Dead. Both dead.

Emmeline crouched in front of Alice. Her eyes were open and unblinking. Emmeline hung her head, defeated. She knew this would happen and so shortly after the Potters too. She didn't have the strength to cry. The war was supposed to be over. It had ended. She looked back up at Alice's stillness, the grey, green tone she had taken on. What was the expression? Edgar always had these sayings but she could ask him what it was now. Aurors were always late but always on time? Emmeline wasn't an auror. She always found out on time, just in time but, now? And they had a baby! Emmeline felt some spike of rage start to build up and could feel her hand heavy with the idea to slap Alice clean across the face. Alice was reckless enough, her husband reckless enough but their antics brought another life into this world and for what? To be orphaned by a war that was over.

She hated Alice's round sweet, stupid face and that church mouse colored hair that she herself had been born with that had darkened slightly with age. And that fucking bob! Emmeline lifted her right hand, her left holding the wand that emitted a clear bright light weakened by Emmeline's own tiredness and felt her bicep tighten with the weight of not hitting her and then did anyway. She slapped Alice across the face as a last I told you so. Alice's head, eyes still open, slammed left and then slowly like a winding thing, turned back to the position it had been. Something in Emmeline changed but she did not know what it was. She did not understand then what had just happened only that it had. She felt something even stronger than her fury and her arms flew back reflexively, dropping her wand. It rolled on the floor casting long, slow moving shadows along the walls and floor.

Emmeline cupped Alice's face, the same face she hated.

"No. No. No no no no, please. No."

Emmeline looked closer leaned closer into Alice's face. Emmeline's eyes darted back and forth between Alice's and Alice's remained still. Alice did not move except for the crawl of shadows climbing around as Emmeline's wand slowed to a stop. Alice's pupils didn't dilate or shrink. But. It made Emmeline sick to think of it. How long ago had they died? Alice was still warm. Emmeline hesitated, No, inferi also carried the signs of death, the stillness and coldness of death. One of the telltale signs was a severe swelling in the hands and feet where blood no longer moved, where it pooled there temporarily but that would only happen if the body was cold. Emmeline brought Alice's hands close to her face almost too scared to examine them closely. Emmeline could feel herself backing away in her mind, her body remained as close as it was. She did not know if it was a something to celebrate if Alice were or weren't alive. Alice's body was warm, her hands were the same size as they had been, so she was unlikely to be inferi. But if she did what she thought to do, she would know and there would be no not knowing after that.

Emmeline hesitated several times until she resolved herself to finally placing two fingers gently but firmly in the crook of Alice's neck against her windpipe. She blinked feeling a grit accumulate in her eyes as if someone had blown something into them. She felt tears stream down her face shortly after. Emmeline removed her hand, still feeling Alice's heartbeat thudding in her fingertips and went from the awkward lunged position she'd been in and fell backwards into a wide legged sitting position which was how Alastor found her. He found her opposite of Alice in the sitting very still staring. The collar of her top and her face sparkling wet with tears that she made no move to wipe away.

The light from her wand draped part of Alice in shadow and illuminated the left underside of Emmeline's face until it got dimmer and dimmer and then went out.