Hunter Longbottom reached into his pocket for it seemed the thousandth time that day. The small box was still safe inside. That night was a very important night for Hunter; the most important of his life. It was even bigger than his first night announcing for Puddlemere United. He had just finished getting everything ready when there was a knock on the door. The knocker was already standing in the entrance hallway when he got there.
"Hi, honey," the girl said.
"Hi, sweetheart," he replied as he kissed her cheek. "I thought I was supposed to come pick you up."
"I thought I would surprise you!" she exclaimed as she went into the kitchen and helped herself to a glass of milk.
"You know I don't like surprises. I always like doing the surprising."
"Well, seeing as you never do any surprising; I figured I should do it. Aren't I awesome?"
"More than you know, Hal," he replied, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. "And you know, we're going to have to Apparate to where we're going." At this, Hallie became very nervous. The one time she had apparated was under very bad circumstances. They gathered up their things, and Hallie held on to Hunter's arm. He turned on the spot, and the two disappeared into the darkness.
The sun was shining brightly when they landed. Hallie, who was not used to the sensation, appeared to be a light shade of green. "Are you okay, hun?" Hunter asked. After a few seconds, she looked up at him and smiled.
"That was kinda fun!"
"Yeah, and we get to do it again once we're done."
"Oh joy," she said back, sarcastically. She turned around to see where they were and gasped. They were standing on a beach. Waves were crashing against the sand, and gulls were flying all around. "Hunter, it's beautiful. Where are we exactly?"
"Just a little outside Tinworth. I thought you would like it here." He layed down a blanket and they sat down. It was a warm, summer day. The breeze provided relief from the burning sun overhead. Hunter entwined his fingers with Hallie's. They fit perfectly together.
"Hey, let's go for a walk," Hallie suggested after some time. They got up and started up the beach, hand in hand. More than thirty minutes later, Hunter saw a house that looked abandoned in the near distance. He pointed it out to Hallie, and they decided to investigate it. Upon getting closer, they saw that the house was, in fact, abandoned. It appeared to be made of shells.
They walked around the house to see if they could find anything interesting. About the give up, Hallie called to Hunter. "Come here. It looks like they buried their pet here, or something." Hunter strode over to her and saw a smoothed out rock that looked like it had writing that had slowly weathered away. He looked closer and read the writing:
"Here lies Dobby, a free elf."
"They must have really loved it," Hallie said.
Hunter cut across her, "No. It says 'elf,' like house-elf. There must have been wizards living here."
"House-elves? You mean those little, servant things?"
"Yeah, this one must have done something amazing; been really brave. Most house-elves are treated terribly. Well, good job, Dobby, for whatever you did." He got down on his knees and pulled out his wand. Saying the incantation, he made the words in the rock more visible. "Come on, let's get back to the blanket before it gets dark." He took her hand and started walking back, but Hallie stayed put. "Something wrong?" Hunter asked.
"You know, we've been on this date for hours, and you haven't kissed me once," she said, trying to look cross, but with a smile on her face. Hunter walked over to her, only too happy to place a kiss on her lips. "Just like the first time." She smiled up at him. Hunter put his arm around her shoulders and they started back.
The sun was sinking lower and lower into the sky when they reached their destination. Hunter knew that the time was almost upon him. His nerves finally caught up with him, and he began to shake. They sat back down and Hallie rested her head on Hunter's shoulder; perfectly content watching the sunset with her boyfriend.
"It sure is beautiful," she said.
"Yeah, you are," Hunter replied, not really paying attention. Hallie smiled and scooted closer. Finally, after working up his courage, Hunter started. "Hallie... I love you."
"I know you do, baby. And I love you." She beamed at him.
"Well, I've been thinking... You are so sweet, and so smart, and wonderful, and no one can make me smile like you can; not to mention the fact that you are the most beautiful girl on this planet. At first, we were really far away, but somehow we made it work. My biggest regret is not being there with you for those first two years we knew each other. But I want to make that up to you now. And I wanted to let you know that I will always be there for you, and you're never gonna be alone. It's my job to protect you from everything dangerous in the world, and I promise I won't let you fall." He paused for a second and took a breath and continued. "Anymore, relationships are made and broken in the blink of an eye. But I don't want that with us. I don't want anyone else but you. Hallie, you are my everything, and I want to be your everything. I guess what I'm trying to get at with all these ramblings is this. Hallie, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?" Hunter pulled the small box out of his pocket and opened in. Inside lay a silver banded ring with a sparkling diamond set in the middle.
"Oh my goodness... Hunter! Yes! Of course!" She wrapped her arms around him, and they shared a passionate kiss, right as the sun fell below the horizon. Hunter placed the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. "Hunter, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed, looking at the ring.
"It was my grandmother's. She gave it to me right before she died. She told me to only give it to a very special girl. I know she meant you." He leaned in and kissed her again. They layed down and held each other close. "Who says I never surprise you?" They both fell asleep feeling that they were in a perfect moment.