's create them!"

He cocked his head.

"I mean it!" She replied. "Let's create some of your ideas. I'll even find a way to give you credit."

"I would highly recommend you not," he replied. "You don't people to know you're conversing with a spirit no one else can see. People could think you're one cauldron short of a lab so to speak."

"No, I can't tell them about you. I know that. What I meant to say is that I'll tell them I found an old book of your notes and went from there."

"What if someone asked you for proof that they were my ideas?"

"Then I want you to touch a quill and a parchment so you can scribble some things down."

"Most people don't date their notes anyway, so they would have little idea that I didn't write them," His glow grew. "Except, where would you have found these notes?"

"Harry and I cleared your office a few days after you died. I didn't keep anything because it didn't feel right, but it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that I snuck out a few notes."

"I could see you doing that in the name of academic interest."

"It'll be our little secret where they came from." She winked.

"It will be." His glow was a soft gold.

"Does this mean you'll give me some ideas for future potions?"

"As long as I am able to stay down here, I will give you as many ideas as I can."

She looked at him as if he'd just awarded her ten points.

"That being said, we need to finish this potion first."

Her wand flashed a bright red, signaling the potions needed to tending to.

"Yes," she strolled towards the cauldron.

"Now." He floated towards the potion. "After we add the toad's tongue it will take another forty-eight hours to settle. Once that occurs, we will test the potion's Ph level. If it is perfect then we will contact a research facility to get this tested. If we are lucky, you will have created your first original potion, and your father will be saved."

"Do you have faith that I have accomplished my goal?"

His lips curled up. "I have never been so sure of anything in my life."

Hermione gave him a small smile, knowing she had finally fulfilled her childhood dream of impressing him.