A/N: SPOV

Severus had been crashing off and on all day, as his body's metabolism was readjusting. Muggles have a similar thing called 'jet-lag', which seemed appropriate considering the landing he made from the rickety comet broom.

On his desk was a short note by Poppy, informing him of the injuries she had treated yesterday. Miss Bell was sent to St. Mungo's for intensive spell damage, whereas Miss Quirke and Nymphadora were held for a day to recover from bloodloss and 'fatigue'.

Nymphadora didn't seem to be fatigued to me, he thought.

As he took a swig from his pain-relieving potion as if it were a butterbeer, he winced as he walked over to the full length mirror by his wardrobe.

He had no external injuries that could be seen, but he felt like he had aged 5 years since yesterday.

Pointing the wand at his reflection, he hesitated at doing the diagnostic spell that would tell him how much of his life's essence was consumed by the Infernal-class potion.

He had only used it once before, in an attempt to survive a Ministry crackdown after The Dark Lord's fall. He recalled Albus' warning that the Aurors were given free reign to use any Unforgivable against known Death Eaters in order to capture or kill them, and Severus' role as informant couldn't be revealed until after everyone had been rounded up and faced trial.

He had lost 8 months for the 5 hours of concentrated magic and speed. He was lucky, considering that some Potioneers had lost years simply for a few minutes of enhanced abilities. The life force sacrificed wasn't proportional to the potion's efficacy, so he was hesitant to find out what this had cost him.

He cast the spell and watched the light from his wand hit him in the heart; the unsettling sensation of putting a band around his heart to measure it was something that he'd never get used to.

A series of runes floated before him in the reflection, and his eyes widened in shock at the result.

Salazar's Snake, it shouldn't have cost that much! he thought as a knock at his door made it open automatically.

"Good Evening, Nymphadora. My wards are set to allow you access should you come knocking by yourself. Come in."

She walked in, looking around his quarters until finding him by the wardrobe.

"Are you okay?" She asked, keeping a bit of distance.

He nodded solemly. "Poppy sent me word that you and Miss Quirke were staying in the Hospital Wing for an additional day."

Tonk's eyes and lips narrowed in frustration. "I would have beend own here sooner; I was fine after a bit of dittany." Severus could tell that she was holding back, but didn't want to push it.

"I had wondered why you needed an extra day of rest for 'fatigue'." Severus replied, the spell fading from in front of him in the mirror.

"Remus handed me a potion and said I could go once I took it. I was knocked out for 27 hours." Her voice held an edge to it.

"I'm sorry, Nymphadora. Poppy could never get away with doing that to me, since I'm the one who makes her potions. Sometimes she's as meddlesome as Albus."

She nodded, and the unspoken question lingered between them.

"I was a bit rude to Remus yesterday when he blocked my access to the Hospital Wing. Now I know why. Also, he told me to stay away from 'his woman'." Severus looked at her and smirked. "I'm not about to listen to him now."

Severus paced over to her, cupping her chin into his palm.

"I am glad to see that you are well, dear."

Her face fell to a flat, neutral look. Severus knew that he hadn't distracted her enough.

"Your eyes were red like You-Know-Who's. And that speed you had against the vampire wasn't normal." She didn't have to ask the question.

"It's a heavily modified version of the Pepper-Up potion. It's Infernal Class, illegal by the Ministry because of its side effects and addictive properties. My magical and physical abilities were condensed and made more potent for an unknown amount of time."

I lost two years of my natural lifespan as well for those few hours. She didn't need to know that, though.

Severus put on his cloak and vanished the runes that were on his wardrobe mirror. "We have patrolling tonight. Mind if I join you rather than split up?"