I don't own anything. All characters and settings belong to Rick Riordan and/or J.K Rowling.

Chapter 1

Nico

Malfoy swaggered across the almost-empty hallway, for once, without his goons, Nico realized. Draco's platinum-blond hair stood out in the dark corridor. Through the large windows, Nico saw that the sun had almost set behind the black, rippling lake.

"Finally come out of the werewolf's classroom, have you?" Draco sneered. "I can't believe you were scared of a few muggle people. Even Finnigan's banshee was more intimidating than your pathetic boggarts!" He was tall and lean, so he towered over Nico as he stepped closer to the son of Hades.

"I don't care what you think." But Nico's hoarse voice wavered slightly. He knew he wouldn't last much longer, he needed a way to take out his anger and pain, and it couldn't be on a wizard, even a despicable one like Malfoy; Nico couldn't afford to get expelled and jeopardize the quest.

"Yeah, right! If you didn't care, you wouldn't stay hiding behind Lupin's desk all afternoon." Nico let out a noise that greatly resembled a vicious growl. "You know," He dragged on, "I'm not surprised that boggart - Percy you called him? - said he was disgusted by you. You really are sickening, aren't you? I mean, if we were somehow related, I would probably jump off the astronomy tower. Look at you,"Malfoy leaned over Nico's fuming face. "You're a worthless, pathetic loser." Nico didn't care that the Slytherin had just insulted him. He really didn't. But Nico knew that he had to get away; all that anger and resentment was bubbling under the surface, threatening to- "It's no wonder really that you're a Gryffindork, we don't want scum like you in Slytherin. And after today's events, I bet even those show offs won't want you there." Nico's fists were clenching painfully and his whole body was shaking in rage.

Nico could feel the shadows from the corners of the room peeling away from the walls. He was desperately pushing them away, keeping the darkness away from him.

"That secret of yours … it's pitiful. But it won't do you any good if the school knows about it." Draco smirked. Nico's anger was temporarily overwhelmed by confusion. Which secret was Malfoy talking about? Did he find out about Nico's parentage? "I was shocked at first. But I see what Percy meant. It's bad enough you're ... bent. But he called you his cousin. That makes me want to gag."

He couldn't hold it in. "SHUT UP!" Blood and rage rushed through Nico's ears, he tried counting to ten … One- 'You're bent'... Two- 'Sickening... Pathetic'... T-Three- 'Percy... disgusted by you'.

Nico's control broke. With a scream of fury, he unleashed the darkness he was holding back; the shadows clinging off the walls were suddenly suffocating the two teenagers, covering them like bandages on a mummy. Malfoy made the mistake of trying to cry for help, but the shadows plunged down Draco's throat. Nico's hair was billowing wildly in the cold, icy, darkness, his legs were shaking in pain and his eyes were releasing black vapours, like his own weapon turned against him. If it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey, Draco would have been dead. The old nurse's shriek brought Nico back to his senses. He regained the control over his weapon, unravelling Malfoy to land on all fours, gasping for air. Before he knew what was going on, Draco was being dragged to his feet and hauled away by Madam Pomfrey, but not before she manage to quietly stutter: "D-Dumbledore's office." Dumbledore was sitting at his desk calmly, with his phoenix perched on his chair. Nico wondered why he kept that bird. Was it just for show? Or did it actually do anything useful.

"Mr di Angelo, back so soon? It hasn't even been-" Dumbledore seemed to notice Nico's shocked face. "What happened?"

"I- I lost control. I don't know how! I didn't want to do that!"

"Calm down. Tell me what happened." So Nico did. He went into great detail, but left out the part where Malfoy made fun of his … problem. He didn't want the old man to know that he couldn't deal with his own issues when he's been sent on a quest to potentially save lives. "I was concerned you might need to let off some steam." Dumbledore said once Nico finished his rambling. The headmaster stood up and walked up to Nico slowly. He put an arm on Nico's shoulder and steered him towards the door.

"In your place, I would find the seventh floor corridor a good place to think."

"What? That's it?" Nico asked. Dumbledore looked confused. "You're not going to expel or punish me? I attacked a student."

Dumbledore sighed heavily, like he really didn't want to hear that. "Mr di Angelo, sometimes we do things we don't want to do. Trust me, I know. Even by accident, we can easily hurt those around us. It is our choices, Nico, that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities. It seems to me, that you just need to learn to control them." Nico wanted to say something, but he couldn't find his voice. "Think of what I said about that seventh floor." With that, he led Nico out and closed the door.

This is stupid, Nico thought. He'd been pacing that stupid corridor for hours (thankfully, without getting caught). Then again, everyone would be asleep, it was past midnight. Dumbledore told him it was a good place to think.

Think about what? He couldn't concentrate, his only thoughts constantly led back to anger. I need a place to cool off. As Nico passed the empty stone wall for the fiftieth time that night, he noticed something. There was a door. A solid, dark oak, tal door. Cautiously, he reached for the handle and opened the door. Nico's jaw dropped to the ground. The room was a training arena. Along the back wall there were racks, full of weapons Nico's heart could possibly desire; bows and arrows, knives, celestial bronze guns, swords, spears, lances, even Roman cavalry swords! There wasn't a wall to the left - instead, windows ran along the whole side, revealing the starry sky. It should have been impossible, the room didn't look as long as the corridor outside; there shouldn't have been any windows here. But Nico wasn't complaining, because he saw a burning furnace in one of the corners, a bucket full of water near it and an anvil. He supposed it was for fixing the weapons or something. On the opposite side to the windows there were at least a dozen training dummies, ranging from naked straw ones, to fully armoured imperial gold, seven-foot-tall ones. Nico didn't waste any time, getting his well-deserved workout. He imagines Malfoy's face when he speared through one of the dummies heads, and his boggart-father when he sliced through the torso of another one.
Nico didn't show up the next day for breakfast.

A/N: *For the first time in forever!* I'm back, and I'm sorry for disappearing for so long. I am really disappointed with this chapter, I admit. It isn't my best and I don't like the way it turned out, but hey, no cliffhanger for once :). I won't be publishing new chapters because, wait for it, I'm re-doing them! I noticed quite a few mistakes throughout the story, and I guess I'm a bit OCD when it comes to keeping the whole story as canon as remotely possible. The story plot will be tweaked slightly, and I'm improving minor errors and spelling mistakes, so you don't have to re-read the beginning to understand what is happening, but it would be easier, especially if you didn't like the beginning. I will try to do it all as quick as possible without damaging the quality of the story, so it might take a while, but please be patient, and thank you all so much for your support! :)