Dear Hunter,
Hey, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while. The thing is I don't know exactly how to tell you. So, I guess, I'll have to tell you in my next letter. I hope you are well.
Sincerely Hallie.
The weather was getting drastically colder as Hunter walked down to Care of Magical Creatures. He had received the letter at breakfast, but thought it best to read it alone on his way to class. She has said she wanted to tell him something. This both scared and intrigued Hunter. He ran through all the possibilities in his head. None of these, however, turned out very well for Hunter. They all included Hallie either not wanting to be friends anymore or getting a boyfriend. A tight knot formed in the pit of his stomach. It was tearing at his insides. He hadn't even received the letter yet, and he dreaded the moment.
The rest of the day was spent on thinking of what he would say. Later that night Hunter got out a piece of parchment and a quill.
Dear Hallie,
I can't wait to hear back from you. I'm doing well, and I hope you are too. Just don't lie to me.
Sincerely Hunter.
It had to be the lamest letter ever written, but it would have to suffice. He folded up the note and went up to bed. Several hours were spent tossing and turning. Sleep was no where to be found. Images of Hallie in the arms of another guy ran through his head. He hated this thought, but even with another guy she still looked amazing. He wished he had a picture of her.
"Wow, why are you such a creep?" he told himself quietly, so he would not wake up his roommates. Finally, out of pure exhaustion, Hunter fell into a restless sleep.
A couple of weeks passed without any response from Hallie. This only made the knot in Hunter's stomach get tighter and tighter. He wondered what could be taking her so long. The only solution that came to mind was bad news. He sat down to breakfast across from Gale on an uncommonly warm Saturday.
"Where's James?" Gale asked as Hunter spooned eggs onto his plate.
"I dunno. I would guess a broom closet with his girlfriend," he replied in a dull tone.
"This early?" Gale laughed.
"Probably still there from last night," Hunter replied as both boys laughed loudly. The owls arrived with the morning post. This was the most depressing part of the day for Hunter. He looked up just enough to see that Gale had gotten a package from his snowy owl. Trying to focus on the sausages in front of him; Hunter felt pecking on his shoulder. Dirk hooted quietly at him, holding out a letter on his leg.
"It's about time you got here!" Hunter said, tearing open the letter. The writing was not the neat, small print he expected. It was much larger and, in a way, chaotic.
Dear Hunter,
I was walking down the street in London when an owl landed on my shoulder. Dirk never seems to be where he should, does he? Well, I thought I would send you a letter seeing as Dirk was here. I talked to your mother, and she said that you were coming to my house for Christmas. I can't wait to see you. I've been meaning to send you this letter for a while. I met that girl you talked to during the summer. She says that you two have been writing to each other. Your parents won't let you have a phone and you trained an owl to send letters? Well, I must say that you are better with the women than I was at your age, or even at my age. I hope your classes are going well. I'll see you soon.
Love Grandpa
Hunter smiled. He was disappointed that the letter wasn't from Hallie, but his grandfather always seemed to be able to cheer him up. Dirk hopped over and stole a piece of toast and flew off the table.
"Hey, get back here!" Hunter shouted to his owl. Dirk returned to the table. "Go to Hallie, and bug her until she gives you a letter for me." The owl hooted, seeming to understand and took off once again.
"Girl troubles?" Gale asked.
"Not really. Just expecting a letter. Hallie told me that she wanted to tell me something, so now I'm just waiting."
"Oh, I bet she likes you."
"Haha. I wish, but she already told me she didn't like me that way," he said with a sigh. Out of the corner of his eye he made out the figures of James and Deanna walking towards the table. He looked at Gale, they both got up and walked right past the two. They looked as if they didn't sleep at all the night before. James looked dumbfounded as his friends walked off. He didn't seem to understand why they didn't want to be around him anymore.
Hunter went back up to the sixth year's dormitory and pulled out a stack of letters from his trunk. This had become a habit in recent weeks. He would look over the letters for hours on end. She even had beautiful handwriting.
"Is there anything about her that isn't beautiful?" he would think to himself. The answer was always "No."
Hunter was awoken from his haze when Gale practically broke the door off it's hinges. "Come on! We've got Quidditch practice in ten minutes!" he shouted. Hunter scrambled and threw the letters in his trunk and grabbed his broom and Quidditch robes. The boys ran all the way down to the pitch, just in time for practice. It was one of the better practices Hunter had in the past few weeks. He had been somewhat distracted as of late. Although the rest of his team would say he was very distracted. At least he didn't hit himself with the bat this time.
The letter finally arrived two days later. He thanked Dirk for his good work and tore open the letter. Whatever was in the letter needed to be read, whether it was good or bad.
Dear Hunter,
I'm so sorry it took so long to reply. As I said, I couldn't think of a good way to tell you. I did promise you I would so here goes nothing. As you probably already know I'm not very good with words. So I kind of had to steal these. "My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you I've been runnin round in circles in my mind And it always seems that I'm following you 'cause you take me to the places that alone I'd never find. And even as I wander I'm keeping you in sight you're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter's night And I'm getting closer than I every thought I might And I can't fight this feeling anymore I've forgotten what I've started fighting for It's time to bring this ship into the shore And throw away the oars forever." What I'm trying to tell you is that I like you. As more than a friend. You're really sweet, and you make me smile a lot. You're pretty cute too. Also, I talked to your grandfather the other day. I don't know how he recognized me. He said that you were staying at his house for Christmas. I was wondering if you might want to come see me? If you're not too busy, that is. See you soon, hopefully
Sincerely Hallie.
A smile slowly crept onto Hunter's face. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be this happy. Nothing could bring him down from this emotional high. She liked him, actually liked him! This was much more than he ever expected. He wanted to show her how much she mean to him. This was easier said than done.
He turned to James. "What's the date?"
"Uhh... December 4th," he replied. There was no way that it was already December. This did give him a good idea, though. He climbed into bed that night with happy thoughts swimming through his mind.
"I'll buy her a Christmas present."