Author's Note: I officially finished writing this story last week. There's some editing that needs to be done on the final chapters, but since they are finished, I will be trying to update at least twice a week until this is over. There are only twenty-four total chapters so it won't take long. What are you thinking so far?

Chapter Twenty-One

From the moment Jack opened his sleepy eyes to see his old boss Corbin Yaxley standing over him with a chilling grin, he knew he was fucked. Though he initially tried to convince himself that it was all a terrible nightmare he would soon wake up from, he knew he was in serious trouble when the wizard grabbed his collar and forced him to stand to his feet. He seemed pleased to see his old clerk, a fact that terrified Jack even further. Never had he been happy to see him before.

"I was very surprised to hear you were interested in working with Hal's group, Gibbon. You never struck me as someone all that interested in ridding the world of pesky Mudblood scum."

Once Yaxley opened his mouth there was no question it really was him. Despite seeing him with his own eyes, Jack was confused. How was the dreadful man even there? He was supposed to be in Azkaban. At the end of the war he was one of the Death Eaters captured in the castle and then put on trial. The newest Minister for Magic tried to be fair and impartial as he presided over the Wizengamot trials of the witches and wizards who killed many of his friends. No one had any doubt Yaxley was guilty of the heinous crimes he was accused of. Why was he no longer locked up in Azkaban? Jack was sure he wouldn't like the answer.

"Take him to Hal's office."

Yaxley barked his order out at two huge men Jack hadn't even noticed standing by the bedroom door. He didn't recognize either of them nor did he think he could somehow convince them to be on his side. No, Thorfinn was always the more charismatic of the two friends. Perhaps if he'd been there with him everything would've worked out. Thorfinn had a knack for getting out of sticky situations. He should, considering how marvelous a job he did at getting in to them in the first place.

"Interesting how you're asleep on the sofa when you claimed you were here to defile Hal's niece."

His old boss' laughter had always been chilling, something he hated to hear. Usually he only laughed when something really bad was about to happen. The goons grabbed Jack under his arms to drag him out of Reina's bedroom. It was only when he was halfway to the door that he remembered the kind witch who offered him sanctuary when she didn't have to. He really was a selfish arse.

Reina wasn't in her bedroom. At least not where he could see her. He hoped she was okay. It wasn't fair that she would be dragged into his mess. She certainly hadn't asked for it.

"Your story would've been a little more believable if you slept in the girl's bed, wouldn't you think? You always were a shit liar, Gibbon."

Frustrated at his predicament and trying very hard not to be scared out of his mind, Jack attempted to struggle out of his captivity to no avail. He was a powerful wizard who knew a lot of spells that could even any playing field. Physically, however, he'd always been envious of Thorfinn and Craig for their height and brawny muscles. Jack usually had to rely on his wits.

The journey back down the corridor to Haldor Rowle's private office was far less comfortable than the trip to Reina's room. It also lasted far too long. With each step closer he knew he was in serious trouble. His cover had been fully blown. What would happen next? He doubted it would be anything pleasant. Was he about to be fed to the fucking boomslangs or would he finally feel the avada to the face that should've been his years earlier? He tried to push away the very real fear that he would never get to see Hermione again.

"Where is my niece? What have you done with her?"

The very moment he was dragged across the threshold of the office Haldor was in his face demanding answers Jack couldn't give him. He was evidently very worried about Reina. Haldor had a number of negative traits, clearly, but no one could ever accuse him of not loving or caring about his family. When his older brother died unexpectedly years earlier when Thorfinn and Jack were second years, he stepped up to love his niece and nephew as his own children. Reina, Thorfinn often joked, was just a little bit easier to love.

"Nothing. We were just sleeping. I don't know where she is."

A house-elf entered the office and despite it clearly not wishing to do so, nervously approached their master.

"Missy Reinie isn't in the manor, sir. We've looked everywhere."

"Check that flat in Knockturn Alley. Her brother must knew where she went."

Jack still didn't fully understand what was happening. Did Reina betray him somehow? Just as soon as he dared to have that thought, he chastised himself for it. No, she was a good woman and had always cared about him. As different from the rest of her family as it was possible to be, she would never involve herself in anything dangerous that would intentionally hurt other people.

Unsure and even more worried, he turned to look at Yaxley. Gone was the unnerving smile and in its place was the scowl he was far more familiar with. He knew he would never get any answers if he didn't start asking questions.

"You were in Azkaban. How are you here?"

"Yes, I was. And according to prison records, I died last week."

Was it possible to be even more confused after having a question answered? Apparently so. Enjoying how uncomfortable and worried he was making his former clerk, Yaxley laughed. All of the hair on Jack's arms and the back of his neck stood up. He wasn't sure he had ever felt more unnerved. Was he drawing closer to his painful murder?

"Mr. Rowle was kind enough to offer a terminally ill wizard the opportunity to pay off some of his family's debts before he died."

"He pretended to be you with polyjuice."

"Very good. Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought you were."

Hearing their conversation, Haldor decided it was time to chime in. The man never understood how to mind his own business. Another Rowle family trait, Jack supposed.

"Death Eaters are more useful to our cause outside of Azkaban than inside."

"He doesn't need to know anything else, Hal. He's not a part of this."

"I could help you. I'm a loyal…"

Yaxley wasn't interested in listening to Jack's offer of assistance. The wizard was far from dumb or unobservant. Often he knew far more than everyone else in the room simply because he paid attention. His hand shot out like a snake to grasp Jack's throat in a painful, crushing grip.

"You've never been loyal to anyone but that Granger cunt. You and I both know that's true."

Even if he could physically deny the accusation, he would not have. Of course he was right. Other than his family and his best friend, he'd never felt any kind of loyalty towards anyone other than Hermione. He would gladly spend the rest of his life being completely loyal to the woman he loved more than his own life. Haldor was confused by the announcement if his furrowed brow could be believed.

"Corban, he's one of my nephew's best friends. He wouldn't be loyal to a Mudblood."

"She saved his life years ago and he owed her a life debt. You ever pay it, Gibbon?"

Jack didn't know what to say. If he revealed too much, he could put Thorfinn in jeopardy too. After all of the danger his friend faced to help him in his mission to protect Hermione from those who were determined to hurt her, he deserved more. Already it looked as if his uncle no longer trusted him.

"He spent nearly a year patrolling the village of Hogsmeade during the war because he couldn't be trusted not to try to save Granger. I had her in my grasp once and the life debt made him attack me to save her. Is that why you're back, Gibbon? You still owe her that debt?"

Finally catching up on the seriousness of the situation, Haldor's eyes narrowed in obvious anger and disgust. If he wasn't already aware before, Jack knew in that moment he was well and truly fucked. How was he going to get out of the predicament he found himself in? He didn't have the first clue what to do. Even Yaxley releasing his throat and allowing him to breathe properly again didn't instill him with any confidence that he would be all right.

"Is this true, boy?"

Jack's continued silence was all the response Haldor needed. Their family was legendary for their tempers and tendency to behave irrationally when they were upset or intoxicated by blood lust. The wizard, only a few inches shorter than his nephew and quite strong even in his advance years, closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. His red face was close enough to Jack's he could smell the minty toothpaste he'd used before bed.

"You have betrayed my family. Using my nephew and my niece for your sick, devious plans? I'm disgusted I ever allowed you to speak to my family. Their lives will be much better off without you in it."

There was at least a small comfort that neither Thorfinn nor Reina were immediately suspected of being a part willingly. Jack hoped that no matter what happened to him, they would make it through the ordeal relatively unscathed.

"So you're worried about Granger? Well, don't worry. She's perfectly safe. I'll prove it to you."

Jack's heart jumped with hope even as he knew it was futile. Did Haldor really intend to show him Hermione? How?

"We can't have anyone try to upset the plans we have for Granger."

It made no sense to Jack why the irate man picked up the battered suitcase he tripped over earlier in the night to roughly toss it down on top of his desk. Was there evidence inside that could put his mind at ease in what could be the final moments of his wasted life? Yaxley seemed to understand more and didn't care for what he was seeing.

"Do you want to see her again? Here's your chance."

"No, Hal, what are you doing?"

"Putting his mind to rest and eliminating him as a problem."

The suitcase seemed ordinary enough when Haldor opened it up. Nothing dangerous jumped out of it at any rate. Up until the moment the arseholes who still had a tight grip on his arms started to pull him near the open suitcase, Jack didn't understand. As much as he tried to fight, he was no match for the hired muscle. He toppled on top of the suitcase, fully expecting to hit the desk hard and stop.

Except once he hit the suitcase, he kept falling. No more hands were left on his body as he tumbled through the air to an unknown destination. He seemed to be falling for a long time. Was it possible he was only dreaming or maybe he hit his head and was simply hallucinating? Just when he thought he would either fall forever or slam into some hard surface to smash every bone in his body, he landed unhurt on top of a soft bed.

A startled gasp caught his attention. He couldn't trust his eyes that he was really seeing Hermione. It was all too good to be true.

Of course Hermione knew it was wrong to be glad that Jack was in prison with her, but she couldn't help it. Never did she expect the third person shoved inside their suitcase would be the one person she wanted to see more than anyone. Afraid to move and ruin the illusion if that's what it turned out to be, she stayed frozen, hardly daring to breathe.

A hand lifted up to gently brush her cheek with its fingertips. Feeling that she was indeed real, Jack sat up quickly to take her in his arms. Realizing he was no illusion brought tears to her eyes. She hugged him tightly with her eyes shut, willing the embarrassing tears away.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

He was the one who had fallen a long distance inside a suitcase and yet he was more concerned for her well-being than his own. There was still a little soreness in her shoulder if she wasn't careful and moved too suddenly. It certainly was nothing to worry about, especially as she felt him against her chest and underneath her hands.

"Just my shoulder when I was pushed down. That's why Kingsley moved his bed… so you wouldn't get hurt."

Jack pulled back from their embrace to look over to the corner where Kingsley stood watching their reunion. Seeming to notice a third person in the room for the first time, his blue eyes grew wider. Kingsley's wary smile was the encouragement he needed to get off the bed.

"Thank you, Minister Shacklebolt."

"I wasn't sure if they would give us another healing potion if you got hurt."

"Kingsley, this is…"

"I know who he is. Jack Gibbon. He was a clerk for Yaxley in the DMLE. Disappeared shortly after the war. Why?"

Somehow the small room managed to become even more tense and uncomfortable than it already was. Hermione didn't want Kingsley to know Jack was a former Death Eater, but based on the suspicious, displeased expression on his face, it was likely he already did. Jack hadn't been wrong when he said running away so soon after the Dark Lord's defeat didn't look good.

"Jack saved my life during the war. He came back to warn me I was in danger."

Kingsley sighed, some of his wariness disappearing. At the very least he no longer appeared on the verge of lashing out to physically attack the new arrival. That was definitely a positive development as there really wasn't much room for violence and Hermione knew Jack likely wouldn't even try to fight back and defend himself.

"And you didn't listen to him."

Seeing evident disappointment in Kingsley's eyes was never something she enjoyed. Thankfully it wasn't something that happened very often. She was about to respond when Kingsley turned towards Jack and extended his hand for a proper handshake.

"She never does. Anyone who is willing to try to keep her safe is a friend of mine."

The rest of the tension lessened in the room with the greeting. Allied together in the cause of saving Hermione's arse, the two men worked together to push Kingsley's bed back to its usual place. Jack took a more thorough look around their prison whey they were done.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I went to St. Mungo's to visit Kingsley but he was already inside the suitcase. Someone was impersonating him."

"Yes, with polyjuice potion. Thorfinn's uncle is responsible for that."

Jack turned his full attention on Kingsley. Though she still had a great deal to learn about the wizard, she felt confident enough to know by his facial expression that he didn't want to say what he knew he had to.

"Craig Savage is my cousin. He told me that you had been acting strangely ever since you returned to the Ministry."

The Minister was not pleased to hear his suspicions confirmed.

"Damn it. What's the plan? Do you know?"

"Only that they're going to undo all of the changes that you and Hermione recently made to the pro-Pureblood laws. And…"

He looked at Hermione, but had to immediately look away. It didn't take make effort to know whatever it was directly involved her in some way. Her stomach clenched. It wasn't likely to be positive, but she had to know.

"What is it?"

"They're…"

Unable to look in her eyes while he spoke, he kept his gaze focused on his hands he was fidgeting in front of his body. She had to resist the urge to both roll her eyes and violently shake him.

"They're what, Jack? Tell me."

"They're planning on making an example out of you, love, so no one tries to change the laws again."

It wasn't as if she hadn't already been made painfully aware that that was the plan of the obnoxious cretins behind the threatening howlers and her kidnapping. She knew. And it had been repeated over and over again. Hearing it once more didn't scare her any more than it already had. She chose not to let it bother her. Perhaps she was being foolish or living in complete denial, but she just simply wasn't frightened.

"Is that all? Well, I'm not scared of that."

Furious at her blasé attitude, Jack's blue eyes snapped up to meet hers. She wished she hadn't said anything. Seeing him so angry was upsetting. Could they just leave the topic alone for a little while longer and just be pleased for half a second that they were together again?

"How much more has to happen to you before you realize you aren't always right?"

Never had she heard his voice sound so cold. It felt unnatural. Jack was always on the verge of laughing or telling some joke. At least the version she had of him in her head was. She didn't like seeing him mad. And she supposed he was also frightened. If she'd been scared knowing exactly where she was, how much worse was it for him not having any clue what happened?

"Jack…"

She reached for his arm but he shrugged it out of her grasp. On the verge of losing his temper entirely, he crossed the room to escape into the attached bathroom. The slamming door seemed to shake the entire suitcase. Hermione was one step towards the bathroom when she felt Kingsley stop her with a gentle touch on the arm.

"Give him a minute."

Of course it wasn't unreasonable to give the infuriated man a chance to calm down alone without her bothering him, but patience wasn't one of Hermione's strongest personality traits. She wanted to see Jack again, assure him that he was overreacting. But then she remembered she was quite literally imprisoned in a bloody suitcase. Perhaps she was the one who was under-reacting.

Finally, she decided she didn't care that he needed a minute alone. Likely she was the most selfish person alive, she'd once been accused of it, but she wanted to confront the wizard. It had taken her years to harden herself to the point where she didn't break down into tears at the tiniest provocation. She thought he could benefit from some of what she learned about controlling her emotions and not allowing her fear to overtake her good sense.

But even she had to admit that she usually was lying to herself. Seeing Jack seated on the edge of the bathtub with his face in his hands, she felt a wave of emotion she couldn't suppress. That had been one change to her personality after his return to her life that she could no longer ignore. Watching Jack walk away from her in the Honeydukes cellar hardened her heart and made her far colder than she liked. The moment she saw his face peeking at her through her bedroom window she felt the first crack in her artificial armor.

Meeting his beautiful deep blue eyes and seeing the tears he hadn't shed yet brought down the last of the defenses she'd been holding on to. It broke her heart to know that she was the reason he was so upset. Perhaps being emotionally unflappable and unafraid in most tense situations wasn't the positive she thought it was. Something about Jack and seeing him in such a vulnerable moments made her feel more like the overemotional girl she used to be. Or maybe she wasn't overly emotional at all and just simply genuine.

She didn't say anything like she initially planned. Instead of trying again to convince him she wasn't in danger, she just crossed the tiny room to stand in front of him. Of course she was in danger. He'd been right from the very beginning. Why was it so difficult to admit the truth that was so plain to see to herself? She wrapped her arms around him before he could stop her or tell her to go away. In her embrace he calmed down just a little, but it was enough to tell her she'd made the right decision.

"I'm sorry."

His arms tightened around her following her sincere, if simple, apology. Neither of them wished to be the next one to speak. The silence was more comfortable. What could they say? A few minutes passed before Jack reluctantly loosened his hold on her to lean back to meet her eyes. Hermione felt nervous, worried that the necessary conversation they needed to have would be unpleasant.

"I've been going mad for a week. If anything happened to you, I couldn't bear it."

Hermione tried to press her lips against his, but he gently pushed her away. There was more that he needed to say. Maybe he feared he wouldn't have the necessary strength to continue if she interrupted.

"Hermione, I think I… no, I know that I love you."

It was such a simple sentence to utter but it overwhelmed Hermione all the same. He was so honest, so open. Very little effort was required for her to know she felt the same way. No question. Certainly a little scary to realize, but she knew she had been in love with him for years. Maybe from the moment he first shot her his cheeky wink at Hogwarts when he thanked her for saving his life as he ran after his worthless best friend who'd nearly killed him minutes before. Or it was one of a hundred other moments they shared. The details weren't important.

"I love you too."

There was no hesitation on her part to admit what she already knew to be true. Jack's smile was contagious. No longer outwardly as upset as he'd been, he stood up to wrap his arms around her shoulders. A heated kiss soon followed. History had already proven that when they were alone, they were physically incapable of keeping their hands to themselves. It was a problem neither one of them wanted a solution to fix.

For just a minute she didn't feel worried about what was going to happen next in the unfortunate drama that had become her life. They were together again and there was a strength they could share. She was optimistic until she remembered that together or not, they were still stuck inside a fucking suitcase.

Both of them were much calmer when they chose to exit the bathroom that was hardly big enough for one person. Kingsley was back in his bed, but he was sitting up watching the bathroom door. No one missed how his eyes went straight to where their hands were clasped. He was a perceptive man. The questions were sure to start soon.

"It's late, I think. We should all go to sleep. Tomorrow we can try to find a way out again. Maybe a third person is what we've been needing."

Kingsley paused to wait for one of them to argue with his suggestion or make one of their own, but no one did. Satisfied, he laid back down on his side with his back facing them. It was as close to privacy as he could offer his fellow prisoners. Despite a week of searching every centimeter for a potential escape and finding nothing, he remained upbeat. Hermione wished she could be positive.

There was only one narrow bed for the two of them to share, a prospect that didn't seem to bother either one of them. She liked being in his arms even if the circumstances were less than ideal. Even feeling his steady breathing with her head nestled on his chest, Hermione couldn't believe Jack was really there. After everything that had happened, she was able to fall asleep easily knowing he was there.