Based on the song "Bandits" by Meg and Dia.
"I'm sorry, Mione," he said softly, one hand on the wheel.
"Why?"
"I've always promised you that we'd have a real home, but here we are, still on the road, still running away." Even as he spoke, he glanced in the rearview mirror.
"It's all right…I get tired of being around the same people for too long anyways." She smiled up at him. "Except you, of course."
"Mione, one day…" He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, a headache forming.
"Silly." Her smile turned tremulous. "Home is with you."
He was struck silent.
She said softly, hopefully, "We'll be okay. We'll just keep going until they can't recognize us anymore. We'll have new names, new identities, and we won't be Hermione and Harry anymore."
He reached for her hand and tried for a smile. "Yeah, we'll be fine."
She turned sideways in her seat, trying to get comfortable. "Tell me. We're in this together, remember?" She coughed softly, punctuating the sound of the purring engine.
"I've heard down south the sun is a golden disk in a sky of pure blue," he said.
She had heard it so many times she could recite it by heart, but it still reassured her to hear him tell her again.
"We'll leave the car at the edge of the desert," she continued when he paused for too long.
The edge of his mouth quirked up in a wry smile. "Yeah. And we'll get rooms in a fancy hotel with nice beds and bucketfuls of hot water for baths."
Eyes closed, she asked, "The beds will be fluffy and soft, right?"
"As fluffy as clouds," he promised.
Silence gently enveloped them, and Harry felt the strain of his too-tight heart.
"Harry," Hermione said drowsily, "Don't worry. I'll protect you. Even if…even if we get caught, I won't turn you in. I'll pretend like I don't know you if I have to. I won't let them near you."
His chest squeezed.
-
Harry jolted awake at the sound of blaring sirens in the distance. He glanced down at Hermione, who slept on peacefully. Quickly, he took off his jacket and covered her with it. His heart was breaking, its shards cutting into his skin. But she had to get away. If she got away, he'd have peace of mind until the day he died.
We're in this together, remember?Her voice echoed in his head.
He swore softly. I won't let them near you.
-
They bound his hands with metal bands as he stood calmly, wrists held out for them to chain. Two officers made as if to search for an accomplice. He screamed, a sharp, shrill noise filled with anguish and seeming madness. Immediately, they abandoned the search to subdue him.
It had to have awoken her. Please, please let her stay hidden.
They hauled him into the backseat. As they drove away, he saw her crying eyes staring, helpless.
Their eyes met and held, and in that brief moment, he tried to convey with a glance all the things he hadn't had a chance to say.
Hermione, when I get out, I'll come and find you. I love you, you're my other half—I never told you that, never told you that. Mione, I'm sorry.
Tell me. We're in this together. Relax. I won't let them near you.