The Gryffindor Common Room and The Great Hall, Hogwarts

Leo

Don't blame Leo for not paying attention. His invention was almost done. The red chromium shell was finished. The ruby eye and Celestial Bronze plated wirings and inner workings were almost finished. Just one problem: he needed a magic disk to bring it to life. After all, Festus was brought to life with such disks. Leo was never good at writing magic.

The wonky electricity was simple to fix; the Celestial Bronze protected it from the effects. The others were yelling at each other, Leo didn't know why. He hoped his phoenix-core wand could help write Ancient Greek symbols around the disk he made. It was really wonky, but Leo finally got the shape right.

At least he hoped so.

His newest invention required some keywords to activate. The Hecate cabin had told him before, when he visited Camp Half-Blood for Spring Break. Something about life, meaning, guidance, loyalty, blah. He didn't see how a machine needed loyalty. It was built to serve. But if I were an automaton, Leo thought. I wouldn't like that. He decided to be more careful around Festus for now. Leo was afraid if he poured Windex in Festus's daily nutrition juice (oil and a little bit of Tabasco Sauce), he'd blow Leo up. Bam! Fried demigod pancake just like that. Leo shuddered. He had enough experiences of being blown-up. Even though he was immune to fire.

Jason

After that fight, Jason was ready for a break. Classes were already over, and he could see the dusk grow cloudier every second. Night was coming. Jason headed for the Great Hall. He could see Harry and Ron arguing about something, Hermione nowhere to be seen. Dean and Seamus were reciting Transfiguration facts, now that the word exams, seemed to be on the tip of every teacher's lip. Jason didn't blame them. He had pulled some late-nighters trying to prepare for the test.

Ahead, the Great Hall seemed to glow up as the floating candles were lit simultaneously. Probably Professor Flitwick, Jason concluded. He headed inside.

The rows of polished tables sat proudly as hundreds of students clustered around, like ants in an anthill. They sang, traded jokes, exchanged seats, and more... unnecessary behavior. It was all in good fun. How peaceful, Jason thought.

As if triggered by his thought, a loud 'Boom!' could be heard from outside the castle. More booms followed, each vibrating inside the Great Hall as it echoed throughout the chamber.