Hi all, I've finally found time to knuckle down and carry on with my Nico di Angelo series!

Just to clarify, this happens sort of in between the meeting of the camps and rescuing Nico. From where I stand, the quests and meetings etc take alot more time than in the books, so... yeah.

On with the story!

Nico di Angelo and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Really, Cyclopes had no imagination. When had Ulysses almost been made into stew? Right after the fall of Troy?

The soon–to –be fifteen year old third year student at Hogwarts asked himself for what seemed like the hundredth time just what he had done to deserve this. Perhaps the summer had gone too smoothly. Percy had arrived, and despite the obvious mistrust the Romans felt for a Son of Neptune, had set off on a quest almost the moment he'd arrived. It was perhaps better that way, seeing as otherwise he'd be too exposed to other Romans (CoughOctavianCough) who could guess who he really was. Nico hadn't been back to Camp Jupiter since Percy, Hazel and Frank had left, so he had no idea how the "meeting of the camps" had gone. He was steering clear of both Annabeth and Octavian, he didn't want to be accused of being a traitor or a spy. Come to think of it, it would be a good idea to avoid Percy as well, seeing as now he'd have his memory back…

Why had he decided to walk from his hotel to Kings Cross? It was practically begging for trouble. He hadn't even seen it coming; the one-eyed monster had hit him on the back of his head while he crossed the entrance of a dark alleyway. He really was losing his touch if a bloody Cyclops could ambush him.

The afore-mentioned Cyclops was currently asleep, beside the cauldron, and Nico's ego couldn't help feeling slightly insulted that the monster didn't feel he was important enough to guard properly, but his practical side was just relieved that he could try and release himself without his captor noticing.

Speaking of escapes, there was something strange going on in the Wizarding world, there were posters of a madman everywhere, but people wouldn't talk about who he was and what he'd done apart from causing a curse-blast twelve years ago, killing thirteen people. He had escaped from prison, it seemed, and everyone was on edge, as if he would be waiting for them just behind the next corner. Nico hadn't heard of Sirius Black, but then again, he hadn't heard of many wizards before being blessed by Hecate three years ago.

His wrists were rubbed raw by the friction caused by his tugging, and the Son of Hades could feel the slimy trickle of blood ooze down his arms, dampening the knots, but not doing much more. Nico was too lightheaded to shadow travel, with all the blood rushing to his brain, he was likely to reappear inside a wall or Hades forbid; China, again.

If he could just get one hand free, his wand was in his pocket… But by the looks of it, the only way he could get out of this mess was if he voluntarily broke his wrist.

Gritting his teeth, Nico wrenched at his bonds, and felt his arm scream in protest as his hand was pulled free. The pain was sickening as he grappled around for his wand. His fingers were slick with blood and gripping the thin piece of wood was agony.

"Relashio!"

The chains holding him up were instantly loosened, and Nico fell, directly into the cauldron below.

The searing pain of the hot water engulfing him jarred Nico, and he had to grit his teeth as blackness swirled at the edge of his vision.

Swimming to the surface, Nico was plucked out of the water by an irate Cyclops who had been rudely awoken by hot water splashing onto him.

The Cyclops raised his club menacingly, but Nico was ready, adrenalin the only thing stopping him from keeling over completely. He shot a body bind at the monster, and stumbled towards where he hoped was the exit.

He lurched back into the same alley he was abducted from, tripping over a large black dog. The dog looked like a Grim, one of Thanantos' pets. Nico's mind whirled, this couldn't be a Grim, it didn't act like one. Stumbling, Nico grasped the wall with his good arm, the other still limply holding his wand hung useless by his side. Turning, he ran into a man. Nico recoiled, surprised.

The stranger caught him reflexively, grabbing hold of his injured wrist. Nico yelped in pain, and tried to break free, wanting desperately to get away from the alley and the warehouse. The stranger, on the other hand, pulled him back into the dark passage, and shoved him onto the floor.

Nico's arm was still held firm by the other man, who had divested him of his wand.

"Ferula."

Nico flinched, waiting for the curse to land, and was surprised to feel the unyielding structure of a splint wrap around his wrist.

The pain subsided slightly, and Nico had the presence of mind to rummage for his stash of ambrosia. The stranger was watching him, keeping Nico's wand trained at his head. The man was in rags; his face was gaunt with long tangled black hair. He smelled weird, like despair and madness. He seemed familiar, but Nico couldn't place where he'd seen him before.

A sudden noise had Nico reaching for his sword, while the stranger whipped around, Nico's wand raised threateningly. The Cyclops had sprung free of Nico's hex, and was making its way towards the pair.

"Dogman!" The monster shouted, waving its arms around trying to shoo the stranger away, "You no wanted here, go home!" Nico backed up, sword unsheathed, waiting. His brain was going a mile a minute, trying to make sense of what was happening. His companion had frozen.

"Give me Godling, finder's keepers! Mortal no business here!"

The Cyclops advanced on the two, still trying to scare the older man away. Nico was at a loss as to why the Cyclops would bother when it could kill both of them and have a larger dinner.

"Stupefy, Incarcerous." The monster collapsed, and ropes sprang from Nico's wand, tying the creature up tightly, so when it came round, it wouldn't be able to move.

Spinning around, the other man raised Nico's wand, pointing it in between the eyes of its owner.

Still unable to think straight from the throbbing in his arm and feeling nauseated from the dwindling adrenalin, Nico launched himself at him, knocking him backwards where he fell heavily against the wall of the alley. The man grunted in pain but struggled, surprisingly viciously, given his emaciated state and Nico's own bulk. Spending large amounts of time in the Underworld left him with a thin, wiry frame; but his muscles, though not as defined as the men of Cabin 9, were honed and solid from hard labour. He'd also suffered a very evident (for those not hampered by the Mist) growth spurt.

Wrestling with his adversary, Nico was simultaneously trying to wrench his wand back while making sure it was never pointed towards him and trying to reach the neck of his opponent to deliver a pinch to the carotid sinus. Most demigods had some form of martial arts training, but most preferred weapons as merely incapacitating an enemy was next to useless in a kill or be killed situation. Nico, on the other hand, had been fascinated by silent assassins and ninjas and had watched a lot of Kung Fu films in the Lotus Casino. Of course, back then, life was very rose tinted, with cool moves and no mention of the endless hours of training, sweat, and tears.

The move was performed quickly and efficiently, and Nico checked quickly, making sure he hadn't left any obvious lasting damage. Anyone other than himself could easily kill with this sort of stunt, but his "death sense" meant he had a safety net.

Snatching up his wand and sending a cursory glance to the tied up Cyclops, he hurried off to see if he could somehow still catch the train.

Nico stared out the window, deep in thought. He'd passed over the compartment holding the other Slytherin third year boys, since he didn't want to listen to Draco's over inflated ego until the feast. Plus he was still drenched from the stupid cauldron, and it wouldn't do for them to see him like this. He didn't intrude on Tracy Davis and Daphne Greengrass for the same reason, that, and the fact they were holed up with some Ravenclaws he didn't know and he didn't want to spend the ride being the awkward add-on. He'd finally sat down with Luna Lovegood, the second year Ravenclaw he'd noticed at last year's sorting. She was reading a magazine entitled "The Quibbler" and was wearing a necklace of beer caps; she looked up briefly but didn't comment on the amount of water he was dripping on the floor.

"You're a bit old for third year aren't you?"

Nico started. The carriage had been silent for the first twenty minutes of the ride, and he assumed it would stay that way. The girl looked up from her paper when he didn't answer.

"I saw you with other second years last year"

Nico's eyes narrowed and he considered the girl from head to toe. Could she see through the mist? She certainly had an interesting taste in clothes and jewellery, a bit like Rachel, but Miss Dare had never seemed this vacant and dreamy.

"I'm in third year." He replied curtly. The girl didn't react to his non-answer/confirmation.

"There are Wrackspurts all around you, you know."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Wrackspurts?"

"They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy, though they're not doing that with you, they're just swarming all over you, like you're covered in gumble-tree sap, that's what they most like to eat you know…" She swatted at the air just as she finished speaking.

Nico didn't know what to say to that. The only thing he could think would be floating around but not harming him would be the mist, but that was an abstract concept of the mortals' skewed perception of the world, it wasn't carried by mysterious invisible creatures.

The door to the compartment opened and the youngest Weasley and Neville entered. The girl blushed when she saw him and muttered a quick hello and sat down next to Luna. After a moment of awkwardness, Nico suggested exploding snap, and the next few hours passed by with shrieks and snickers and the son of Hades showing his flawless "poker face" when they eventually moved onto a variant of the muggle game (with exploding cards off course).

The train screeched to a halt about halfway through the journey. Nico was immediately on edge having been surprised by monsters only that morning, and knowing that he was at his most vulnerable while traveling on the locomotive.

He was suddenly overcome by a horrible clammy feeling and he shuddered. The others had all gone pale and/or were looking sick, Ginny and Neville hurried out of the compartment, but didn't say where they were going. Nico had a sudden flashback of another time he had felt this horrible: when his father had marched into battle, his helm crowning him for all to see as Hades, Lord of the Dead.

Suddenly, Nico wasn't just remembering the battle, he was reliving it. He saw the dead march, he felt his wounds bleed, and he was stabbing for the second time a demigod of Kronos' army. He felt again with absolute clarity as the soul departed and made its way to the banks of the Styx, waiting to be allowed across. He'd made sure later that the boy had the required obol, filled with the knowledge that that could so easily have been himself in Kronos' lines had he just been a little less firm in his morals and more focused on a quest for revenge. The scene faded as the face of his adversary filled his vision, his face wide with fear, but still accusing in its immobility.

He was in front of Percy at Camp, asking what happened to Bianca. He felt the shock, denial, rage and hate fill him once again and the power drain that came right after, as he summoned the skeletal warriors by accident. Again, all he could see was Percy's pained and apologetic expression and he whirled around and ran for the trees.

He was persuading Percy to come down to the underworld, trying desperately to quash his unruly conscience that was screaming at him for betraying his cousin. The shocked look of hurt was the last thing he saw before he felt a pair of skeletal slimy hands grab him around the neck.

Disorientated and confused, he searched again for Bianca and felt utter despair when he realised she'd gone on for rebirth without saying goodbye. The hands tightened and Nico's vision was split, he was watching as a foul hooded creature bent its head and a shapeless hole approach his own mouth, but he could also see Octavian sneer at him as he introduced himself as "Ambassador of Pluto", obviously viewing the Greek as inferior in every way conceivable.

Nico felt a tugging on his very soul, his vision whited out and he fell into the warm darkness.

He woke to someone tapping his face. His eyes opened slowly, then shot upright and scrambled backwards and hitting the seats behind him. A werewolf stood over him, looking… looking concerned! Belatedly, he felt a pain in his leg, and his vision went fuzzy again. He slumped, exhausted. Taking stock of his injuries, Nico was startled to notice the cut along his left leg and the burn from the manticore that he got in the battle of Manhattan had reappeared, along with several other minor cut and bruises his didn't immediately recognize, but most certainly didn't have before the altercation with the monster. His bandaged arm was throbbing again and Nico felt deathly tired, as if he'd tried shadow-traveling twice without resting or taking ambrosia.

The werewolf kept his distance, but still looked like he wanted to approach the wary teen. He was speaking , and Nico had to concentrate through the ringing in his ears to comprehend what was being said.

"… never seen someone have such an extreme reaction to Dementors before, losing consciousness, yes, in rare cases, but Dementors don't attack unless provoked, and they've never caused wounds to appear by just being close. Now, I'm not going to hurt you just get a look at those cuts"

He had inched closer, and Nico made a noise of protest, not being able to do much more. The demigod tried not to flinch as the werewolf touched his face lightly with one hand and pressed a half-bar of chocolate into his chest. Golden eyes met dark brown, and Nico saw the moment when this strange, kind monster realized that he knew what he was. There was also a spark of animal instinct that flaired but immediately dimmed; it was so fast that Nico could almost have convinced himself that it was never there.

The man stood up abruptly and was looking at Nico with fear, but no hint of animosity, no hint that a moment before, his inner wolf had screamed at him to attack and slaughter the wounded hero in front of him. Nico eyed him curiously, not sure whether he should assume this mo-man could be like Ella and Tyson, a friendly monster.

Nico started when he realised that his wounds had sealed and nodded appreciatively to the man, subtly flexing his muscles and reaching for a hand up. The stranger obliged, and there was a sense of relief and slight wariness shining in his eyes. Nico bit a tiny piece of chocolate off and his eyes widened as he felt the lingering exhaustion and depression that he hadn't realised he was still shouldering, lifted.

He noticed for the first time that Luna was still in the carriage. Her eyes were wide making them look more protruded, and she was slightly paler, but other than that she seemed composed. Ginny and Neville hadn't returned.

"You should thank your friend, if she hadn't raised the alarm…" The man trailed off and shuddered. Abruptly changing the subject, he stuck his hand out and gave a smile that was only slightly forced.

"Remus Lupin, your new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher."

Nico regarded the new professor shrewdly and shook his hand.

"Nico di Angelo. Slytherin third year."

Lupin inclined slightly, clapped and rubbed his hands together.

"Nice to meet you Nico, Luna, now I fear I must take my leave, I really must speak with the driver." And with that, he was gone.

The ride continued on, with both occupants rather subdued. Nico kept having flash backs as the dementors effects echoed through his soul. He'd finished the chocolate, and nibbled carefully on ambrosia, wishing he hadn't needed to take any after the altercation with the Cyclops. Luna returned to her magazine, though she hadn't turned the page in over half an hour.

Arriving at Hogwarts, Nico quickly clambered into a carriage with some fifth year Hulfflepuffs who looked very surprised at the Slytherin's boldness. Nico could faintly hear Malfoy taunting Potter for fainting and felt both relief that Draco didn't know about his own run in with the Dementor and guilt for thinking that way.

Nico refused point blank to allow Madam Pomfrey to examine him, despite Professor McGonagall's disapproving stare. Snape would probably berate him later for 'besmirching the house of Slytherin' but he really couldn't find it in himself to care.

He slipped in with the last stragglers and sat down for the feast.

It's been a while. How did I do? I know its shorter than my usual chapter lengths, but i will endeavour to make the next one longer.

Please Review!

Swiss