The War of the Stories

Nionnien meets Draco

*Nionnien's POV*

Paris and I sat by Angelyn's hospital bed until morning, when the sun rose. Poor Angelyn... she'd found someone, and he dies later that same day. That just seems cruel. At least Elijah came back as a ghost. He's still with us- in a way.

My thoughts were interrupted by Angelyn groaning. We all turned to look at her, and she rolled over, so her face was pressed into her pillow.

"Mom, I just had the strangest dream," Angelyn mumbled into her pillow.

Then she opened her eyes, blinking in the soft light that flooded the hospital wing. She stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling for a few moments, and then it was clear that she started to remember that it hadn't been a dream. She looked at the two of us with dead eyes.

"So that's why it seemed so real..." she murmured before dropping back into sleep.

Madam Pomfrey noticed, and rushed over. She waved her hand, magicking the bottle of medicine she'd given Angelyn the night before into her hand. She read the label quickly. "I knew it! I overdosed!" she said to herself.

Realizing that she'd said that in front of us, she spoke quickly. "Out! You were here way past visiting hours!"

Madame Pomfrey hurried us out of the hospital wing, and shut the door behind us.

"Well, that was rude of her." Paris remarked.

I nod my head in agreement. We both slowly drifted towards the Great Hall, not really there without Elijah and Angelyn there beside us. We both claimed our seats at our separate house tables, where breakfast was just beginning.

Looking around, I noticed that four more tables had shown up. And it almost seemed that the Great Hall and magically expanded to make room for these tables. Hell, Hogwarts is so weird that way.

It didn't take long for everyone to see why the new tables were there. The demigods entered the Great Hall, and sat at a table beneath a banner that displayed a golden lightning bolt on a blue background. I waved at Percy, Annabeth, and Nico, who waved back.

Waves more entered, so many that I couldn't recognize all of them. I could pick out the Inheritance crew, or, mainly Eragon, Arya, and Roran, who sat underneath a banner that displayed a scarlet dragon. The Inkheart group was another I recognized, who sat underneath a motif of a silver book on a black banner.

Then swarms of- celebrities? I shook my head. They aren't fictional. Looking closer, I picked out the table they were heading towards. A banner with a black C. I nodded to myself. The Cahills.

"I can't believe Hogwarts went to this much work to impress everyone!" Paris whispered, appearing from nowhere.

"Dude! You scared me!" I exclaimed. "Aren't you supposed to be at your table?"

"I don't know anyone there well enough to talk to them." he explained.

I nodded, and turned to a first year sitting beside me. "Scram!" I shouted.

The first year fled in fright.

Paris shot me a look. "Nionnien... was that really nessacary?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah."

Paris shook his head, but took the girl's seat anyway.

"All these celebrities... it's blowing my mind." Paris muttered. "The fictional characters, being at Hogwarts, Camp Halfblood, all of it. It's just wild."

"Who'd have thought? A geek like you doing something exciting with your life." I remarked sarcastically.

"Hey!" Paris said in indignation.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, let's go find our favorite celebrities. Get our mind off Elijah."

Paris nodded quickly. "Good idea."

"I wonder where he is anyway." I muttered as we got up from our seats and wandered into the crowd.

After a while of celebrity spotting, I spotted them. My favorite band. I nearly squealed in excitement.

"They must be Janus. The creative and artistic ones." Paris said from behind me.

I remembered now. The Janus are anything from writers, to singers, to painters. Then there's three other official branches. The Thomas are the strong. The Ekats are the smart inventors. And the Lucains are the clever spies with the poison obsession, or something.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Paris asked. Damn it. He must have noticed my anxiety.

"Well, how would I do that?" I almost shrieked at him. "That's my favorite band, for goodness sake!"

"Do it! You'll see."

"No, I won't! I'll make a complete fool of myself!"

"Calm down, Nionnien. It'll be fine! It's just a band."

"Just a band?!" I shouted.

"Fine then. Go and introduce yourself." Paris argued, with a slight grin on his face.

"But..." I started, but Paris shoved me towards them. He is so going to get it later...

I was still about a foot away from the band, so I tried to think of something to say to get their attention. "Um-" I stammered.

Paris walked up behind me. "Oh, come on Nionnien." He shoved me again, and I stumbled forward, tripping into someone.

We fell to the floor, and I found myself looking into the eyes of the one and only Draco Malfoy.