Very early morning.


The dark shadows under his eyes were more pronounced than usual today, on account of having slept ill - and slept on the sofa as well. Virgil was in his black Ministry robes, hurriedly scribbling a note at the kitchen table for Waverly to read whenever she decided to wake up. After their rather stressful night[1] he wasn't surprised she was still in his bed; and might remain there for a while. Exhaustion was real.

A bowl of oatmeal, complimented by dollops of blackberry jam and cocoa nibs, steamed to the side. There was another note attached to it that read "For Waverly Don't Touch" so that Nick or Ari would know that their breakfast was on the stove top: a cast iron pan of sausages and eggs ready to be heated up.

He slipped back into his room - Dante was curled up at Wav's feet on the bed, and his friend was certainly lost to the waking world. She looked at peace when she slept. Most people did. Virgil left his piece of parchment on the bedside table and collected his work journals for nine.

The wizard hesitated as he stood at the bed for a moment, books in hand. She was having a troubling dream; running down a dark street, but not fast enough, bystanders ignoring her pleas for help.

Virgil was tempted to dip in and stop it, to divert her dream elsewhere, but he was already exhausted and needed his energy for Mysteries. He decided to leave it. Dreams went wayward for good reasons sometimes, letting the mind unspool its worries. Instead, he gently squeezed her shoulder and left the room.

Next to Waverly, his note read:

1.	12th Feb - These Bones, They Walk Around