Basil could not count the minutes down with any more anticipation as the evening of December 31st ticked slowly past. He was more than finished with the ridiculous Prewitt gala Atticus had forced him to attend (after much heated debate) and then not bothered to deign attending himself! Oh, just the thought made Basil’s collar heat. His brother was going to get quite the earful when the new year came!

Snapping his pocket watch shut with more aplomb than was due for the second time that evening, Basil took the last sip of his bizarre cocktail (the one he’d managed to snag while quite forcibly trapped in conversation with Ms. Malfoy). He’d given Atticus more than enough time. It was getting late and Basil had a more urgently pressing event to attend; one that didn’t make him want to gouge his eyes out as much. (There was still some desire for eye gouging, as it was a social affair that required him to engage with others.)

Tonight the Morgan family was also hosting a New Years Eve engagement, one that was meant to serve as Eldritch’s sister’s first return to society after the mourning of her husband. As best friend of one of the hosts, he had his own duty to support the family by attending (and quite frankly, he would find more familiar, more palatable faces to engage with there than he would anywhere else in London this evening). Basil himself had very little opinion on the matter of mourning periods and dress codes. He was just pleased to have an excuse to escape this wretched event.

Gathering himself and his things, the professor made a beeline for the door. His head felt funny after… whatever was in that cocktail. He wasn’t sure appariting was going to do his stomach any favors either. (Had he eaten anything yet tonight?) Basil resigned himself to making it the long way. It was going to take an eternity to get to the Morgans. He hoped he’d manage to flag a carriage at some point before midnight!

---