Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mad Eye Touz 
His eternal smiling still didn't make sense to Aspen, but she found (interestingly enough) that she minded it less while holding hands. Or did she mind it less because it wasn't new anymore? Too many variables to be sure, but she liked the former theory better.
But now that she decided she didn't MIND that he smiled at her constantly, she couldn't help but dissect the smile a little. Cornelius didn't just smile at her - it was more than that. And the even stranger part was that Aspen was certain his smiles were specifically for her, in spite of her not actually doing anything worth a smile! Not really! Anyone could tap their wand on the suits of armor! Really!
"... You do. Or I hope you do. I hope you don't go home for Christmas break and never come back. I think you're a good addition to Ravenclaw."
Probably a weird thing to say, and even weirder since she'd stopped looking at the armor in favor of studying his face, his worrisome smile, and the way his eyes followed her expressions like they were trained to do so. Abruptly, she let his hand go. "Maybe we should head back to the Common Room. I ...left the window open."
Cornelius often smiled; it was just something he did naturally. And depending on what or who he was smiling at, his smile was just slightly different, as everyone's was. And looking at Aspen, his smile seem to house the slightest bit of admiration that he himself wasn't even aware of. As she hoped aloud that he wouldn't ditch the school after Christmas break, expressing her thought that he was a good addition to Ravenclaw, the boy's smile widened.
"I have no intentions to ditch Hogwarts after break," he assured her honestly. It was true though, he liked Hogwarts well enough, but now it seemed to have more to offer than he originally thought.
Just as his light brown eyes scanned over the suits of armor moving around, a small smile still displayed on his expression, he found his hand was dropped. Apruptly. His gaze fell down to their separated hands before immediately flying up to Aspen's expression, his smile faltering as he listened to her suggest that they head back to the Common Room, as she'd left the window open.
Cornelius's brows furrowed just slightly at her words and sudden change of thought,
"Yeah...right. Of course," he muttered, honest confusion in his tone, though he tried to keep his expression from showing the disappointment he had suddenly found himself burdened with. He didn't even understand why he suddenly felt disappointed. It's not as though their holding hands necessarily meant anything... Right? And yet still, for whatever reason, it felt as though Aspen's release of his hand meant that some unspoken, confusing connection had been broken.
"Let's go," he decided, flashing her a small, though somehow confused, smile before leading the way towards the Ravenclaw Common Room.