AN: This is the chapter where we discover what exactly happened to Severus' parents as well as Dumbledore. In keeping with the spirit of Dante, I have given them some of the punishments found in The Divine Comedy. Those who have read The Divine Comedy know the descriptions are often graphic and disturbing. I have not gone as in depth with the punishments as Dante did, but I felt it necessary to give a warning. I will mark off where these issues are discussed so if you would like to skip it you may. It should be easy enough to follow along if you feel the need to skim over them.

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

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me this evening."

"It was clear you needed a break from Sirius and Hermione. A little outdoor scenery seemed to be in order." Dismas sat on a purple chair made from clouds beside Severus. "I was more than happy to provide it."

"I am grateful for the reprieve." Severus stared at the sky. Instead of the usual sunny landscape, the full moon was the dominant orb in the sky. The stars glistened more brightly against the darkness than they had on earth.

The stars were not the only thing which captured his attention. Above the golden fence were countless flashes of lights dancing around each other. Some were bright yellow, others were burgundy, and some were a blinding white. At times, two lights would fuse into one flame, becoming twice as bright.

"I've always loved the night view of heaven," Dismas began.

Severus turned to the saint. "I didn't know there were nights. I thought the sun would always shine in heaven."

"That was a misunderstanding mortals had about our realm. We change the scenery from time to time, especially if someone is visiting."

"Like Dante?"

Dismas nodded.

"I remember him visiting when he could see there planets, but why at night?"

"We showed Dante the night view in part to protect his eyes from the daylight, but also because there's a beauty to heaven that daylight doesn't always capture."

"So Dante did visit heaven, Purgatory, and hell?"

"Visit is a strong word, but the Trinity did provide him visions in order to spur people into considering how their actions were affecting their souls."

"It seems that more people analyze the Divine Comedy in literature classes instead of taking the lessons to heart."

"Those on earth never did know how to interpret the afterlife," Dismas would have sighed if he could. "At least I didn't."

"Why should they analyze the Divine Comedy anymore than they do? It comes off as allegorical fiction."

"True, and we knew they wouldn't believe everything in it. Still, if one understands the metaphors one will change their life. In the end, that was the goal of the work."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "How does Dante change anyone's life?"

"Okay." He leaned over the armrest of the chair closer to Severus. "Think about wrath. The sin has the potential to suffocate one's ability to love, and it often does. It can make it impossible to see the beauty in the world because the only thing one feels is the pain of the wrong done to them."

"Hence the reason smoke suffocates one in Purgatory."

Dismas snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

"Considering that, I wish I'd read Dante more carefully." Severus scratched his chin. "I wouldn't be as lost as to what is occurring as I am now."

"Perhaps the lessons from The Divine Comedy are too late for you to learn now, but you could consider directing Hermione towards the work. It may not be too late for her to change her life for the better."

"Yes, Hermione could change." Severus' glow was a light blue.

"Are things going well between you and Hermione?" Dismas' voice was lower.

"No, things are fine. In fact they are more than fine." He turned to the sky.

"Then why aren't you with her tonight?"

"She's on a date."

"A date?" Dismas' glow brightened.

"Indeed." He turned to the saint. "She is on a date with someone I believe is not the right one for her."

"I see."

"Sirius set them up."

"And you allowed it to happen."

"Against my better judgment," Severus muttered.

"But you're working together! That's progress."

"It doesn't feel like progress."

"You're making baby steps towards heaven though."

Severus scowled.

"Even you must admit that it could work. She could find a virtuous friend who knows her soul. This could draw her closer to eudaimonia "

"Perhaps it will work. Perhaps I am being silly about the whole thing." Severus shook his head. "Perhaps my concerns are unfounded."

"If you have a legitimate concern then that isn't silly at all."

"I do not know." Severus slouched. "This man is kind, considerate, compassionate, and intellectual. On paper he is perfect for her."

"Yet there is something about him which seems not right for her."

"Yes, he lacks fire. Sure, shyness is attractive at first, but she needs someone who will ultimately take charge, who will spar with her in a playful manner, who will cherish her more than his own life."

"You are afraid he will fall short of these requirements."

"More or less."

Dismas hummed.

Severus frowned. "Is this the part where you give me a speech about how I need to let Hermione go and make her own decisions?"

Dismas shrugged. "You said that's what I should do, not me."

"I do not want such a speech."

"Then I will not give it."

Severus leaned back in his chair, watching the heavenly souls fuse into each other and break apart.

"All I will say is that you need to allow Hermione some say in what makes her happy."

"I'm already doing that." Severus turned to him.

"Are you?"

"Of course I am." Severus' glow intensified.

"You are convinced that she and this mystery man will not be perfect for each other, despite never seeing them together."

"Yes, but I know them. I taught both of them for years."

"When you taught them they were only teenagers. Now they are two different people."

"A Hufflepuff cannot change that much over the years."

"Neither could a muggle-hating Slytherin or a murdering bandit, yet here we are."

"Fair enough." Severus' glow dimmed.

Dismas gave him a small smile. "I know you are terrified of leaving Hermione, especially given that she is one of the few true friends you have ever made. Still, you have to let her decide what makes her happy. If this new date makes her happy, you must respect that and help her nurture that relationship."

"I will try."

"That's all we can ask for at the moment."

Silence fell between them as they gazed at the stars.

"There is something I should have asked you when I first came to Purgatory," Severus began.

Dismas turned to him. "Yes?"

Severus' voice was barely louder than a whisper. "Whatever happened to my parents?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask that." Dismas' glow softened.

"You must think me callous for not asking earlier."

"No, you just weren't ready, which given all that's happened is understandable."

"Now I am ready learn what happened to them."

"Who would you like to hear about first?" Dismas crossed his legs.

"My mother."

"The Trinity had difficulty placing her." The saint began. "Treating her son as she did was a grave offense. Given that she was so battered by your father, though, they could not bring themselves to damn her."

"So she's in Purgatory?"

"Yes," Dismas answered. "She is currently on the fifth level reciting Psalm 119 while face down in front of a mural of the Nativity. For the next two centuries that is where she will remain."

"Her punishment is to sing psalms and celebrate Christmas?" Severus pursed his lips.

"No, her punishment is to focus on how her love for her husband disordered the other things in her life, including the love she should've had for her son. In order to drive our point home, whenever she raises her head she will see the image of a mother loving her son in the proper way. It's forcing her to meditate on her own lack of maternal instincts and how she could rectify that in heaven."

"Is it working?"

"Only the Trinity knows what's in her soul, so I could not tell you."

"What about my father? How did he fare?"

"Not nearly as well," Dismas' glow flashed.

"So he's in hell?"

"He is in the third circle of hell with the rest of the gluttons. They are wandering in muck battered by a perpetual ice storm."

"What does this muck consist of?"

"The most vile version of that which they loved. For a food addict it is rotting food, and for a drunkard," Dismas turned green. "Let's just say we know what happens when someone has too much to drink."

Severus' glow matched the saint's.

"He was also put very close to Cerberus. At times the dog makes sure he feels as much, if not more, pain than he inflicted on those he claimed to love."

Severus' glow was white.

"I know that must have been hard to hear." Dismas leaned closer.

"It was honestly harder to hear than I thought it would be," Severus admitted. "I thought I would be happy that he was suffering, that he understood the pain he was inflicting on me during my life. Now, I feel nothing."

"Are you upset that nothing is going to be resolved between you two?"

"In a way, yes."

Dismas scratched his chair.

"Before he died, I thought I would get a chance to tell him exactly how I felt. It would be a glorious moment where I shouted him down and he couldn't answer back. Now, he's being devoured by a dog wallowing in muck, and can only imagine what I would say to him."

"That's the horrendous nature of hell. Those souls never get a chance to reconcile with those they harmed."

"Is there any way to go down and speak with him?"

"I wish there was," Dismas' glow was blue.

"I see."

"If I could find a way to grant you resolution I would, but if a saved soul enters hell it will trigger the apocalypse."

"We can't have that now, can we?"

"The archangels are busy enough as it is." He gave him a small smirk. "They don't need to deal with a demon invasion on top of everything else."

There was a playful gleam in Severus' eyes. "May I ask how Dante got into hell then?"

"Let's just say we agreed to give hell free ice in Judecca for the next five hundred years if they let him and Virgil explore. It was too good an offer to pass up."

"So the Trinity isn't above bribery?"

"No, they just made hell a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"I suppose it all worked out for the best."

"Indeed it did."

Silence fell between them again.

"Is there anyone else you would like to inquire about?" Dismas asked.

"Yes," Severus' glow pulsated. "You mentioned earlier that Albus was in hell."

Dismas squirmed.

"Where was he sent?"

"Dumbledore," Dismas folded his hands as he searched for the right words. "Dumbledore liked power, manipulation, and was self-righteous about the whole thing. He either didn't step into conflicts when needed, or exacerbated situations by showing favoritism towards a group. He made a human sacrifice of an innocent boy. To add to his sins, he ordered someone to murder him, thus tarnishing that man's reputation. In short, he was a sower of discord."

"What does that mean?"

"He is in the eighth circle of hell."

"What is happening to him?" Severus didn't know if he wanted the answer, but felt he needed it.

"He is being dismembered and regenerating from his wounds. He spends his time running around in a circle and hiding from demons carrying swords."

Severus' glow was white as bleach.

"The only wound which will not heal is the hand he wore Gaunt's ring. The demons want him to remember why he is in their care. The fact that it causes eternal pain only makes them happier."

"Does nobody care that there was some good in him?" If Dismas wasn't a spirit, he would not have heard Severus' voice.

"Any good he had was overshadowed by his love for self and power." There was more sympathy in Dismas' eyes than he expected.

"He was good to me though."

"What good did he show you exactly? He let your attempted murderers escape unpunished, he used you as a pawn in a grand plan against one of his former students, and he set you up as a murderer."

"Perhaps but…" Severus' glow flickered. "But I thought he cared."

"I know you did."

"But he didn't care, did he?"

"If Metatron is to be believed, if he cared at all for anyone, it was so twisted you wouldn't recognize it as affection."

Severus' glow was a dark blue.

"But Metatron is a prosecutor trained to enforce the Trinity's justice, so he is not an unbiased or all-knowing party."

"So he could be wrong?"

"Perhaps, but the fact remains that Dumbledore chose to live his life as he did. From what I understand he spent more time justifying himself at the trial than showing any repentance. Now he understands the pain he caused. In that way, justice was done."

"What if I forgive him? Could he be free then?" Severus' voice was desperate.

"No, he can only be free if he cries out for the Trinity to save him."

"Does he know that?" Severus' eyes were wide.

"Yes, we tell every soul who goes to hell that." Dismas replied. "Still, he is convinced of his own righteousness. The rumor is that even today, he is yelling at the demons, arguing with them that he should not be in hell. Until he releases his pride, he will remain where he is."

Severus' glow dimmed.

"Enough about souls in hell," Dismas' glow was yellow. "You came here for a break from Sirius, not to dwell on unpleasantries."

"True," Severus' glow returned to its normal hue.

"How much about constellations do you know?"

"I know a few of them."

"Would you like me to point some of them out?"

"Certainly," Severus' glow returned to its normal hue.

"Okay," Dismas began. "The amazing thing about heaven is that you can see all the constellations at once. All you need to do is change your perspective to see them all."

"Okay."

"Now," Dismas pointed to the sky. "You know the big dipper, right?"

"I do." Severus tilted his head upwards.

"Good. Now right beside it is the ursa minor…"

Severus allowed himself to smile as he took in Dismas' words. If he was lucky, then within a few centuries, he would show Hermione all these constellations and enjoy this beauty with her.