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

Hermione's chest ached from the banging of her heart.

For hours she and the researchers had observed the patients, taking note of any difference in their condition. So far, none of them had been changed into newts, nor had they sprouted an extra head. At least the nightmares she endured last night were not coming true.

It would be better news if there was any change in the condition of the patients' hearts, though.

The Healer helped ease an obese witch onto a blue thinly padded table. He set a parchment onto a sterile white table beside him. After raising his wand, he muttered an incantation. Squiggly wavelengths appeared on the parchment beside him.

Hermione stared at the parchment. Were the lines different, or was the stress causing her to see things? If there was a change, was it positive, or was she about to witness a tragedy?

"Thank you, Ms. Nelson."

With a smile, the witch raised herself. Was it Hermione's eyes, or had the patient's skin tone become less cyanotic?

Before Hermione could meditate on her observations, the healer glanced at the parchment. A smile tugged at his lips. "Bring in the next patient, please."

Another patient was ushered inside. This one was not leaning on his cane as heavily as he was before. In fact, he could lie down without gasping for air.

Did Hermione dare trust that her potion was taking effect?

The healer put down another parchment and performed the same procedure. As the waves formed again, sweat formed upon Hermione's brow. One question echoed through her mind.

Is there hope for my father?

"Now," Sirius paced from one end of the room to the other. "How do we get Hermione to make the first move?"

"We find a man who is willing to do so himself, saving her the trouble," Severus crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back into the sofa.

Sirius stopped and glared at Severus. "We may not have that luxury. By your own admission, Dr. Marsh may not take initiative."

"Then perhaps he is not the right man for Hermione."

"Or we need to teach her to take control of her life and chase after her dreams, including the dream of having a lover."

"She seems to have perfect control of her life, and is chasing her dream of being a potions mistress. That seems sufficient for now."

"Maybe it is for her, but not for us," Sirius argued. "We need to get to heaven, yet we haven't made much progress since we started the program."

"She may have cured her father. Isn't that sufficient?"

"It's a step in the right direction, but her life could be better if she had someone to celebrate with."

"I would be more than happy to celebrate with her."

"Please." Sirius threw up his hands. "Celebrating with you would be like celebrating with a wet dishrag."

"Some dishrags are quite fun," Severus smirked.

"Sure, if you're someone as dull and grumpy as you are."

"I do not know why you feel the constant need to criticize me. You are no ray of sunshine either."

"You're right." Sirius smirked. "I'm brighter and hotter than three rays of sunshine."

Severus turned a dull green. The last word he wanted to associate Sirius with was "hot."

"Anyway, we're going to need to give her advice and," Sirius' glow dimmed. "Shit, only you can interact with her. I can't give her romantic advice."

"I am adept at advising people."

"Please, you can barely interact appropriately with a kitten, much less a woman."

"If that's the case then there is a fatal flaw in your plan," Severus replied. "It appears as if we must abort it and come up with another one."

"No." Sirius tapped his chin. "There's a way around this. I just have to observe Hermione and Dr. Marsh and give you advice on what to tell her based on what I see."

"In other words, you think you can give her advice based solely on your ability to spy."

"More or less."

"Fine, I'll humor you." Severus' glow brightened. "What type of advice am I supposed to give her exactly, how to degrease one's hair?"

"You wouldn't know the first then about that, would you?" Sirius hummed.

"No, I am hopeless in matters such as this."

"Hair advice may help her too."

"See, I cannot adequately advise Hermione on matters of the heart or hair. It appears we will need a new plan…"

"Why didn't you create a potion to degrease hair anyway?"

Severus closed his mouth.

"It was always so easy to tease you about your hair," Sirius continued. "Even right before I died I could still get under your skin about it."

"Hence the reason you are in Purgatory."

"Why didn't you ever create a potion to degrease your hair then? It would have silenced me and others?"

"There were more important things to deal with than greasy hair."

"Yeah, I know about the war, but you were free most summers. You created other potions. Why didn't you degrease your hair?"

"Are you being serious, or jerking my chain?" Severus gritted his teeth together.

"I am genuinely curious. Why did you not bother creating a potion to degrease your hair?"

"What would the point have been?" Severus' glow was duller.

"You could've, oh I don't know, been in a few romantic relationships. That experience would be valuable in a time like this."

"I had no interest in any romantic entanglement," Severus answered.

"Was that because you were spying, or because you didn't feel she would reciprocate?"

"Spying was too time consuming to consider a relationship. The fact that it was dangerous was another reason not to be involved with anyone."

"I'm sure you could've had a few relationships. James Bond managed to sleep with a few women after all."

"Did you just compare me to James Bond?" Severus snapped.

"Yes."

Severus glowered at him.

"What is your problem? It's a compliment."

"How is that a complement?" Severus' glow flickered.

"I mean, you were both spies. Granted James Bond was cooler than you, but spying is spying."

"If you think spying was anything like some ridiculous muggle movie then you are a bigger dunderhead than I ever imagined!"

"Oh boy more name calling."

"I am being honest. You seem to think television reflects reality."

Sirius frowned. "I'm not stupid enough to think TV reflects reality all of the time…"

"But you must have thought all I did was fool around with impractical contraptions, seduce a few women, and drive away in some car far outside my budget."

"I didn't think that at all."

"Then what did you think I did during the war?"

"Kill muggles," Sirius' voice was matter of fact.

"I may have done that as a Death Eater, but what did you think I did for Dumbledore?"

"I don't know," Sirius wrung his hands. "You probably sat in on a few meetings, killed a few muggles, and yelled at students."

"You have no clue what I did," Severus' glow was neon red.

"Hey Harry's the one who told me you yelled at students. Death Eaters kill people so that's a given. Meetings were pretty frequent too, so I think I got everything right."

"You wouldn't know the first thing about spying!" Severus' glow was orange.

"Then explain it to me, Mr. Fantastic Spy."

"Half the time I was beaten by Voldemort for not providing enough information, or because he found it amusing. Most nights I was in the infirmary, or could barely sleep from the bruises."

Sirius' glow was white as images of a bruised Severus flashed in his mind.

"Yes, I killed long after I defected, but if I did not I would lose Voldemort's trust. It was either kill a few muggles, or sacrifice the Wizarding World."

"Isn't it language like that which lands one in hell?"

"Why do you think I wanted to avoid watching my life over and over again?" Severus shouted.

Sirius pursed his lips together.

"I see their faces sometimes. Every detail is so vivid." Severus became white as his eyes grew. "I didn't want to grow up and be a killer. They hadn't done anything to me, and I know it. I still turn green when I think of what some of them went through during their last minutes, the things I watch."

"I would imagine their deaths were not pleasant."

"I tried to make it as painless as I could. I tried to make it a simple killing curse. The thought of torture sickened me." His glow was a bright green. "I never wanted any of them to live long enough to scream. I didn't want Bellatrix to get a hold of them, or watch Dolohov scar them."

"It doesn't change the fact that they died at your hands."

"I know that," His glow was a dark blue. "Nothing I say can erase the pain I caused. None of their families care that the Wizarding World was saved. Most of them would think it was a crap place to live given the prejudice. Perhaps they were right. Magic may not have been worth the torture we put those who didn't have it through."

Sirius examined the man, whose eyes were now downcast. He hadn't been that blue since the day he'd fought with Hermione. His posture was hunched, almost as if the universe had crushed him.

"Magic was worth it," Sirius admitted just above a whisper.

"That's easy for you to say. You weren't there."

"I was in the Order…"

"You did nothing during the war." Severus locked eyes with him. "I remember you whining to anyone who would listen how little you were doing."

"I was bored."

"No, you were lucky!"

Sirius knew better than to argue.

"I wish I could've been bored! I wish I could've relaxed. I wish I could've had some sense of serenity. There was no time to indulge in any emotion though, much less find peace."

Sirius' glow was a dull blue.

"I envy you. You could run around doing whatever you bloody well pleased. The fate of the Wizarding World was not on your shoulders. All you needed to do was sit in a mansion and give Potter advice, a task you barely managed to accomplish."

"I gave great advice!"

"You acted like an overgrown teenager and wished to have him emulate you! Instead of providing him with a parental figure you tried to drag him down into your pity party!" Severus' glow was red once more.

Sirius lowered his head.

"You have never had to risk your life for anything. You weren't even the secret-keeper for Potter. In no way could you ever understand the experiences I have undergone!"

"No." Sirius dug his foot into the ground. "I wouldn't understand."

"So I apologize for not being more well-versed in the ways of love. I wish I could help you with your harebrained scheme. Given that the kind of life I lived was not conducive to having a romance though, I fear I am of little help."

Sirius stepped closer to the other spirit. "I never thought of any of that when I bullied you, even as an adult."

"No, you are incapable of thinking of anyone other than yourself for any significant length of time!"

"I'm more than some overgrown teenager!"

"Really? You have yet to act like an adult."

"Compared to you," Sirius put his hands behind his back. "I suppose I do behave immaturely."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Are you waiting for an argument?"

"No," Sirius admitted.

"Wow, you managed to accomplish one intelligent thing today."

"But I'm not oblivious in all of this."

Severus furrowed his eyebrows.

"I am capable of empathy."

"You could've fooled me."

"I didn't display it with you, perhaps I haven't displayed with much of anyone," Sirius admitted. "Still, I know Hermione and what she may be looking for in a man. If you let me, I can advise you in helping to make her happy."

"Do I have a choice in whether or not to cooperate with you?"

"Of course you do, but it isn't in your best interest to fight me forever."

"I suppose not."

"Severus?"

Severus leapt from the couch and rushed over the wall.

Sirius frowned. "What?"

"Severus we did it!" Hermione's voice echoed in his mind. "The patients' hearts are strengthening! There are no ill side effects! We created the cure! We did it!"

Severus' glow intensified. He whispered, "Congratulations Hermione, I could not be prouder of you."

"What?" Sirius asked. "What are you saying?"

Severus turned to his companion. "Hermione found the cure for her father's heart ailment."

"She did?"

"She did."

"As if there was any doubt she could!" Sirius ran over and embraced Severus. "You did it! You actually succeeded in your part of the mission!"

A warmth filled the potions master, heightening his sense of happiness. His glow began to fuse into Sirius', illuminating the room. Before he could get lost in the sensation though, he remembered who was embracing him.

"There is no reason to become overly enthusiastic." Severus pushed him off. "She still hasn't obtained eudaimonia."

"No, but she is closer," Sirius' smile did not fade.

"Indeed she is."

For the first time, Severus wished he could cry not because he was depressed, but because he was prouder than words could express.