Written for the Great Maze Comp/Chall
Harry scrambled through the crowded streets of London, struggling through the mass or writhing bodies.
"Sorry, pardon me!" he yelped, ducking under an elbow and slipping past a protruding underbelly. Irritated murmuring fell in his wake, and he would normally stop to apologize fully, but he didn't have any time.
Anxiously, he checked his watch, and then sped up. He had 8, maybe 9 minutes before the train left and she was gone for good. He wouldn't let that happen. The train station was not too far ahead. Harry prayed to God that the train didn't come early.
The drab building peeked into view. Harry grinned, breathless, panting, winded. He had made it. Slowing down his pace ever so slightly, he forced his burning thighs to speed walk up the stairs and to the platform.
There, he encountered his second problem. The crowd. His gaze flickered over the through the people lingering at the station. He was too short to see over the tops of their heads.
That was when he spotted it. Bright red hair flashed through the crowd, drawing him like a beacon. It was her.
"Ginny!" he yelled, starting towards her. She turned, startled, and he took the chance to rush in front of her.
"Please don't run," he begged. "I don't think I'd be able to chase after you."
He smiled weakly at her, and hesitantly, she nodded.
He took a deep breath, to calm his racing heart, and then he bowed his head. "I'm sorry!"
She blinked at him. "Sorry?"
"I know these few days haven't been… great," he struggled to say, "even though I'm the one who invited you to stay for a week with me. And I know it's not just recently! I haven't been paying attention for you for months now, and I've only just realized how much you mean to me. And so, I know this is selfish, but can I ask you to stay with me?"
There was a beat of silence. Harry looked up carefully. Her face was stony and unreadable, but there were unshed tears in the corner of her eyes.
Just as the tears fell, she let out a tremulous smile.
"This is the only second chance you're getting," she said, and he broke into a laugh.
The train arrived just as he leaned forward to embrace her.