Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Also, I'd like to thank mousecat08 for pointing out an error in chapter 7. I said blood was dripping from Draco's hair, but I forgot that Draco's head was shaved in chapter 6. Sorry for the really late update, but I'm usually either really busy or really lazy.
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Draco sat on the ground with Elsa's little body for nearly an hour, just rocking gently back and forth, silently sobbing. Hermione had always thought he was a heartless prat who couldn't care less for anyone, but his anguish was clearly evident now. She had no idea he had cared so deeply for the little girl.
"Excuse me, Miss, but do you think you could use your magic to help me dig a grave for the little one? I'd do it myself, but digging by hand could take a lot longer than we've got," Jan politely inquired after Hermione had cried for a bit. She nodded and walked a few feet away to where Jan indicated and muttered a spell. The dirt lifted out of the ground in one large clump and with a flick of her wand it landed next to the new hole. She turned and walked cautiously over to Draco.
"Draco?" she said quietly. He didn't respond, so she walked a little closer and kneeled down, putting her hand on his shoulder. He looked up, startled, and Hermione was able to see the look of extreme pain on his face. His eyes were red and swollen from crying, and there were little streaks down either side of his face where the tears flowed freely. She could almost tangibly feel his sorrow, and it tore her apart inside to see him like this.
"Draco, I'm so sorry, but we need to bury her and keep going. I-I'm so sorry," was all she could think to say as she felt the tears begin to sting her eyes again. He gave her a dazed look before realizing what she was talking about. Slowly, he nodded and stood up, still holding the limp body of Elsa. Draco walked slowly over to the hole, knelt down, and placed the tiny form into it. As he stood up, Hermione levitated the dirt back over the hole and covered it up. Draco looked around for a moment, saw a large stone, and levitated it to the head of the grave. After placing it, he carved a tiny headstone for the grave and turned away.
"I'm sorry to seem so insensitive, but we need to continue on," Jan explained. Hermione nodded in agreement and glanced over at Draco. He was just standing there, a blank expression on his face. She walked over to him and gently took his hand, guiding him along the path. She was amazed at how easily he allowed himself to be guided, but the further they went, the more worried she became.
After a little while, she let Jan get a bit further ahead and she lagged behind to talk to Draco.
"Malfoy?" she questioned. He didn't respond to his surname, so she sighed and said, "Draco, please." His eyes snapped up and he looked at her as though he had never seen her before. She felt a little confused about why she cared so much about him suddenly, but chalked it up to just watching a child die in his arms. "Draco, I know Elsa was special. I cared about her too, but you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. There wasn't anything you could do. Please?" She didn't know why she was suddenly pleading with him.
"It was my fault. I wasn't watching her. There was a group of soldiers near where we were looking for food, and I guess she was going to try to steal some of their food. I wasn't paying attention and she snuck off. The next thing I knew, there was a gun shot and she came staggering back to me with a look of complete terror and pain etched across her face. I heard the soldiers coming, so I picked her up and ran as fast as I could. I didn't know how badly she'd been hurt until we got back. I just...How could they shoot a little girl?" he asked her, his eyes swimming with tears. Before she knew what she was doing, Hermione had wrapped her arms around him, and he was sobbing into her shoulder as tears slid silently down her own cheeks.
No wonder he was so distraught! He believed it was his fault that an innocent child had been tragically shot and killed. How incredibly sad...
"I have good news!" Jan yelled as he ran back through the brush towards them. "Antwerp is just across the river!" When he saw them embracing as they cried, though, he assumed a much more sedate manner.
Hermione finally broke away and turned to him with as much of a smile as she could muster as she wiped tears away from her dirty face with the back of her hand. "That is good news!" she exclaimed as happily as she could. She and Draco followed Jan to a break in the trees, and before them spread a lovely little panorama of a smooth river with the city of Antwerp on the other side.
After taking in the scene for a bit, they clambered down the slope to the river and wandered along the banks for a bit until Jan managed to find a little punt. They all climbed in and Jan rowed the short distance to the other shore. When they got back out of the little boat, Hermione glanced down at their now-tattered clothes.
"Oh, this won't do! We'll draw far too much attention if we look like a bunch of waifs." And with that, she drew her wand, pointed it at each of them and gave them all normal looking period clothing and even managed to grow back Draco's hair. They quickly washed their faces in the river before proceeding into the city.
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There. Weak and pathetic, I know, but at least I finally got that chapter out and they're in Antwerp. Maybe I'll actually have time to update over Thanksgiving break! I'm going to try and end the story within two, possibly three, more chapters. Not much happened in this chapter, and I'm sorry, but the next chapters should be better if I ever manage to get them written (don't worry, I will finish the story. I always do). Well, please review! The more reviews I get, especially ones that are more than one or two sentences, the more motivated I become to write more often! Thanks to everyone who is still reading this!