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

In life, Severus had rarely beheld the sunrise. Being in the dungeons did not give him the best views of the dawn. When he did awaken early enough to see it, he preferred to sip his tea and brace himself for the migraines of the day. Rarely did he venture outside to see the sun climb up the sky.

Even if he had been someone who enjoyed watching the sunrise, he doubted any were as magnificent as this.

His feet were atop a royal purple cloud. Ribbons of fuscia and bright blue streaked across the sky. Poking up from one bleached white cloud was an orange orb. The golden gates beside him glistened from the light.

"Impressed?" Dismas grinned.

"I have never seen anything like this," Severus whispered his eyes wide and his glow intense.

"Each time of day has its beauty, but I've always had a soft spot for heavenly sunrises," Dismas replied. "It's the one time when the souls are not bustling about performing whatever task they've set about for themselves. They simply are, and are at peace."

"If the sunrise is like this, I can only imagine how the sunset appears."

"I don't know what a sunset in the afterlife looks like."

Severus turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

"The sun never sits here. You have to go down to Purgatory to see the sunset."

"How does the night sky appear then?"

"One minute the sun is bright, and the next minute the Trinity decides they would like to see the stars. It is dark."

"That must be confusing."

"It would be if we cared anything for time. After a millennium you get used to it." Dismas waved his hand. A chair materialized from the clouds.

"I am still struggling with the timeless aspect of the afterlife."

"The timelessness is disorienting even for me, but it must be more so with you. You haven't experienced true timelessness." Dismas sat. "The closest you came was when you were waiting for the Trinity's verdict."

"I still cannot believe it took them seven years."

"It probably only took them a few minutes, but they wanted to reveal their plans whenever they felt the time was right."

"I suppose you would not know why they waited so long."

"Only they know what the delay was."

"Of course." Severus turned to the circle in the sky, which was becoming less orange and more heliotrope.

Dismiss flicked his wrist, forming a star from the clouds. It floated towards the steaks of color.

"Have you ever experienced timelessness?" Severus asked.

He shook his head. "The closest I came to being disoriented by time was the harrowing of hell."

"The what?"

"The harrowing of hell."

"What is that?"

"I forgot, that isn't what it's called anymore," Dismas made his companion a chair. "The harrowing of hell was when all the souls in Limbo were freed, along with a few in hell who had repented and wanted to come along for the ride."

"That actually happened?" Severus sat.

"Yes, and it seemed to take years," Dismas' glow pulsated. "The souls were moving so slowly, and there was so much noise. At times I was at a loss of what was going on, or if I would ever see the paradise I was promised."

"I can relate to that."

"Yes, you could." Dismas glow stabilized.

"How long did being in hell actually take?" Severus sat.

"Less than forty-eight hours."

"Oh," Severus replied. "What exactly were you doing during your time in hell?"

"I was carrying a golden cross and using it to strike the demons who were attempting to keep the souls from leaving."

"It must've been quite frightening to see those demons attacking you."

"To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the demons." Dismas' glow dimmed and became blue. "I had my own mission I was trying to accomplish."

"Did you succeed?"

The darkening of his glow was the only answer Severus needed.

"I remember reading in Dante that during the harrowing of hell quite a bit of the place was destroyed, including a city," Severus continued.

"There wasn't much left of Dis when we were done." His voice was soft and his eyes were distant. "But most of the souls came out. Everyone who wanted to leave did so anyway. Not everyone left though, no matter how hard I tried."

Severus knew not to press further.

"Anyway, back to the issues of timelessness," Dismas' glow returned to its usual hue. "When I was told how short the harrowing was I was stunned. That was my first inkling that time did not operate here as it did in life."

"Does everything still take forever?"

"No, because I became quite busy in becoming an advocate for souls like you who have committed grave sins, yet should not be damned."

"Did you have a choice in doing this?"

"Of course I did. Every soul has complete free will," Dismas crossed his legs. "The only difference is that nothing's constraining us from becoming who we want to be. The Trinity is the only limit to our actions, so long as we stay in the afterlife of course."

"And out of hell apparently."

"Even they have free will. Most just choose not to use it productively." He frowned. "Or cannot get out of their own way."

"What is hell like?"

"The Inferno captured many of the elements well, but the more gruesome elements were left out. There were some things which even a heavenly soul does not need to be aware of."

"I am afraid to ask what was omitted."

"As you should be." Dismas' face brightened. "That shouldn't concern you though. A saved soul cannot be damned unless they choose it."

"I would prefer not to burn or freeze for eternity."

"Then we will set the thermostat just right for you in heaven."

Severus chuckled.

"That being said," the humor evaporated from Dismas' eyes. "What did you call me here to discuss?"

"Yes," Severus sat up straighter. "I was wondering if there was a time table for when my mission should be accomplished."

"Why do you ask?"

"Because," Severus shifted his gaze to the golden orb hovering above the horizon. "Things may take longer than I initially thought they would."

"Oh, so you're realizing this mission wasn't as straightforward as you initially believed."

"No, it is quite." Severus drawled out his next word, "Complicated."

"Isn't everything?"

"Indeed, but I am beginning to wonder if helping Hermione achieve eudaimonia will take a few years."

"If it takes a few years, then it takes a few years."

"You will not be upset if this takes more time?" Severus cocked his head.

"Why would I be? Eudaimonia can take a lifetime to achieve. Your timetable of a few months was too optimistic, though I figured you'd take it better if you figured that out on your own than if you heard it from me."

"You were right about that."

"Take as much time as you need. Just make sure she is in fact progressing in discovering eudaimonia. We wouldn't want her to regress after all."

Severus turned white.

"Just remember, the goal is to make her better off than she was before our intervention, not worse."

"She seems to be achieving a small sense of eudaimonia." Severus' glow became a bright yellow.

"As long as she is making some progress, then we will consider you to be achieving your mission," Dismas replied.

"Thank you." Severus gave him a half smile.

"There's no need to thank me."

The sun's rays illuminated the sky.

"I had another question." Severus turned white. "One which you may find odd."

"After being in the afterlife for almost two millennia there's very little I find odd, but go ahead." Dismas replied.

"Sirius and I were talking the other day about whether or not we could take off the robes."

Dismas burst out laughing.

Severus closed his mouth.

"I apologize, but you are far from the first spirit to wonder if they can remove the robes."

"Sirius told me he could so I assumed I could as well."

"We all can."

"I know, but I would like to be prepared when I take it off," Severus began. "I know you, Jesus, and Peter retained your scars. Will mine be there?"

"Yes."

"What about the dark mark?"

"That we did remove."

Severus' glow was as bright as the shimmering of the gate.

"We do not have masters in the afterlife. There was no need for you to keep your branding."

"I am very grateful for that."

"Thank the Trinity. They have never approved of branding tattoos, nor do they allow them in their presence."

Severus grinned.

"I should warn you." The saint tapped his chin. "Branding tattoos are not the only things the Trinity removes from a person's soul."

"Sirius mentioned there are no genitalia."

"Good, I don't need to go into that."

"Were they removed to prevent angels from having intercourse with people?"

"Actually genitalia exist because angels wanted earthly bodies to have some way of uniting," Dismas explained. "Spirits can fuse together, but a material body cannot do that. The Trinity wanted people to have a foretaste of heaven, hence sex."

"So Plato was mostly right about the gods wanting people to have some way of uniting."

"The Trinity didn't exactly cut people up, but they wanted them to have a foretaste of what we experience." Dismas shook his head. "I only wish some mortals had not abused that gift in such horrible ways."

"It seems everything beautiful is destroyed at some point."

"Everything on earth is anyway."

The spirits watch the sun crawl up the sky.

"Are people ever lonely in heaven?"

Dismas turned to Severus.

"If a soul has a deep bond with another, and he goes to heaven while the other soul does not, is he lonely?"

"At times, he is very lonely." Dismas returned to his dark blue hue.

Severus' glow lessened.

"We never forget the damned. Despite heaven's joys, we do miss those who have chosen not to join us."

"What if the other soul is not damned, just alive but is very likely to be saved?"

"Oh, a situation like that." Dismas returned to normal. "The waiting is difficult and there are lonely moments, but the reunion is all that much sweeter."

"How does one bide time until the reunion?"

"Usually by watching over the person in question, or by cheering them on as they make their way through Purgatory."

"In other words, one has hope."

"Yes," Dismas answered. "Where there is love, there is always hope."

"I remember hearing about faith, hope, and love somewhere."

"They are the highest of virtues."

"How would you live them out?"

"Have faith that love is real, have hope that love will conquer all, and above all, have love for all. If you can do those things, then you are ready for heaven."

"I believe I am learning how to do that."

"That is good to hear," Dismas replied.

"Indeed, it is good to say," Severus returned his attention to the now risen sun.

Someday, Hermione and he would watch a sunrise together. Perhaps then, they would be fused as one, as they now desired.