The rest of the holidays were a blur. Harry went back to school,
Remus and Lara returned to their normal lives, and Reena left the Black
mansion. Reena occupied herself by preparing for Peter's trial. Although
she could not become involved in the trial because of her personal life,
Reena still managed to oversee a few things. She sat in on meetings of the
prosecution and scrutinized their arguments. She also managed to review
several perspective jurors for the trial. However, her own workload was
becoming very heavy. She slowly let go her avid overseeing of Peter's
trial.
As the trial date grew closer, Reena felt like exploding. The stress of the nearing trial was not something she could control. In the middle of a workday afternoon, Reena left her office and walked through the door labeled "Authorized Personnel Only". She picked up the tin and found herself in a building with goblins. She followed one of the goblins into the fortress.
"You have one hour," the goblin told Reena. "Black, you have a visitor."
Sirius walked to the bars of his cell. He didn't smile of show any outward signs of being happy to see Reena.
"When's the trial date set for?" Sirius asked, taking the initiative to start a conversation.
"The second Tuesday of February," Reena answered.
"How long is that from today?"
"2 weeks."
"Would you believe that I've been here for a month," Sirius thought aloud.
Reena didn't say anything.
"Do you know what the prosecution's main argument is? And how is the jury?" Sirius asked.
"The prosecution is going to try to convince the judge to administer Verteserum to Peter. The jury for the most part is a skeptical bunch. I'm not sure how they're going to react to seeing someone who was thought to be dead."
Sirius saw Reena's mask-like expression and softened his bitter attitude.
"Are you alright?" he asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Is there some reason for this concern?" Reena asked coolly.
"I'll take that as a no. But seeing as I am your husband and I haven't seen you in nearly a month, I think it's OK if I am concerned about you."
Reena turned her face away to blink away the tears that she didn't want to release. Sirius reached his hand through the bars and turned her face towards him.
"You don't think I've seen you cry before?" Sirius asked quietly. "Why do you try to ignore everything and then breakdown?"
"I'm not having a breakdown. And I don't want to cry, I don't want to feel anything. If I ignore everything, I won't have to deal with it."
"You need to go home and rest," Sirius said, clearly seeing that Reena hadn't been getting a lot of rest.
"I need to go back to work," Reena said determinedly.
As the trial date grew closer, Reena felt like exploding. The stress of the nearing trial was not something she could control. In the middle of a workday afternoon, Reena left her office and walked through the door labeled "Authorized Personnel Only". She picked up the tin and found herself in a building with goblins. She followed one of the goblins into the fortress.
"You have one hour," the goblin told Reena. "Black, you have a visitor."
Sirius walked to the bars of his cell. He didn't smile of show any outward signs of being happy to see Reena.
"When's the trial date set for?" Sirius asked, taking the initiative to start a conversation.
"The second Tuesday of February," Reena answered.
"How long is that from today?"
"2 weeks."
"Would you believe that I've been here for a month," Sirius thought aloud.
Reena didn't say anything.
"Do you know what the prosecution's main argument is? And how is the jury?" Sirius asked.
"The prosecution is going to try to convince the judge to administer Verteserum to Peter. The jury for the most part is a skeptical bunch. I'm not sure how they're going to react to seeing someone who was thought to be dead."
Sirius saw Reena's mask-like expression and softened his bitter attitude.
"Are you alright?" he asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Is there some reason for this concern?" Reena asked coolly.
"I'll take that as a no. But seeing as I am your husband and I haven't seen you in nearly a month, I think it's OK if I am concerned about you."
Reena turned her face away to blink away the tears that she didn't want to release. Sirius reached his hand through the bars and turned her face towards him.
"You don't think I've seen you cry before?" Sirius asked quietly. "Why do you try to ignore everything and then breakdown?"
"I'm not having a breakdown. And I don't want to cry, I don't want to feel anything. If I ignore everything, I won't have to deal with it."
"You need to go home and rest," Sirius said, clearly seeing that Reena hadn't been getting a lot of rest.
"I need to go back to work," Reena said determinedly.