Ginny's lungs burned as she sucked in rapid, ragged breaths, her heart close to bursting as she pushed her legs to run faster than they ever had before. Tears blurred her eyes, causing her to slam into a wall as she tore around a corner. It cost her only a second, however, before she stumbled back into a sprint. Ginny ignored the pain in her shoulder; all that mattered was that she reached him before it was too late.
She raced through King's Cross station until she came to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Without any hesitation, she charged through the false wall at full speed and staggered to a stop on platform nine and three-quarters. Teetering atop shaky legs and clutching a stitch in her side, Ginny's head swiveled this way and that as she desperately searched the area. She fought hard to keep from crying outright, to ignore the rising panic that could cripple her. But then, just as she feared the worst, she found him.
"HARRY!" She had meant to shout but it came out as a scream, the kind that tears the throat on its way out. A green-eyed boy with round spectacles and tousled black hair turned to look at Ginny, and a smile lit his face.
Willing her aching legs to move again, Ginny rushed to stand before him, almost laughing with lightheaded relief as she bent over, put her hands on her knees, and panted.
"I d-didn't . . . k-know you had l-left . . . I almost didn't m-make it . . ." Ginny continued to catch her breath as she slid a rucksack off her arm and let it drop to the ground. "I-I'm ready. All p-packed."
Harry's smile fell as confusion clouded his gaze. "You mean . . . come with me?" he said. "Ginny, you know that you can't – you're only ten."
Ginny looked up at Harry in horror as a shrill whistle signaled the impending departure of the Hogwarts Express. All around them, students hugged loved ones and hurried to board the train. Ginny's eyes drifted dazedly from one group of people to another as Harry's words sank in. Whereas her breaths had come too quickly the moment before, now she labored to draw a single one.
"I . . . I know that," she said, turning back to Harry with a pleading look. "But . . . I . . . I thought that maybe . . . I mean, you're only a year older than me . . ."
"I'm sorry, Ginny," said Harry, and he looked like he truly meant it. "But it isn't your time to go."
A silence settled between the two children amid the sounds of banging luggage and last-minute goodbyes that filled the platform. Finding that she no longer had the strength to stand, Ginny crumpled to her knees and crushed her eyelids closed as tears streaked free.
"Will . . . will you write?" she whispered.
"I can't. I'm sorry."
Without looking up, Ginny nodded that she understood. "Tell Fred that I m-miss him."
"I will."
Ginny lifted a heavy arm to take Harry's hand, but when her fingers closed around empty air, she opened her eyes to find that he was gone, lost to the swirling clouds of steam that issued from the scarlet locomotive. Panic gave her the power to stand, and she frantically weaved through the throng of people that cheerfully waved at the faces on the train as it lurched forward.
"Harry!" she cried, searching the eyes that watched her from the windows of each compartment for a familiar green pair. "Harry!"
Ginny ran alongside the Hogwarts Express while it pulled out of the station. Only when the train had almost disappeared from sight did she spot Harry standing in the open doorway of the last car. He smiled at her sadly, gave a halfhearted wave, and then . . . he was gone.
"HAAARRRY!"