Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mad Eye Touz 
Aspen raaaaaaaan like a bandit! She didn't stop until they were a couple of flights up, then she nudged Cornelius to duck into whatever room was empty (which happened to be the armor room).
She was grinning, but definitely winded from their RUNNING.
Naturally, she'd been thinking while they ran. Aspen hadn't ever really held hands with a boy (she'd also never had her name screamed in the Great Hall, or climbed under the House table, OR ran like a bandit through the castle). Before she'd actually held his hand, she'd have argued that there was no point to hand holding. It was something that people apparently WANTED to do, but never was something necessary to do. But now she was convinced otherwise. Aspen had been able to look over her shoulder as they ran, knowing Cornelius was probably watching where they were going. Hand holding was like the ultimate teamwork.
With that in mind, Aspen didn't let go of his hand. "Considering the amount of disasters I'm having around you, maybe this wasn't the best place for us to duck into." Suits of armor? Weren't there swords in here? They'd just have to be REALLY careful. "I hope you weren't still hungry." Since... she'd kind of made him leave unexpectedly.
Cornelius took the lead as they ran up the two flights of stairs, not quite knowing where he was going but getting as far away from the Great Hall as possible in one swift run. He himself couldn't help but notice the convenience of holding hands with Aspen, knowing that she was keeping the look out as he found his way through the corridors at top speed. As they found their way to a stop inside the armor room, he allowed himself the chance to lean his shoulder against the wall, panting a bit from the swift feat of running out like bandits.
And of course, he was smiling.
He glanced over at Aspen with pure amusement in his light brown eyes, listening as she mentioned wisely that the armor room might've not been the best choice to hide with the disastrous quality he brought to her life.
"I'm not gonna let you get attacked by a suit of armor," he promised her through a soft chuckle, his hand still somehow intwined with her own. His eyebrows rose as she hoped aloud that he wasn't still hungry.
"Nope, Aspen, I'm just fine," Cornelius assured her, flashing a bit of a grin her direction before his gaze fell and he caught sight of their intwined hands, left dropped between them casually as though both parties had yet to realize that they were connected by the hands.
"I really am sorry for what happened back there though," he said, referring to the announcement to the Great Hall. He hadn't realized that Aspen would be so terribly embarrassed by it. It was as though she'd never had someone yell to an entire room about her before!