Picquery did not take lightly to his request to stay home to tend to the boy. But she relented when he made the point that it had been her idea to turn him into a single parent.

Caring for a sick child was not the most entertaining thing to do, however. He had come to realize that there was something extraordinarily boring about having to work from home while Credence was asleep most of the day.

It should not have been a problem, really. The overwhelming majority of his career had been performed without the presence of a child. And he worked just fine while Credence was being watched by Queenie. But those days he at least had a happy and playful boy to look forward to once the workday ended.

Now though, Credence seemed to be stuck in a loop of ordinary behavior, albeit more phlegmatic, followed by small fits of frustration that came and went in sync with the fever. So far it had been solved by the boy having a sip of Feverfew and being wrapped up in a blanket to boil off or adding another layer of Tingle Wingle cream. But Percival was finding it hard to try and decipher what mood would come when, so he had taken to diligently reading the domestic columns of The New York Ghost every morning.

So far it hadn't really led to anything.

"Mr. Percival?"

"Yes, my boy?", the wizard asked.

"May I have more juice?"

"Of course", he said, and with a hand gesture, the bottle obediently went to refill the boy's glass.

"You make sure to finish that porridge as well, won't you?", he continued.

He himself had already finished his breakfast, and despite making a smaller portion for the boy Credence had barely touched it. The pumpkin juice did have some fibers, and it was important the boy stayed hydrated, but he knew that Credence needed something more of substance to actually make it 'til lunch.

Credence gave the bowl an unimpressed look, even if there was apple sauce in it.

"It's cold", he mumbled.

"I can reheat it", the wizard suggested.

Credence leaned back in his chair, his lips forming into a little pout. The Director waited for some sort of signal for him to warm the porridge, but Credence just stared back at him. Percival was not stupid, however, he understood that, for some reason, Credence did not want to eat. Yet, he wasn't going to address the notion. Instead, he just sat there and waited for Credence to speak his mind.

Credence did not buy into this idea, however, and as Graves just sat there.

Man staring at boy. Boy staring at man.

Credence soon backtracked, but not in the way Percival had expected. The boy started to move lower and lower into his chair by scooting down on his bottom; until Credence's bowl cut had disappeared completely behind the top of the table. Percival listened as the boy clambered down from his chair underneath the table, and he wondered what he was supposed to do now.

But just to be sure he allowed himself to wait about a minute to see if the situation resolved itself.

"Credence?", he asked and turned the page of the newspaper with a motion of his finger.

There was a hum from underneath the table.

"Please come back up and finish your breakfast so we can prepare something nice for you to do before I need to start working."

There was some movement to be heard, next thing someone was grappling his leg that he had left stretched out before his chair. Someone who gave a sharp whine.

He furrowed his brow in a mixture of confusion and fascination and leaned down to look. Credence was sitting with his little arms wrapped around the wizard's leg. His brown eyes were averted elsewhere, but the pout was plain to see, and it seemed to have only gotten more severe.

"What are you doing?", Percival inquired.

Credence made no indication that he had even heard him.

"Are you angry I told you to eat your food?"

Credence shook his head.

"Then I'm afraid I don't understand what's wrong", Percival told him.

He watched how the boy furrowed his little brow. Still, no explanation came. Seeing that he probably couldn't coax anything out of the boy this way, especially when Credence still hadn't eaten, Percival pushed out his chair, bent down and pulled out the boy.

Well up in his arms Credence leaned in against him, as if ready to commence bedtime. Which was strange because he had woken up only half an hour ago. The man brought his hand up to feel the boy's forehead, to which Credence tried to squirm away. He wasn't warm though.

"Will you tell me what's troubling you?", Percival asked.
"Or will I have to ask Queenie to come over?"

Credence fiddled with one of his buttons. But he too must have understood that going around in circles like this wasn't going to led to anything, and he made a mumbled declare:
"I don't want you to work."

As sweet a proclamation this was, it was still a Thursday morning.

"I've worked before, my boy."

"Yeah, but I'm sick…!", Credence argued. Then he buried his little face against the man's vest.
"And I'm bored…", his muffled little voice exclaimed.

So, it wasn't just the Director who was getting sick of being cooped up in the apartment.

"What would you like to do if I didn't have to work?", the wizard asked. He purposefully didn't play into Credence's want entirely, because he did have to work. But maybe this way they would be able to find a compromise.

"I don't know. I liked the first day."

That had been a Sunday.

"Well, I'm afraid I didn't have work that day since it was during the weekend", the wizard reasoned.

He was surprised Credence remembered much considering that he had been asleep for most of the day. It had mostly consisted of Percival coming into his room and checking on him and giving him liquids. The exception had been when Percival brought out the cauldron and brewed the first batch of Tingle Wingle cream; with the boy sitting on a stool out of reach of the ingredients.

Because not even a fever could keep Credence from seeing something new and exciting (As exciting as a domestic concoction could be) in the magical world.

"How about we brew something this afternoon?", he suggested remembering the boy's enthusiasm for the rather mundane task.

Credence peeked out from his hiding place against the wizard's chest, and he knew that he had managed to catch the child's interest.

"More Tingle Wingle cream?", Credence asked.

Percival considered it.

"We still have enough to last us through the week…"

"What then?", Credence asked.

"How about… Mouth wash", the wizard said from the top of his head.

He hadn't actually had any plans of brewing any such thing that day. It was just something he had seen in the featured potions. But maybe giving the boy something to look forward to would help to usher him through the day.

"How does that sound?"

"Mouth wash?"

"Yes. For your teeth."

Credence considered it. Then nodded.

"Alright then", Percival said. Then he brought out his wand and aimed it at the bowl of porridge, mumbling a Focillo while making a clockwise motion, which made the meal start steaming as if newly made. He then stood up and returned the boy to sit in his tall chair.

"Now eat up, please", he told him, before using his wand again to start washing up the dishes.