AN: Sorry in advance if there are too many typos. I sliced my thumb cutting up a tomato, so it's not been fun to type.
Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Contrary to Hermione's fears, she did not set the steak strips on fire. They were sizzling just as Severus said they would. It was clear that she was a much better chef than anyone had ever given her credit for.
"You said you liked medium rare steak, correct?" Severus asked.
"I do," Hermione answered.
"Then it is almost time to turn off the heat."
She glanced down at the strips. "But it's still pink in the middle."
"I know, hence the reason it is medium rare."
"I thought pink in the center of food was bad though."
"That rule applies to chicken, but steak is different. You want it pink in the middle, or it's too well done."
"Oh." She returned her attention to her food. "So it's done now?"
Severus leaned over her. "It would appear so."
She turned off the oven and put the pan onto another burner. Then she pulled out a cobalt plate. "I never thought I'd fix my own steak."
"As I said, it is easy to fix," Severus replied. "Granted, we did not rub or marinate it. We can experiment with those another day."
"Honestly, I like a plain steak." She pulled a bottle of BBQ sauce. "My dad didn't put much rub on his steaks, and I liked them fine. Some restaurants do too much with their steaks for my liking."
"Before I am finished, you will know how to make steak to your liking. I even have a few recipes for a marinade I believe you will love."
"Will I learn how to grill steaks?"
"Sure, although I am not familiar with how to use a grill," he admitted.
"So you don't know everything." She smirked.
"Contrary to popular opinion, I do not know everything."
Hermione chuckled.
"Still, I am capable of reading directions. Somehow, we will figure out a way to piece the grill together."
"I can put it together and you can show me how to grill food on it." She slid the steak onto the plate.
"You could always ask me to touch it and the tools you will require. I am somewhat proficient at using tools."
"Yes, but I am an expert at putting things together." She sat at the table.
"With magic yes, though I don't know if magic will affect the quality of the food you grill the first few times."
"That won't be a problem since I'm an expert in muggle tools as well."
"An expert?" He sat across from her.
She nodded. "When I would come home for the summer, I had little interest in cooking, but I did enjoy helping Dad fix things the muggle way."
"I'm sure he appreciated your help, especially since magic must have made the process go quicker."
"I didn't use magic when I helped him."
"You, not use magic?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you were well?"
"I was quite well." Hermione laughed as she cut a strip of steak in half. "I just found it relaxing to use my hands to create something. Magic may make things go more quickly, but I feel a greater sense of accomplishment when I put something together with tools."
"I am glad you got some pleasure from it." He frowned.
"I suspect you didn't get much pleasure from tools though."
"I will admit, tools do little more than irritate me."
"Why?"
"In life, there wan't enough time in my day to put together a bookshelf or fix a sink the muggle way. The fact that my dad insisted on using muggle tools to fix everything and discouraged magic did little to endear them to me."
"I hadn't thought of your dad hating magic." She stabbed the steak with her fork. "It must have been rough growing up with him."
"Rough is a mild way of putting it."
"I'd imagine."
"There is no reason to discuss him."
"I know, but I wish I could help you make some peace with what happened." He voice was soft.
"There is little you can do about my childhood."
"I know, but what happened to you was awful." She dipped her steak into the sauce.
"It's over, thank the Trinity."
"I suppose."
There was silence for a moment.
"Do you know what became of him?" She asked.
"I know he died, but what became of him I have no clue. I haven't cared enough to ask where either he or my mother went."
From the expression on Severus' face, it was clear that the conversation was over.
Hermione took a bite of her food. Her eyes grew.
"How is it?"
"Amazing!" Her eyes glistened. "I made my own steak, and it tastes amazing!"
"Don't look so surprised. You are learning from an expert chef, and you are an outstanding student."
She swallowed. "So I'm outstanding?"
"It would appear so."
Her smile widened.
"Do not get overconfident though. You will need to be much more focused when baking than you were tonight."
"I was focused." She took another bite of steak.
"Your mind wandered more than a few times during our lesson."
"I still made the steak though."
"With my help, yes."
"I focused just enough then."
"True, but your thoughts do not usually wander as much as they did tonight."
She sighed. "Am I that obvious?"
"To others perhaps not, but I can usually tell when something is on your mind," he replied
The spark faded from her eyes. "Ron got engaged to Lavender last weekend."
"I see." His glow dimmed.
"I shouldn't care about them," she shook her head. "I should be happy to have him out of my life."
"But part of you still wants him."
"No, it isn't that. It's something sillier."
"I doubt anything you say will be silly." Severus slid closer to her.
"Don't say that until you know what it is."
"You are a sensible woman. I doubt I would find anything you have to say silly."
"Fine." She took a deep breath. "I wanted him and Lavender to break up because of how they screwed me over. I wanted them to make each other miserable so they knew how I felt. I wanted," a tear glistened in the candle light. "I wanted him to admit he'd made a mistake when he left me."
"I see."
"I don't even know why I feel this way." She wiped the tear from her eye. "We were horrible together. The fights were getting worse, and he annoyed the piss out of me most days. I'm much better off without him."
"Yet your heart doesn't believe that."
"That's just it, my heart does know that. Perhaps that's what's scariest of all." She set down her silverware. "When I was angry at Ron and Lavender, I didn't need to move on. I could live in the pain they caused and let it define me. Sure I was depressed, but I was also safe. Nobody could get to me because I was damaged goods. It made life simple because I didn't need to worry about getting hurt again."
"Now that pain is gone, and all you're left is yourself and potentially several wasted years."
"Yes." She whispered. "I wasted so much time being angry, and for what? Lavender and Ron are happy, and I'm still alone. All I did was waste time."
"You haven't wasted too much time, if any," his glow turned dark blue. "At least not in the grand scheme of things."
"It feels like I've wasted half my life."
"Take it from someone who did waste half his life pining over someone who cared nothing for him; you haven't wasted as much time as you think you have."
"You didn't waste time," she argued. "You became a great spy and saved the Wizarding World."
"I did it in the name of someone who was condemned to a decade in Purgatory because she couldn't forgive me."
"She should've forgiven you. All you did was say a nasty word under stress. That didn't deserve to end your friendship."
"It was over before that, but I didn't know it."
"What do you mean?"
"Sirius admitted that she'd been flirting with James long before that day. She had always intended to leave me. All she wanted was an excuse, and I gave her one. She was too cowardly to admit she didn't want me, so she let me believe everything was my fault."
"I'm sorry."
They sat in silence.
"Whatever happens Hermione, know that you are worth so much more than Ronald could ever give you. You are an amazing woman who deserves so much more than she's been given." His glow brightened.
"I know." Hermione put her hand next to his. "You deserved so much better than you received in both this life and the afterlife."
"I deserved everything that I received."
"No, you didn't. You deserved to be loved, to be valued for who you were. It's unfortunate that nobody ever gave you the chance to be loved."
His glow became yellow.
"I'm happy we're friends. You've done so much more for me that you realize, and I don't mean cooking and the potion."
"What exactly have I done other than those things?"
"You've made me happy."
"I have?" He looked up at her.
"You have." She gave him a small smile. "One of the reasons I'm not crying into my carton of strawberry ice cream right now is because I have you with me. You make me happier than anyone else ever did."
"Funny." Severus' glow intensified. "You've made me happier than anyone else ever did too."
"You don't need to lie to me. Despite how things ended with Lily, I know she brought you joy."
"I'm not lying at all." Severus replied. "Lily gave me hope in a hopeless situation, but it was a childhood fantasy. What I have with you is a real adult relationship between two equals, or at least as equal as any spirit can be with a mortal."
"It's an odd dynamic."
"It is admittedly. Still, I cherish it."
"I do too."
Severus smiled.
Hermione giggled.
"What?"
"You're pink."
"What?"
"Yes, look at yourself. You're pink."
He turned white.
"Oh, never mind. You're white again."
"I think you need to get your eyes checked." He pretended to huff. "I have not and will not ever be pink."
"No, I'm almost positive your glow became pink," she argued.
"No, I'm very certain there isn't enough lighting in here, or you inhaled some fumes a few days ago."
"Perhaps." She took another bite.
Severus' glow remained white as one thought echoed through his mind.
Why would a spirit ever become pink?