Redemption and Reconciliation

Chapter 5

Afreen woke up to crying. Loud screams that meant that both twins were up. She groaned, sliding off the couch. She glanced at Regulus. Those painkillers must have knocked him out completely, because he usually heard the twins first.

Tracking the cries, she found Lily and Sirius each holding a baby. Lily looked apologetic. "I gave them both a bottle about three hours ago. Thought you should sleep."

"Thank you," she said. "It's past four in the morning. They probably just want their mummy." She picked up Day from Sirius and shifted to carry Rasa. "Isn't that right?" she cooed. "Accio bottle. Focillo."

Slowly, she sat down, a baby on each leg. With bottles in their mouths, her babies stopped crying immediately.

"Any advice?" Lily asked.

"Hmm?"

Lily gestured to Afi's lap.

"Oh, congratulations!" Afreen exclaimed.

"So, any advice?" Lily asked again.

"Let's see. No pacifiers, don't bathe the baby more than once a week for a few months. Oh, mittens are really important. Their nails are sharp. You'll always lose the mittens in the wash, though. A nursery is kind of pointless if the rooms aren't connected. Ours has two doors, with one connected to our room. Very convenient. And invest in washcloths, unless you want to do a shit ton of laundry."

Sirius laughed at the last one. "What do you know of laundry?"

"More than you, I reckon. Can you survive on your own, or is your fiance keeping you alive?" she shot back, grinning.

Lily let out a peal of laughter, which was followed by a set of thumping down the stairs. James poked his head into the kitchen.

"Heard noise, couldn't sleep. Everything all right?" He did a double take after seeing Afreen. "You okay?"

She nodded.

"Jamie, is everything all right?" Lily asked.

"No. I got a patronus from Moody. Apparently he was attacked by a band of Death Eaters. Mulciber, Avery, Rosier. He barely got away."

"Is Evan alright?" Afreen asked. Three pairs of eyes turned to her.

"Rosier is a Death Eater. Why the hell do you care," Sirius growled.

"You don't know. Dumbledore, that bastard. He didn't tell his precious Order?"

"Get to the point, Afreen," James snapped.

She stood up, putting Rasa in his carrier."Evan was approached by the Dark- Voldermort after we graduated. He knew going after the Avery twins was impossible even though their brother was too eager to kiss his boots. Um, Reggie was essentially a lost cause, because he swore his oath with me at knifepoint. Evan didn't really have a choice if he wanted to live. So he went to Dumbledore, who suggested he become a spy. Evan took the Mark, and has been a spy since. And apparently, Dumbledore didn't tell you, and Evan could be killed as a Death Eater." Afreen shifted Daphne

"Rosier. Is a spy?" Sirius wondered. "Are you sure?"

"Reggie was there, when Evan was pleading for asylum, begging Dumbledore to let him join the Order, anything to save him from taking that Mark. There's a reason none of us trust Dumbledore."

Lily looked sick. "And Dumbledore just sent him in?"

"Listen, Dumbledore is not the person you think he is, okay? I know it's hard to hear as a muggleborn, but he's not. He has good intentions, but he's manipulative."