A first date (Anna and Michael)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Well, there's how I got into the Death Eaters to begin with," Michael said, sighing. "I.." he stopped, not really wanting to tell her, but knowing he had to. "I was with this girl, and she was the daughter of Aurors, I was the son of a Death Eater. The Dark Lord," he still hadn't gotten out of the habit of calling him that, "Ordered for them to take her, Emily, so that he could get to her parents. I was told that if I joined the ranks, they'd let her go.

"So, I joined up, naturally. Then they told me that they weren't going to let her go, I ran down to the cellar where they had her, they...." he stopped and stared down into his drink, then spoke again. "They were torturing her, I attacked them, but she was dead already. But I had to stay in the ranks, couldn't get out of it, so I started to like it, and now they've told me that they'll target the ones close to me." He finally looked up at her, "I never told Dru about Emily, not until afterwards anyway, I thought you should know why I joined....." It was a testament to the fact he would do nearly anything for the one he loved.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Oh Michael!" Annabelle reached out and closed her hands around his. She gave them a small squeeze as she looked deep into his eyes. She had no idea he'd been through so much. She'd assumed he'd joined because of his parents, and that the one Dru said he'd lost was him being dumped or something. She didn't know what to say, and was pretty sure that he wouldn't want her pitty. "That must be hard on you."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael laced their fingers together as he looked up at her. He swallowed, "It's painful, but I'm moving on, however much the debacle with Dru hurt, it helped me move on," he smiled at her, "To better things, hopefully," he said, implying that she was one of the better things, she definitely seemed to be. He leaned forward in his chair, almost wishing he had sat closer to her, rather than across the table.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"So does this mean we're a....." Annabelle leaned across the table as well, closing the distance between them. She swallowed her nerves and finished, "a couple?" She gazed into his eyes, mere inches away, with hope and longing.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael paused, wondering at how much she seemed to like him after only two meetings, knowing all about him like she did. Then he smiled and leaned just the few inches closer, kissing her softly, "Yes," he said after pulling back, looking into her eyes.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle fluttered her eyes open, having automatically closed them during the kiss. She licked her lips where his had just been and smiled. Her excitement showed on her face. "Good.”

She couldn't believe that she'd just met him yesterday, and was already his girlfriend. She just hoped they would be happy and she wouldn't be the cause of grief for him like his past relationships. She remembered her only other boyfriend momentarily, and hoped this relationship would be completely different.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael smiled and rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand, looking down at them. "You know, I've always liked hands." As he spoke he opened her hand, turning it over and running his fingers along her palm softly. "Always been amazed by them, they can do so many things." He glanced up at her, "Yours are beautiful," he said, a smile gracing his lips before he looked down at them again.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Thanks." Annabelle was intrigued on how he took interest in things that she normally overlooked. "I'm assuming you're using your artist's eye and not studying divination?" She quirked her lips into a teasing smile, flexing her fingers under his touch.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael smiled, "I don't do divination, I would fail it so fast I wouldn't even get the grade," he said, looking at her. "I don't really know where it came from, how I love hands, but it's always been there. I remember, when I was really little, looking at my mom's."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle abstracted one of her hands from his and brushed a strand of his hair away from his face. "For me it's always been about hair. Probably because of this," She pulled a bit of her white streak through her fingers before letting it fall. "I like yours. It's a great color."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Thank you," Michael said, taking her hand and pressing his lips to her knuckles and grinning at her. "How'd you get the white?" he asked, gesturing to her hair.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle shook her head with a giggle. "It's really pretty silly. You know how all kids do random bits of magic before they learn to control it. Well I got a bit excited when I was surprised with a birthday party one year. Good thing my Grammy was there, she had to obliverate all my muggle friends."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael laughed, "That's adorable. I'm glad you kept it." He reached out and touched it, letting it run through his fingers. "None of my mishaps ever turned out that well. Once I got angry because the dog wouldn't sit and...well..." he trailed off, grinning, "Let's just say dad ended up stuck to a chair." His father had been so angry that day, but, looking back on it, he was able to laugh.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle laughed at Michael's story. "I never did anything too bad, although I did accidently freeze some foul tasting medicine right on the spoon when I was sick once." She wondered if he got into trouble for not controlling his magic since he came from a wizarding family. Her own family got more amusement out of it than anything but she figured that was because neither of them were magical. "But he was able to free himself right?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael gave a smile that faltered at her question, "Well, yeah, I wish he hadn't been able to though. I was in so much trouble. Wasn't allowed away from my rooms for a week." He had come from an old wizarding family, money had been passed down the generations along with a huge stone mansion. He had had a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room all to himself. But even so, the separation had been torture for him.