Draco loathed fog. Especially fog that appeared out of nowhere and shrouded everything in a misty white hue.

He was on an errand from the Dark Lord to collect something from the old Riddle House. The something in question was an old portrait. Why the victorious Dark Lord desired an old muggle painting was beyond Draco but one did not refuse a request from Voldemort. Not and live to tell about it at any rate.

Sounds of children's laughter caused him to halt. Where had the children come from? Just a few minutes ago, before the ghastly fog rolled in, the entire area had been deserted.

He shrugged it off. The resistance had never used children as decoys before and he doubted those boy scouts would never dream of doing such a thing.

He stopped when a young girl collided into him. A wave of unchecked magic from the force of the collision washed over him. She was a witch.

"Running from monsters?" he asked after it was clear the girl wasn't going to say anything. Even though she didn't have any qualms about starring.

She shook her head. "I don't run from monsters."

"Oh?"

"They run from me," she grinned then. Merriment ablaze in her eyes.

"What's you name little witch?"

"Merope Gaunt," she missed Draco's shocked expression. Her brother's sudden appearance in their small circle of clarity demanding all her attention. "that's my brother Morfin."

"Merope," her brother hissed after a quick wary glance at Draco. "you're not suppose to be this far in them filthy muggles's land."

"They aren't filthy," she defended but allowed her hand to be taken by her older brother anyway. "I must be going now. Nice meeting you."

Draco automatically bid the children farewell.

That couldn't have been... It couldn't.

"I'm taking a long deserved kip when I'm done here," he muttered to himself as he opened the abandoned manor house. "that and a strong stiff drink if I'm hallucinating dead children from ninety years ago."

Fini

Disclaimer: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter does not belong to LittleTee, (who shall henceforth be referred to as "The Author.") While the plot of this fanfiction, (henceforth to be referred to as the "Story,") is of The Author's creation, neither the characters nor the locations therein belong to The Author, as they belong to JK Rowling, with the exception of any characters or locations within this Story which have no representation in cannon-these original characters and locations are the property of The Author. This is a work of fiction produced for the single purpose of entertaining fans of Harry Potter, and no Copyright infringement is intended.

Submission for: 2 Week Drabble Wars: Main Attraction over at HSWW forum.

Prompt:

Day Thirteen "I don't run from monsters. They run from me." (Once Upon a Time)

Required word count range: 100 - 500

Word count: 333