Reviews:

Risa Silvara: Nico and Sirius meet at the end of this chapter! I don't think I'll have Nico be a wizard, but he is so moving in with Sirius and James after they graduate. Can you just imagine those three running around London together?

ghostmistwho: THANK YOU SO MUCH!

JelloGirl323: Thanks so much. Percy won't be back in the story until next chapter, but he will definitely be yelling at Sirius for getting hurt.

Sirius stared at the scrawny boy in front of him. He had never met Nico di Angelo in person, but he had assumed the boy would appear bigger. Nico di Angelo was smaller than most Hogwarts first years, and the way he was sitting curled up against the wall made him look even smaller. Sirius felt a need to protect this boy from the horrors of the world, in the same way he felt he needed to protect Regulus.

Nico glanced around the narrow passage way he was sitting in. He felt so open right here. The Labyrinth was freaky in its own right. On top of that, Nico could knew for a fact there was at least one dead person watching him. He knew the eyes he felt on him were probably Minos', but Nico couldn't help but feel freaked out. What if it wasn't Minos.

There was no use thinking like that, though. If it was a monster watching him, he could always just run or use his sword. Nico shuddered and huddled closer to the wall. Minos should have been there by now. The ghost was almost never late when they were going to talk about ways to bring Nico's sister, Bianca back to life. Minos had just brought up a good idea the ghostly king of Crete.

Everything was eerily quiet in the hall. Nico had never been afraid of the dark, but silence had always freaked him out. If it was quiet, then he was alone. There was nothing he hated more than being alone. Nico had been alone with no one but ghosts for over five months now.

Nico was sitting in front of a blue fire, much like the bluebell flames Remus loved to conjure. Sirius was pretty sure this fire wasn't nearly as harmless. Sirius knew they were in the Underworld, but he could not pinpoint where, exactly. He had never before been outside his father's palace while down here. Nico was ripping up old trading cards and throwing them into the flames.

Nico had lost a substantial amount of weight in just the month Sirius had been following. The boy, who looked younger than a first-year Hogwarts student, was no more than skin and bones. The large jacket the boy wore did not help much.

Nico mumbled something to himself, and a ghostly voice answered, the apparition fading into existence next to Nico. Sirius scowled at the ghost. Minos, king of Crete, leader of the council of judges at the gates to the Underworld. He had never personally met the Ghost King, but, from what he had overheard while following Nico, Sirius was not a fan.

Nico's mumbling continued. The ghost sat next to the young boy, whispering in his ear. Sirius cursed his inability to be able to hear the whispers being passed between the pair. He had a feeling whatever Minos was talking to Nico about was not a good thing.

Sirius wrapped the shadows around himself. If he could stay hidden, perhaps he could hear what they were talking about. Sirius crept as quietly as he could towards Nico and Minos. There whispers were getting louder, and he could just barely make out a few words here and there if he stretched his ears.

"Do you sense that?" Minos asked loudly.

"What?" Nico stood and glanced around.

"Someone is lurking in the shadows." Minos began to move, searching for someone spying on them.

Sirius mentally cursed. Now would not be a good time to be discovered by Minos. Sirius let the shadows melt into him and take him back into the Labyrinth. He would have to wait awhile before going to find Nico once more. It appeared Minos could sense disturbances in the shadows. That was not good for Sirius. Not good at all

The skeletons were rather quick about digging the grave. Sirius stayed hidden about thirty feet away from Nico. He had kept his cover so far, it would really suck to be found out now. Nico probably wouldn't take being followed the best.

Minos was back again, instructing Nico on how to summon the dead. Nico was going to try and talk to his sister again. Sirius knew she wouldn't come. Bianca di Angelo had been watching over her little brother this entire time, staying hidden in the shadows much like Sirius. Her ghost would not come.

Nico sent the skeletons away. He took two 12-packs of coke and dumped them into the grave. He took three bagged lunches he had bought at some restaurant Sirius hadn't heard of before and dumped them in as well. Then, Nico began to chant. Sirius knew the words well. It was an old summoning ritual his father had taught him while he was training under him the previous summer. Dozens of ghosts streamed out of the grave.

The hero Theseus was the one to step forwards. He stood tall in front of Nico. Nico began to demand answers about the trade of a soul for a soul.

It won't work, Sirius thought to himself. Bianca di Angelo is smart. She will not let herself return to the land of the living. She knows her spirit belongs in Hades.

"Give it up, Nico," Sirius whispered. "Bringing her back will torture her."

Sirius woke to a sword to his throat.

"Who are you?" Nico hissed. His eyes glistened with hatred as he glared down at Sirius. "Why are you following me?"

Sirius gave a cursory glance down at the sword pointed at him before speaking. "My name is Sirius Black. I'm a son of Thanatos. You're father asked me to watch over you."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Despite the hostility in his tone, Nico had stepped back slightly and was allowing Sirius to sit up.

"I swear on the Styx everything I just said is true. I'm here to protect you, Nico."

Nico lowered his sword as thunder rumbled through the air. His face softened, and his entire body seemed to relax.

"You're not dead, are you?" Nico asked.

Sirius couldn't help his laughter. "No. I'm a demigod just like you. I'm sixteen, and I attend a boarding school in Scotland. I am very much alive, thank you."

"Oh." Nico shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "I just assumed 'cause my father sent you."

"Yeah, no," Sirius grinned widely at Nico and stood up. "So where exactly are we going?"

"The Triple G Ranch to visit Geryon." Nico pressed his hand to a little triangle on the wall and opened a passage out of the Labyrinth. "Minos says he might be able to help me with my sister. You know about that, right?"

"I do," Sirius tried not to let his face darken too much at the thought of resurrecting the dead. "After you, Nico."