Bring Him To His Knees

Thank you all for coming on their journey with us. Chapter 31 1 July, 2010 Hermione released Harry from the tight hug, laughing as he pushed his glasses back into place. "Thank you again," she said. "For being my man of honor. For being my friend. For...." She shook her head with a smile. "For being just Harry." "It's the least I could do for my best friend." Harry tugged loose the knot in his bow tie and let the ends dangle around his neck. "Still can't believe you talked Malfoy into letting the wedding be held at the Manor, though. All these peasants stomping around his garden and getting their germs on his ancestry."

Chapter 30 Chapter Text Hermione lay across the bench, knees bent up, with her head on Draco's thigh. She let her hand dangle, brushing the warm grass, and squinted into the sun as Draco shifted. He reached for his shoulder again, and she cleared her throat pointedly. "Draco, for heaven's sake. Stop poking at it. You know what the surgeon said." "It itches," he grumbled.

Chapter 29 She hurt. From her face to her hands, to her abdomen and her thigh, everything hurt, but Draco had her. He'd come for her and she'd fought at his side and when she'd fallen he'd fought even harder. Too injured to get up, she'd lain on the floor and watched as something in Draco shattered. He spun and attacked. On the bridge after his mother's funeral, she'd watched him shadow-duelling in grief and heartbreak. He'd been dangerous then. Fighting Geoffrey, he was deadly. The silver mask had flowed over his face, blocking out his sharp features, taking away Draco and leaving darkness.

Chapter 28 He spun in black clouds and bright lightning, whirling in the space between here and there. The connection between the twin greyhound rings called to him, guiding him to Hermione. Her desperate scream filled his blood and his heartbeat screamed in triple-time with her. I'm coming. I love you. I'm coming. I'll find you.

Chapter 27 It would have taken her half an hour to walk to Harley Street from the Leaky Cauldron, but she'd thought that being out on the streets, even Muggle streets, was a bad idea under the circumstances. She'd decided to enter London through the pub, where she planned to flag down a black cab and be delivered to her doctor's office no more than ten minutes later, even with Friday's post-business hours traffic. She'd never thought for a moment that it wouldn't matter how long she was out or what street she was on. She stopped on the pavement outside her doctor's building as a gust of wind caught her hair and the flowing skirt of her dress. She turned to pull her hair out of her face, and—

Chapter 26 Draco flicked his wand and attached a row of sketches to the top of the evidence wall. He'd spent the morning with the department artist, giving descriptions, and then spent most of the afternoon comparing the preliminary composites to his memory. He stepped back and folded his arms, wand tapping against his shoulder as he examined the seven sketches. All of them were men he had seen at the Thorned Rose on multiple occasions and all fit the general profile of the killer.

Chapter 25 Draco opened his eyes, the ceiling gradually coming into focus. His heart pounded against his ribs, in his temples, under his palm resting on his chest. Between his thighs, Hermione stirred. He heard her swallow and he lifted his head to see her wiping her thumb across her lips. "H'ne, tha—" He thumped his head into the pillows with a soft groan. He'd suggested that they have sex before going to the play rooms, to take the edge off and let them play longer, but she'd shoved him onto his back and announced she had a different idea. Before he could think, she had one hand on his cock and her hair swaying across his hips. For several minutes, he'd stopped thinking at all.

Chapter 24 Hermione slumped into the chair next to Harry's desk and kicked her shoes off. "Draco had the right idea," she announced to the ceiling. "Skip the Remembrance Day events. Go to Azkaban instead. Bet he had a better day." Harry took her hand, put a glass of Firewhiskey in it, and patted her shoulder. "You handled it well," he said, circling his desk to thump into his chair. He put his feet up on the desk and leaned back, groaning as he undid his tie. "You managed not to hex anyone, at least, so I'm counting that as a win."

Chapter 23 Harry poked Draco in the shoulder. "Malfoy," he said. Draco took a long sip of his coffee, his attention on the evidence wall and the additions Cotterill and Choudhury had made to it while he was on compassionate leave. They had tracked the activities of all the previous victims, and laid out timelines and small movement maps for each. They'd done another round of interviews to see if any stories changed, rerun every report, and even badgered Townsend into walking them through a recreation of each autopsy.

Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc Chapter 22 Hermione woke as the mattress shifted, a weight behind her moving away. She cracked one eye open to see Draco getting out of bed and slipping across the room to push open a set of tall French doors onto a balcony. He stepped outside, the orange flare of fire glowing on his face as he lit a cigarette. He propped his hip against the stone railing, arms crossed. Smoke drifted gently away.

Chapter 21

Chapter 20 Hermione stood outside the gate, staring down the long drive at the house. The front was dark, no lights showing at all, and the door was invisible through the fog. She scraped her teeth across her bottom lip, took a deep breath, and put her hand on the lock.

Chapter 19 Draco drummed his fingers on his knee, then forced himself to stillness. Across the waiting room, Harry lifted his brows. "All right, Malfoy?" "Not entirely. I still don't know why I needed to be in uniform for whatever this is," Draco said. He hooked his finger in the neck of his jacket and tugged it away from his throat. "It's uncomfortable." "This from a man who wears suits and ties every day of his life. I don't understand how that isn't uncomfortable. You have three-piece pyjamas, don't you?"

Chapter 18 He'd caught up on the reports filed over the weekend, had a half-dozen conversations about Tuesday feeling like Monday thanks to the wizard holiday the day before, and watched his trainees in a practice duel that left Cotterill with a bloody nose, Choudhury with a sprained finger, and both of them with huge smiles. He'd sent them home to recover for the afternoon and gone to the conference room to look over his evidence wall again. Harry strolled in an hour later and sprawled into a seat. "Don't tell anyone I'm here," he said, letting his head droop over the back of the chair. "I'll go mental if I have to have one more hallway chat about what I did over the long weekend." He scrubbed his fringe with a growl. "How's the case going?

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc Chapter 17 Draco opened his eyes, blinking in strange light. The angle of the sun coming through the window was wrong for his bedroom and the feel of the pillowcase under his head was odd.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc Chapter 16 Draco examined the bottles and carafes, considered the brandy, then glanced at the closed bedroom door and selected whiskey. The neck of the bottle rattled against his glass as he poured. When he set the bottle down, he flexed his fingers in an effort to ease the shake out of them. "For god's sake, man," he muttered to himself. "You weren't this nervous your first time."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 15 The swirls of lightning rushed through her blood. Every nerve in her body felt as though it were burning, every cell aflame. Hermione clung to Draco in the black smoke of his Apparition and landed with her head pressed tight to his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.The swirls of lightning rushed through her blood. Every nerve in her body felt as though it were burning, every cell aflame. Hermione clung to Draco in the black smoke of his Apparition and landed with her head pressed tight to his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc Chapter 14 Harry slumped over the conference table, glasses abandoned in front of him. "I'm going to quit my job," he whinged into a stack of leave requests. "I don't want to be Head Auror any more. Nobody told me when I took the position that it would be paperwork and meetings."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc Chapter 13 The kitchen was, unfortunately, not empty when Draco made his way downstairs after his shower. Harry was at the breakfast table, forehead down on the wood, one hand clenched around a still-steaming mug. The filled coffee pot sat waiting. Draco didn't even try to walk quietly across the kitchen. "Morning, Potter," he said, plucking a large mug off the rack hanging from under the top cabinet. His wand was resting next to the coffee pot and he slipped it into his back pocket with his cigarette case.

BHTHK updates are moving to every other week! The Reader has been on vocal rest. Thank you for understanding! ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 12 Pansy and Hermione had just sat down on a bench outside a shop in Diagon Alley when the silver stag burst into life in front of them. Antlers high, nostrils flared, it looked down at them. "Come home," it said in Harry's voice, taut with some emotion Hermione couldn't identify. "Come home now. He needs you."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 11 "You should thank that groundskeeper for getting you in the leg," Blaise said, flicking his wand at the lamps over the padded reclining chair. "I would've been seriously pissed off if I had to repair the dragon again." Draco, hands folded over his stomach, opened one eye to look at Blaise. "I don't do this on purpose, you realize. I was ambushed. At least I'm off the cane now. I can't run and I'm still out of commission for flying but I'm walking."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 10 Draco gave a sidelong glance to the closed door of the bathroom, wondering if Hermione had emerged from the shower yet. She had ducked in there almost as soon as they had stepped out of the fireplace in the suite, and he found that he was a little relieved. It gave him the chance to sit down, have a glass of brandy and a cigarette, and contemplate what they were about to do. What he was about to do, at least. They hadn't discussed whether she would be stripping down as well. He wasn't sure which option he preferred.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 9 They'd made little progress on the case in the three days since Gwen Morgan had been identified. Hermione stared at a file, the words blurring together as her head started to sink. The file disappeared, a steaming mug of tea appearing in its place. Hermione blinked and sat up in her chair at the conference table. "Oh," she said. "Thank you, Draco. But I was reading that." "You were dozing over that," Draco said. "Your eyes were closed. Have some tea, take a break from reading. You stayed late to help me but that doesn't mean you have to wear yourself out in the process."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 8 Two days had passed since the Quidditch match and Hermione had barely slept. Her dreams kept her tossing in her bed all night. She was looking down into Draco's empty eyes, pale as the shine faded from them, his hair soaked in blood and his body limp in her arms.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 7 Dinner after the funeral was quiet. Draco and Harry exchanged stories about Mitchell and they all raised a glass in his memory. After the meal was over, Harry excused himself with a solemn look and Pansy went with him. Hermione toyed with her wine glass. "Time for our talk," she said. Draco nodded, glancing up to the ceiling. "Let's go into the garden. Give those two some privacy." He led the way to the door at the rear of the house and followed Hermione into the garden, ducking under the wisteria that draped the short overhang. "I haven't mentioned this before," he said, taking her hand. "But I've always liked you in blue."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 6 Draco stood in the shower, head tipped back, eyes and mouth shut tight, to let the hot water pour over his face. He'd dreamed all night of the way Hermione had felt in his lap at the club. The heat of her leg under his palm, the warmth of her hair around his fingers, the scent on her skin.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 5 Outside a crumbling stone wall in Bedfordshire, Draco waited for Hermione's arrival. He'd sent her an owl with all the details of the location, including a photograph for her to study, and a time to meet. He checked his pocketwatch for the fifth time and then heard a small pop. He looked up to see Hermione standing a few feet away, hood up and cloak covering her to the ground, a pewter hook-and-eye arrangement holding it closed at neck, chest, and waist.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 4 Hermione tugged Pansy to a stop under a streetlight, gesturing Harry to go on without them. He glanced back once, then shrugged and disappeared around the corner. "Are you sure I look all right?" Hermione said. "Should I have done something—" She gestured at her face. "More?" "Granger, you look fine. More than fine." She reached out and took a piece of Hermione's hair, pulling it over her shoulder to dangle by her cheek. "Your hair's down. That's all he's going to care about."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 3 Pansy abducted her from the Ministry at lunch the following day, dragging her into a small and exclusive boutique for 'clothes that will drive Draco mad.' While Pansy stood in front of a rack of dresses and short skirts, Hermione thumped her head against the wall of the fitting room. "I kissed him, Pansy! Kissed him."

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 2 Hermione warmed her hands over the fire, only half-listening to the other three discussing the case. She wanted to be involved in the conversation but admitted to herself she was too distracted to properly contribute, especially considering one of the people talking. Damn Draco Malfoy and his long fingers and his deep voice. He'd wiped cream off his plate, sucked it off his finger, and made a noise that had almost caused her to fall out of her chair. If she'd known he was going to be attending the dinner that night, she'd have planned to be elsewhere. It was starting to get ridiculous, how much she watched him whenever he came to the house.

ETL Echo presents Bring Him to His Knees by Musyc. Chapter 1 In a cemetery outside the wizarding community of Betws-yn-Rhos, the naked corpse lay on her back, arms sprawled out, red hair spread around her. The yellow glimmer of the protective crime scene bubble gave her skin a sallow tint. Techs bustling around the scene moved back as Draco opened the bubble with a wave of his hand and stepped inside. He closed the bubble and went straight to the body, a quick tug at his trouser legs pulling the material up as he crouched beside the corpse.