Hello and welcome to another chapter. Regular updates, what are those? There's not a whole lot going on in this one but the next... I have plans for the next one. enjoy!

disclaimer: both Percy Jackson and Harry Potter belong to their wonderful authors who are not me.
let's just get on with it.

Cold.

Dark.

Pain.

Nico's body was on fire. His veins were raging, his blood boiling. His muscles stubbornly refused to move. Every part of him, every inch of his being hurt like a thousand hell hounds had trampled over him. Maybe, Nico thought, that was the case. He didn't remember any hellhounds. He remembered shadows. He had made them into cages. He remembered feeling trapped, his breathing constricted even though he wasn't in the cages. It had reminded him of another time he had been trapped. When he was at his weakest, the giants had taken advantage. He had been tossed in an airtight jar for five days, living on pomegranate seeds. That feeling of uncontrollable fear, losing control of reality, not being able to get out. Nico had never been claustrophobic before, but now, he only had to see an enclosed space. And that was exactly what had happened in the courtyard. The cages brought flashbacks of those days in the jar and he had lost control. Nico was almost glad he couldn't remember. He shuddered to think of what he might have done.

He was awake now although everything still hurt. Nico looked around him and sighed at four stone walls surrounding him. They were big enough for him not to feel trapped but not quite enough to allow as much free movement as he would have liked. He wasn't chained or anything which was good, but Nico still got the sense he was a prisoner. It made a bead of sweat run down his face. The ghost king could see through a filthy window a guard of sorts. It was almost ghost like, with a long hooded figure and misty properties. It was definitely not one though. Nico got the feeling he had seen it before, but in his delirious state, he couldn't begin to imagine where. All his mind came up with was a train, which made no sense.

Nico sat there for a while, trying to get back into his normal state of mind. He deduced that this was a prison of some sort and he was evidently one of its new inhabitants. Nico knew enough about mortal prisons to know that he would be here for a while.

He was forced to look up when the window mysteriously opened and a man came through. He looked normal enough. A shaven chin and long robes. Pretty much the same as most of the young males Nico had seen in the wizarding world. His stern face was drawn into a grimace as he stared at Nico.

"You're awake." He said with placidly. Nico scowled.

"Obviously."

The man held out a cup. "Drink." He said. Nico looked at the cup curiously and suspiciously.

"What is it?" he asked.

The man replied. "A truth serum. We're required to give it to all victims being interrogated."

Definitely a prison then, Nico thought. He took the cup and sipped, grimacing at the taste. It took effect immediately and he felt himself slumping over.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Nico di Angelo." Said Nico, his voice devoid of any emotion or inflection.

"How old are you?" the man said after noting down Nico's previous answer.

"Ninety four." Although Nico couldn't see it, the wizard did allow his jaw to drop slightly. Then again, most people were shocked when they heard Nico's real age.

The interrogation continued. The man found out that Nico was working not for Voldemort, but his father which added to the confusion level. He discovered that Nico didn't remember exactly what he had done at Hogwarts either. So, when Nico came out of the veritaserum daze, the man told him. Apparently he had been fighting with the rest of the death eaters and making the cages to trp teachers. Then he had somehow lost control of his powers and let out a 'death cloud' as it was described by a first year. Harry Potter was in the way of it so Dumbledore and the divination professor tried to save him. It turned out Trelawney was too late and she… Nico had killed her.

He fell to the floor when he heard that. He had no intention of killing anybody when he went on that mission. It was Bryce Laurence all over again except that Bryce was hurting Reyna and threatening to kill them. What happened had sort of been justified. When Nico asked where he was, the man replied,

"Azkaban." He was confronted by a blank look from the son of Hades. "A prison. "He added. "You are accused of umbrakinesis, murder and affliction to He Who Must Not Be Named."

Nico could not help the eye roll that made its way up his forehead. "I don't need to be accused of anything." He said. "My main power is using the shadows, you just told me that I killed Trelawney and the fact that I was there with the death eaters is kind of a giveaway that I'm with Voldemort. I don't know exactly how these things work, but I plead guilty. Can I just be left alone now?"

The man looked at him the way someone might look at a small child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "How old did you say you were?"

Nico frowned. "Ninety four."

"Your physical age."

"Thirteen, why?"

"No reason. I will leave you now. The dementors outside will be your guard so it's not really any use trying to escape. Enjoy your stay in Azkaban." And he walked out, leaving Nico to listen to the screaming laments of the other inmates.

Azkaban wasn't hell, but it wasn't heaven either. The dementors, usually they wouldn't bother Nico, but something in him must have stopped defending him against them and so they started to wear down his morale just like every other prisoner.

Nico knew dementors fed off negative emotions and bad memories. Nico also knew he had one of the most Gary Stu, traumatising backstory's ever. All in all, this did not bode well for him. he was constantly having flashbacks, seeing the ragged, tortured landscape of Tartarus; the sagging face of Akhlys as she told him that he was perfect. He still remembered her rasping voice and tear stained body like it was yesterday. Nico felt the burning water of the Phlegethon crawl down his throat like a super-heated snail and he saw the curved structure of the jar where he slowly suffocated almost to death.

He didn't know if could take any more.

Nico must have sat in that cell for days, weeks even. The only sure way to tell that time was passing was the crusts of bread and goblets of water they brought three times a day. Luckily, these meagre portions were enough for Nico (who felt guilty because he told Will he'd eat more.) Will aside, Nico was getting really bored in prison which was not surprising; he had ADHD. He was constantly tapping or even at one point (and he would never admit to this) dancing around the room. In short, Nico was fed up. And he needed to get out.

The problem was his stupid powers. He was still weak from the episode at Hogwarts and he wasn't sure his shadow travel would allow him to get off the tiny island Azkaban was situated on. Just a couple more days would have done it if he had camp's medicine and comfy infirmary bed or even just a square of ambrosia or two. Or Will. Will would also help.

Uggggh! Nico really needed to stop thinking about Will! The perfect mop of sunshine on his head, the freckles he had all year round, the way he said…

"Hey sunshine!"

Nico froze. Was he hearing things?

"Nico! Turn round!" Will's voice said. Nico whipped his head round and came face to face with his boyfriend in an iris message. Gods. He had not been expecting that.

"Hey Will." He said cautiously. "Why are you messaging now? I only left camp a week ago."

Will blushed, his cheeks turning a deep crimson. "I just wanted to see you again. I wish I could come on this quest with you. Are you eating enough?"

"Will!" Nico groaned. "That was months ago now. You know I eat what I need to."

"Only because I make you." The son of Apollo responded. "Are you ok? Where are you?"

Nico hurriedly tried to come up with a reply. "In the school." He sighed. "Look, Will. I need to go and teach. Talk to you later?" he thought he had gotten away with it. For about two seconds.

Will narrowed his azure eyes. "You said you'd stopped teaching."

Curse his boyfriend for being observant! Nico mentally smacked himself for being such an idiot. He stammered out a reply, "I – I'm teaching Voldemort's followers some spells."

"You are?" Will asked. "Nico, that's great! You're socialising!"

Maybe not so observant then.

"These are basically cultists." Nico reminded him. "They're not the best people to be socialising with."
Will shrugged. "Still, it's better than talking to no one. if you have to go, then bye, love you."
"Love you too." Nico murmured as he swiped through the mist, cutting off the connection.

Nico sighed. Alone again.

He was getting stronger as the days wore on and the dementor's effects weren't quite as bad anymore. Nico knew that he probably had to get out at some point. If this was anything like a mugg– mortal prison, manslaughter would get you imprisoned for life. The man had also mentioned something about umbrakinesis and 'dark magic'. Nico was willing to bet that would also get him a long sentence. He had a quest to fulfil, not to mention a life. He had to escape.

And escape he did. Once his power had regained enough, he focused it on a small section of wall in his cell. Soon there was no wall there; just a hole shaped exactly like a son of Hades.

Nico strode through the halls of Azkaban with his death aura turned up to high. It attracted the dementors like mad but he brushed off the rush of memories that came with them and embraced the wave of depression.

Another blast of power to an outside wall showed Nico the sweet sight of daylight for the first time in weeks and he couldn't help but throw his hands up in the air.

Tiberius McLaggen paced up and down on the floor of his office in the ministry of magic. He had had a hard couple of weeks to say the least. Lucius Malfoy, who had suddenly appeared again after months of absence, had been taking every opportunity to taunt him. Not that this was anything new, but combined with the strange prisoner Tiberius had been assigned in Azkaban…. Well, Tiberius' stress levels were at a new high.

He didn't understand the young boy he had met a few weeks ago. He didn't understand why he said he was ninety, he didn't understand why he was so calm upon waking up on prison. Didn't understand why he pleaded guilty without any sort of fight and he didn't know how Nico was still a child in all but real age.

Nothing made any sense.

Tiberius sighed and walked down to his superior's office to give in a report he had made on di Angelo. After his boss gave him a cursory nod and a wave of a hand in dismissal, he trekked back up the stairs.

He was confused when there was a young man waiting for him. Tiberius automatically put on his haughty personality that seemed to be a necessity if you wanted to get a good place in the ministry.

"What do you want?" he asked the man who couldn't be long out of Hogwarts. "Who are you?"

The man quivered in his seat then seemed to regain his composure. "Percy Weasley, sir."

"And what do you want, Weasley? Arthurs son are you?"

Percy drew himself up to his full height as if he was used to being asked this question. He probably was to be honest. "Yes I am." He confirmed. "I came to tell you that there has been a break out at Azkaban."

A streak of panic ran through Tiberius but he kept calm. "and why does that involve me?" he asked Percy, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Weasley smirked and Tiberius saw how he differentiated from his father. He wasn't sure if Arthur knew how to smirk.
"It was your prisoner." Percy said, looking down at a piece of parchment in his hands. "Nico di Angelo."

I know Percy wasn't out of Hogwarts at this time, but I thought it would be fun to put him in.