Moon Over Bourbon Street
Genre: Angst…come on, it's one of my stories
Rating: PG
Pairing (if any): I can't tell you that! It'd ruin the ending!
Keywords: Hermione, New Orleans, Love
Disclaimer: Yes, I'm J. K. Rowling, so obviously I'd be posting on a fanfiction website… Isn't sarcasm grand?
"Moon Over Bourbon Street" is a fantastic song written by the greatest singer, my idol, Mr. Gordon Sumner! (However, a few words were changed by me to fit the story…sorry, Gordon!)
Dedication: Wow, this is a first for me! But I have to dedicate this story to my dad, for he was the one who introduced to Sting's music when I was just a baby. I love you, Daddy!
"I—I can't do this!" Hermione sobbed with her head in her hands. She was sitting on her bed, an open, empty suitcase next to her and one of her best friends in the doorway. "I shouldn't have fallen in love at a time like this!"
"You can't just control when you fall in love! You just have to take a deep breath and jump." Ginny retorted.
"Yes, I can! I'll leave England. I have a cousin in America; she'll take me in. I can't allow myself to be in love with him! And I can't possibly be in love with someone I never see." Hermione got off the bed and walked to her closet.
"Hermione, this is insane! You can't honestly believe that running away will solve everything!" Ginny shouted so that her friend could hear her from the closet.
Hermione appeared with a large pile of clothes in her arms. "I can and I will." She started folding the clothes and placing them into the suitcase. As she packed the last of her things, she turned to Ginny slowly. "You have to promise me you won't tell him."
"I can't prom—"
"I need you to do this for me, Ginny. If he figures it out on his on, so be it. But you can not tell him where I'm going."
Ginny recognized the look in Hermione's eyes; it was the look that she got when she was prepared to do anything to get her way.
"Fine, I promise." Ginny sighed. "But remember, you can't blame me if he figures it out on his own."
"He won't." Hermione stated immediately. She walked over to her friend and gave her a long hug. As she stepped back and grabbed her suitcase, she whispered, "Tell him goodbye for me?"
She Apparrated before Ginny could respond.
"Hermione Rebecca Granger, you just made the biggest mistake of your life." Ginny said to the silent room with a dismayed shake of her head.
*~*Three Weeks Later*~*
Hermione scanned the silent street for any sign of life. Every once in awhile she could make out shadows in the dim lighting the streetlights gave off.
She looked up at the hotel and watched the light on the third floor flicker out. She couldn't believe Ginny had accidentally told him where she was.
She had been avoiding Bourbon Street since he had arrived the previous week. She couldn't allow him to find her.
There's a moon over Bourbon Street tonightI see faces as they pass in the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights, the people, and the moon and all
I pray everyday to be strong
For I know what I did must be wrong
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
When there's a moon over Bourbon StreetHis eyes quickly adapted to the darkness. He could sense her magic, and he knew she was down below his room, staring up from the sidewalk. He had felt her magic every day for the past week, but he was afraid to approach her. He was terrified that she would run away again.
He stared out the window and could see the full moon's rays through the thin draperies. The moon had always reminded him of Hermione… you could usually see it even though it was distant at times, but you always knew it was there. Lately, however, he had been wishing that the moon would draw her back to him.
How many times had he been on the verge of saying his heart's desires to her? How could he have thought that he had a chance with her when it was quite clear that she didn't want his devotion?
He sighed and turned his back to the moon. He closed his eyes and fell into a restless, light sleep.
*~*
Hermione's shoes tapped lightly on the sidewalk as she trekked back to her cousin's apartment. She could walk the path in her sleep because she had been taking it for days. Every night, usually around eight thirty, she would walk to his hotel and stand on the street and mentally wish for him to leave her alone. Around eight forty-five, she'd head home in silence, praying that the next day he'd be gone.
As she stubbed her toe on an uneven crack, she thought gloomily, "Bourbon Street is the only place I'm happy."
The full moon shone down on her hair, and she reveled in the only light she would allow herself. Something about the fact that it was natural light (and not man-made like the lamps on the corner of every street) was endearing to her. She continued her short journey around the block with only the rhythmic beating of her shoes and the moon's light to comfort her.
It was many weeks ago that I became what I amI was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Now I can never show my face at noon
And you'll only see me walking by the light of the moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
I've the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
When there's a moon over Bourbon Street
He woke himself up with a jerk. His breathing was heavy from his horrible dream. It had started with just her face smiling sadly at him, but the picture pulled back slowly as she started to walk away from him. As she became a speck in the distance, he began to fall into a seemingly endless black pit…never again to hear her voice, see her face, or hold her hand.
He sat up in bed and slid over to the window. As he pulled back the drapery, he noticed immediately that she was no longer at her usual post. He sighed heavily and let the fabric fall back in place.
He leaned his head against the window frame and whispered sadly, "Come home, Hermione."
His glance lingered a second or two longer at the spot where she always stood before he mentally reprimanded himself and returned to the bed.
She walks everyday through the streets of New OrleansShe's innocent and young from a family of means
Hermione turned the last corner and reached the steps of her cousin's apartment.
As she entered the password to allow herself up, she felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She ran up the stairs before she could be seen and opened the door when she came to the second story entrance. Her cousin's apartment was the fourth door to the right.
Hermione pulled out her key and unlocked the door. As she shut the door behind her, she leaned back against the wooden contraption and let her tears fall.
"Oh gosh, I'm becoming a stalker." She whispered sardonically as she brushed a few salty teardrops away.
I have stood many times outside his window at nightTo struggle with my instinct in the pale moonlight
As she climbed into her bed, Hermione whispered a short prayer, but it came out more as a desperate plead.
"Dear God, I don't want to feel like this anymore. I need him, but I don't want to want him so badly…can't you make these feelings end? You're the only one who can help me now. Please, God. I need your help. He can never know how I feel; it would destroy his entire future." She paused. "It's too hard to be in love with someone who will never love you back." She could feel more tears starting and whispered, "Amen."
How could I be this way when I pray to God aboveI must love what I destroy and destroy the thing I love
Less than a mile away, Harry James Potter, was making nearly the exact same plea.
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feetWhen there's a moon over Bourbon Street
Author's Note: Okay, I recently read the post on the home page that we aren't allowed to devote an entire chapter to, and I quote, "…non-story content such as author notes. You can add short author notes to the beginning or at the end of stories but never as individual chapters." So I guess I'll be writing "Thank You's" in the next chapter (I really like this one, and I'd like to know what people think of it!)
I wrote a rough version of this story around midnight a few days ago. I know it's angst (I know: me, angst?), but it doesn't have a happy ending like my stories usually do.
If you are wondering why, I'd give you the long version, but I think it would be easier if I just sum it up in one word: finals…
Finals take all the fun and fluff out of life. But then again, I only have to wait until 12:30 tomorrow [12/19/02] afternoon before I'm free for TWO WEEKS! YES!!!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Love ya!
Brittany Ü
