Sirius snapped out of his state and gave a jaw-dropped to Reena.
"What?"
"I have to tell Steve, he deserves to know. We told our friends and Steve's my only relative," Reena said quietly again.
Sirius turned to Remus so that one of them could talk Reena out of if. Remus silently gestured to Sirius that he was not going to get involved.
"Steven hates me. This will the one thing he will do to imprison me for the rest of my life," Sirius reasoned.
"I can't keep something like this from him. I can't explain it, but I need to tell him. It's like I'm lying to him," Reena said ashamedly.
"We can tell him in a little while, maybe if I get cleared. Is that okay?" Sirius asked, trying to handle the situation as delicately as possible.
"I need to tell him tonight. It's Halloween and he's having a lot of friends over. Almost every time I see him, he's trying to set me up," Reena said, knowing full well that Sirius would react with this statement.
"He does what?" Sirius asked, wondering if he had heard correctly.
"We need to set him straight. He won't turn you in because it would upset me, and I would never talk to him again," Reena said matter-of-factly.
"Fine. You can tell him," Sirius said, somewhat defeatedly
"No, we can tell him. I'm not facing him alone," Reena said quiclkly.
"Hang on, you just said that Steve was inviting a bunch of friends. They aren't all going to see me."
"They won't. I have a plan."
"Reena, this is getting complicated. Remus, will you tell her this is an unnecessary risk.," Sirius said, turning to his fellow mauraderer.
"Just listen to her. You haven't even heard her idea yet," Remus said diplomatically.
"Thank you Remus. Sirius, all you have to do is apparate to his house, his study specifically. I'll go to his dinner and get him to come to the study. We can tell him then. I'm supposed to be there a half-hour before his friends come, so it will be relatively sage," Reena explained.
"What if the neighbors see me inside the house? Or his wife and daughters?" Sirius asked skeptically.
"Please trust me. If this is the only time you need to see Steve, do it now," said Reena. It was obvious her loyalties to her brother and husband were being tested.
"When do we go?" Sirius asked, giving in completely.
"In 30 minutes. Thank you Sirius." Reena said, giving his hand a faint squeeze.
Remus, not sure where he fit in this picture, broke into the conversation.
"I have to go meet Lara. I don't want to be late."
"Okay Remus, I'll see you later. Happy Halloween," Sirius said. Reena said something to the same effect. With a soft *pop* , Remus Lupin left the cave.
"Can we go back to London? I don't want to face your brother looking like a street person."
"Inspectors came to the flat about 2 weeks ago," Reena informed him.
"That jackass. You'd think he wouldn't be so stupid. I'm going to friggin' kill him," Sirius said, referring to Jeff Zane
"He's not here anymore. He got fired," Reena told him.
"Well isn't he lucky. They didn't find anything in the flat, did they?"
"Just your clothes. I suppose it would be safe if you relegated yourself to the washroom."
A few seconds later, Reena was in her flat.
"Snuffles?" she called out in an indoor voice.
"I'm in here," Sirius answered from behind the bathroom door.
Reena walked into the bedroom and picked out black pants and a black button down shirt for Sirius.
"Doné" Reena said as she pointed her wand to the shirt and pants.
The clothing disappeared and reappeared again in the bathroom. Reena was very jittery. She was more than happy to let her husband in their flat, but the inspection of her flat left her with a touch of anxiety. She waited for a little while and then stepped into the bathroom when Sirius asked her to. The bathroom was cleaner then it was before Sirius had used it.
Sirius looked very handsome. His long-ish hair was combed back and he appeared absolutely dignified in his black apparel.
"Let's get this over with," Sirius mumbled as he took Reena's hand.
They apparated into Steve's study.
"Just give me a minute. I'll try to be back as soon as possible," Reena said as she disapparated.
She reappeared in the living room of her brother's house.
"Hi Ste," she said gleefully as she hugged her brother, who was trying to get dozens of tiny jack-o-lanterns to levitate around the room.
"Hey Reena," Steve greeted as he returned the hug. "Why aren't you ready?" he asked in mock frustration as he pointed to her plain black robes.
"Don't ask questions. I'll be ready soon enough. Can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Reena asked.
"Nobody else is here." Steve pointed out. "Laura and the girls had to pick up a few last minute things."
"Okay, I still need to talk to you then, but not alone," Reena said cryptically. She took her brother's arm and apparated them into his study.
"Reena couldn't you just walk in here? What's so . . ." Steve stopped talking as he saw Sirius.
"Steve, please just listen to us. I'm begging you not to over react," Reena pleaded with her sibling.
"Why are you bringing criminals inside my house?" Steve demanded.
"He's not a criminal Steve. We won't bother you anymore if you just listen to us for a minute."
"You're not bothering me, but he is and I want him to leave before I call a squad from the Ministry."
"Please Steve, don't. We just came here to talk with you." Reena said. She was visibly upset with how this meeting with her brother was going. Sirius was becoming fed up with Steve's behavior.
"Steven, just keep your mouth shut for 2 minutes. We came here to tell you we go married. Reena wanted you to know because you're her brother. Unfortunately, you couldn't even pay her the proper consideration to listen to her. I hope you're real happy with yourself," Sirius told Steve in a severe voice.
"What did you do?" Steve asked, not quite shouting, but pleasantly. "Reena, tell me you're joking."
"We got married," Reena said, confirming one of Steve's worst fears. "I trust you enough not to tell anyone, not even Laura. Don't ruin this for us," she told her brother.
Steve slumped in his chair. He was protective of his sister and didn't want to hurt her. At the same time, he hated Sirius, something that stemmed from their school days. He had to make a quick decision about what to tell his sister. All he could bring himself to do was give a small nod, but not say anything.
"Thanks for listening," was all Reena could say.
Sirius, who didn't want to stay in Steven's house longer than he had to, took Reena's hand. He disapparated themselves back to their flat.
"What?"
"I have to tell Steve, he deserves to know. We told our friends and Steve's my only relative," Reena said quietly again.
Sirius turned to Remus so that one of them could talk Reena out of if. Remus silently gestured to Sirius that he was not going to get involved.
"Steven hates me. This will the one thing he will do to imprison me for the rest of my life," Sirius reasoned.
"I can't keep something like this from him. I can't explain it, but I need to tell him. It's like I'm lying to him," Reena said ashamedly.
"We can tell him in a little while, maybe if I get cleared. Is that okay?" Sirius asked, trying to handle the situation as delicately as possible.
"I need to tell him tonight. It's Halloween and he's having a lot of friends over. Almost every time I see him, he's trying to set me up," Reena said, knowing full well that Sirius would react with this statement.
"He does what?" Sirius asked, wondering if he had heard correctly.
"We need to set him straight. He won't turn you in because it would upset me, and I would never talk to him again," Reena said matter-of-factly.
"Fine. You can tell him," Sirius said, somewhat defeatedly
"No, we can tell him. I'm not facing him alone," Reena said quiclkly.
"Hang on, you just said that Steve was inviting a bunch of friends. They aren't all going to see me."
"They won't. I have a plan."
"Reena, this is getting complicated. Remus, will you tell her this is an unnecessary risk.," Sirius said, turning to his fellow mauraderer.
"Just listen to her. You haven't even heard her idea yet," Remus said diplomatically.
"Thank you Remus. Sirius, all you have to do is apparate to his house, his study specifically. I'll go to his dinner and get him to come to the study. We can tell him then. I'm supposed to be there a half-hour before his friends come, so it will be relatively sage," Reena explained.
"What if the neighbors see me inside the house? Or his wife and daughters?" Sirius asked skeptically.
"Please trust me. If this is the only time you need to see Steve, do it now," said Reena. It was obvious her loyalties to her brother and husband were being tested.
"When do we go?" Sirius asked, giving in completely.
"In 30 minutes. Thank you Sirius." Reena said, giving his hand a faint squeeze.
Remus, not sure where he fit in this picture, broke into the conversation.
"I have to go meet Lara. I don't want to be late."
"Okay Remus, I'll see you later. Happy Halloween," Sirius said. Reena said something to the same effect. With a soft *pop* , Remus Lupin left the cave.
"Can we go back to London? I don't want to face your brother looking like a street person."
"Inspectors came to the flat about 2 weeks ago," Reena informed him.
"That jackass. You'd think he wouldn't be so stupid. I'm going to friggin' kill him," Sirius said, referring to Jeff Zane
"He's not here anymore. He got fired," Reena told him.
"Well isn't he lucky. They didn't find anything in the flat, did they?"
"Just your clothes. I suppose it would be safe if you relegated yourself to the washroom."
A few seconds later, Reena was in her flat.
"Snuffles?" she called out in an indoor voice.
"I'm in here," Sirius answered from behind the bathroom door.
Reena walked into the bedroom and picked out black pants and a black button down shirt for Sirius.
"Doné" Reena said as she pointed her wand to the shirt and pants.
The clothing disappeared and reappeared again in the bathroom. Reena was very jittery. She was more than happy to let her husband in their flat, but the inspection of her flat left her with a touch of anxiety. She waited for a little while and then stepped into the bathroom when Sirius asked her to. The bathroom was cleaner then it was before Sirius had used it.
Sirius looked very handsome. His long-ish hair was combed back and he appeared absolutely dignified in his black apparel.
"Let's get this over with," Sirius mumbled as he took Reena's hand.
They apparated into Steve's study.
"Just give me a minute. I'll try to be back as soon as possible," Reena said as she disapparated.
She reappeared in the living room of her brother's house.
"Hi Ste," she said gleefully as she hugged her brother, who was trying to get dozens of tiny jack-o-lanterns to levitate around the room.
"Hey Reena," Steve greeted as he returned the hug. "Why aren't you ready?" he asked in mock frustration as he pointed to her plain black robes.
"Don't ask questions. I'll be ready soon enough. Can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Reena asked.
"Nobody else is here." Steve pointed out. "Laura and the girls had to pick up a few last minute things."
"Okay, I still need to talk to you then, but not alone," Reena said cryptically. She took her brother's arm and apparated them into his study.
"Reena couldn't you just walk in here? What's so . . ." Steve stopped talking as he saw Sirius.
"Steve, please just listen to us. I'm begging you not to over react," Reena pleaded with her sibling.
"Why are you bringing criminals inside my house?" Steve demanded.
"He's not a criminal Steve. We won't bother you anymore if you just listen to us for a minute."
"You're not bothering me, but he is and I want him to leave before I call a squad from the Ministry."
"Please Steve, don't. We just came here to talk with you." Reena said. She was visibly upset with how this meeting with her brother was going. Sirius was becoming fed up with Steve's behavior.
"Steven, just keep your mouth shut for 2 minutes. We came here to tell you we go married. Reena wanted you to know because you're her brother. Unfortunately, you couldn't even pay her the proper consideration to listen to her. I hope you're real happy with yourself," Sirius told Steve in a severe voice.
"What did you do?" Steve asked, not quite shouting, but pleasantly. "Reena, tell me you're joking."
"We got married," Reena said, confirming one of Steve's worst fears. "I trust you enough not to tell anyone, not even Laura. Don't ruin this for us," she told her brother.
Steve slumped in his chair. He was protective of his sister and didn't want to hurt her. At the same time, he hated Sirius, something that stemmed from their school days. He had to make a quick decision about what to tell his sister. All he could bring himself to do was give a small nod, but not say anything.
"Thanks for listening," was all Reena could say.
Sirius, who didn't want to stay in Steven's house longer than he had to, took Reena's hand. He disapparated themselves back to their flat.