She was nervous. Megan was nervous about this. She'd changed clothes at least a dozen times. She didn't know why she was so nervous. Well, she did, but she was still very much in denial. Her aunt's eyes followed her as Megan fluttered about. She was more excited about this than she ought to be.

"Now, you are not to make a sound. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to meet you yet."

The buzzer sounded and Megan rushed to the door. She smoothed her clothing a bit and tried to seem as if she had not just sprinted to the door. She opened it calmly with what she hoped was a cool look on her face.

Anthony had apparated from his flat a full thirty minutes early to the address she had sent him. He looked up at the house and realized that he might want to seem less excited about this, and apparated back to his flat. He sat down on his couch, stood up and resumed his pacing that he'd left earlier. Twenty minutes later when he couldn't wait any longer he returned to the flat and rang the buzzer.

When she opened the door he felt a surge in his chest at the very sight of her. Why do I react to her this way? What is it about her that makes me feel so alive, when I've not felt this way for anyone else? "Hello" he said, trying to act like she wasn't affecting him. "How are you this evening?"

"Fine, thank you. Would you like to come in for a bit? This is my aunt's flat." Megan turned her back, leaving the door open. "Hestia, come meet Anthony."

Her aunt was walking stiffly, like she was fighting again. This was getting tiresome. Hestia was shaking.

"Sit."

Her aunt stood her ground.

"I said... SIT," Megan shouted, flicking her wand.

Hestia knees buckled as she took a seat on the sofa. Megan smiled sweetly at Anthony.

"Sure," Anthony said. He stepped into the entryway and followed Megan into the parlor. Her aunt appeared and was stiffly walking towards them. At Megan's command she sat down. The Imperius Curse? Interesting. He smirked in Megan's direction. "Did you want to visit with your aunt for awhile, or should we leave and start our... project," he asked while watching Hestia glare. The Imperius Curse. That is something I'm going to have to try. Maybe we could do that together too, he thought while looking over to Megan.

"She'll be fine there on the sofa. We can leave. Honestly, I'm a bit tired of looking at her today. By the way, I might have you help me with this little problem in the future. That is... if you can be persuaded to. You will have to let me know what methods of persuasion work best for you."

She was going to jump out of her skin. Things were already intense, and they had not even stepped out of the door. Megan could not believe she'd shown him her aunt, but she knew she could. She wanted him to like it about her, as she had liked him killing that man. Yes, she could admit that. She had liked watching him work. She wanted to watch some more. She was ready to watch some more.

"Lead on," she said a bit breathlessly, thinking of him with that wire wrapped around the drunk's throat, just watching her watch him.

Anthony raised his eyebrows at her suggestion. Not that I need persuaded, but I wonder what she has in mind. He tightened his hand around the wire in his pocket. He hadn't even seen their victim, but was already excited for what the weekend promised. "Sure," he said moving into the foyer and opening the door for her. "Would you like side-along apparition, or do you want the directions," he asked, following her outside and closing the door behind him.

The smart thing would be to get the directions. After all, he had killed a man with his bare hands, but if she were truly smart, she wouldn't even be here. Plus, she had an odd urge to touch him. She had not done that yet. Megan moved slowly to his side, as close as she dared without actually touching him. She would let him move the rest of the way. She did not want to put her hands on him without permission.

As she moved closer he forced down a smile. Anthony was so amazed that she would let him touch her; he moved slowly toward her. He rose his arms and placed them around her and put his hands on the small of her back. He then concentrated and apparated them to a muggle town he had researched earlier.

He hesitated for a moment and looked down at her. Anthony didn't want to remove his arms from around her, but didn't want to freak her out either. "Here we are," he said softly. "I find these streets crowded with muggle pubs are the best areas to find suitable... subjects."

Megan just nodded. Where had all the air gone? "That... that sounds lovely."

The way he talked about it didn't make it seem so wrong. Like a game. They were just playing a bit. Just playing. Her skin was tingling. He'd touched her with those hands that had killed a man.

Anthony's eyes looked down to her face. He released her, his hands sliding down her arms. "Let's walk for a bit. You can pick this one, I've had plenty of practice at it. I think you'll find you will know it when you see it."

They began walking down the street; Megan looking around to the people around them, and Anthony watching her. He couldn't get over the fact that she had agreed to come with him, that she wanted to do this with him. Oh, to see the look on her face as I tighten my wire... His hand flexed on the wire in his pocket.

Megan was flustered. She didn't know who to pick. What if she chose wrong? They were all muggles and disgusting, but who deserved it the most? She studied the people with a look of such intense concentration that she felt sure she'd have wrinkles in her brow from now on.

"There," she gasped excitedly, grabbing his hand before she knew what she was doing.

Anthony looked down at her hand holding his and closed his fingers around hers. He then looked in the direction of her gaze and saw who she was referring to. She couldn't have picked a better muggle.

The disgusting thing had vomit on himself and was drunkenly attempting to fight off the two bouncers that were throwing him out of the pub. He was rather disheveled, and there was a large glob of something on his loosened tie. Absolutely filthy. Megan shuddered.

"Do we follow him," she whispered.

"Yes," Anthony whispered back while staring at the man intently. "We follow him to where he lives, and take down his address. That is all we can do tonight I am afraid," he said with a look of distaste in the drunk's direction. "I have found that if I do anymore than this the first night, there is a bigger chance that something goes wrong." He looked towards her, "I will check in with him a few more times before this weekend, though. Get a little of his routine down."

He smiled at her as they began to follow him slowly down the street and said, "Maybe you would like to get some information on him, yeah? See if he has secrets?" He looked toward the man and continued, "I find it amusing to explain why I 'do what I do'. You will see," he said while staring intently at the drunk's back, "they try to plead, try to make you stop. I like to tell them why I don't."

"I can do that," Megan said in a daze. So much planning. She wanted to see him end something tonight, but she could be patient. She could. She wanted to ask him if she got to watch when he did this thing this weekend. Would it be presumptuous of her to ask such a thing? Her hand tightened in his.

"You didn't plan the one on Halloween though, did you?"

"No, that one I did not plan. I normally don't kill wizards, but he was a necessary exception. He wouldn't leave me alone; was following me everywhere," he said looking over at her. "I was very lucky not to have been caught," he said as he smiled.

The drunk suddenly turned onto the path up to a very shabby manor. Anthony and Megan stopped and watched him go inside. Anthony took a slip of parchment out of his pocket and took down the address. He then turned to Megan and said, "Well, that's that then."

He moved slowly closer to her, but stopped as a thought occurred to him. "I almost forgot. How do you want it to happen? This is your show, you decide," he said as if he were giving her a choice of presents.

Megan gasped before she could stop herself. She got to choose?

"The wire," she whispered excitedly. "I would like to watch that again. Perhaps... we can keep meeting like this, and you can show me other things. All I know is my wand. I have a feeling there's much more."

Anthony grinned as he watched her expression turn to excitement. "Of course we can. The wire will be fine. After this one, we could move onto different methods, and I will let you pick them each time. Think on that," he said to her as he wrapped his arms around her again. He returned them to her aunt's manor and saw her to her door.

It had been so long since she had felt anything but numb. Megan hardly knew what to do with any of this. She could be who she really was with him, and he seemed to like it. That had never happened before.

"I will, probably repeatedly, and thank you for a lovely evening," Megan said shyly before slipping inside to lean against the door and attempt to control her breathing.


{SUMMARY} A night on the town with Anthony and Megan. No one is safe.