Originally Posted by emmafan123

Cornelius would've moved back to his original non-leaning stance had he truly been within a foot of Aspen's face, or believed that she was honestly upset with his proximity to her. But he knew that he was only halfway across the table, and so her constant leaning back away from him was simply amusing to the slightly older Ravenclaw. Just as he thought Aspen was about to fall off of her seat, she glanced shyly at the table and mentioned that the situation was a bit awkward.

He gave a shrug, a warm grin still on his expression as he waited to see if she would actually smile at him. And then, in the midst of her own laughter, she looked up at him with a giant grin. Before he even had the chance to appreciate it, she was asking if it was working, suggesting that he might feel unhinged, or off in the tummy or head. Cornelius looked at her for a moment. Just looked at her. His light brown eyes scanned her grinning expression, taking in her features and letting his eyes rest on her for a moment.

And then, very suddenly, he was getting up.

He removed his elbows from the table, and hopped to his feet in one swift movement, flashing her a grin before climbing atop of his own seat and standing up high above the rest of the Great Hall. And, speaking to the masses, he announced, "ASPEN SMILED AT ME!" as loudly as he could, successfully getting the attention he expected, and what others might just find embarrassing?

With his loud announcement over with, Cornelius jumped down from his raised level and climbed back into his seat, running a hand through his brown hair and letting out a sigh as though he'd just gotten up to grab something from down the table rather than having just spoken to the entire Great Hall. And, just when it looked as though he didn't even realize he'd stood up in his own seat, Cornelius raised his expression, locking eyes with Aspen and flashing her a grin.