Caroline hates flying, but it's a bit more fun with Klaus. (For Klaroween Bingo: "Why don't you just take your broomstick and shove it?")

Hurtling toward the ground, it was only Caroline's intense desire to avoid a broken nose that allowed her to focus enough to jump from the broom before it splintered across the frozen ground. She rolled away from the mess, wincing at the remains. "Crap," she muttered, unsure if she could even repair a magical object without drawing Madam Hooch's attention. But if the whole crashing thing didn't bring the teacher over with concern, then she supposed nothing would. "I hate flying."

"I know, sweetheart." She turned to find Klaus watching her with something like amusement in his eyes. Arms crossed, she found she didn't like it. "Are you alright?"

She stretched her neck and bounced on her toes. "No injuries that I can tell, but I would really like for class to be over."

Klaus nodded, annoyingly at home on his own broom as he hovered just a few feet in the air. She scowled in jealousy at how easy it came to him; that's what she got for dating the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. "Why are you even here? I thought official team members would get a pass for their flying certificates." It was a rite of passage that had helped her transition from her muggle expectations, that driver's ed applied to brooms, too.

"Just on the required training period," Klaus answered with a shrug. "And I thought you might welcome some more...personalized assistance."

Raising an intrigued eyebrow, Caroline could feel her irritation ebb away. "Oh?"

"Hop on." Nodding behind him, Klaus shifted to make room for her. "Come on," he said when she hesitated. "You'll be fine, I promise."

She grumbled, straddling his broomstick and winding her arms around his waist. "Don't let me fall. I won't forgive you."

Reaching back, Klaus pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Of course not." He urged them to float higher, and Caroline couldn't help but to squeeze him a bit harder, which made him laugh. She jabbed a finger into his stomach in retaliation, temporarily distracted from the fact they were several feet off the ground.

As she pressed her cheek to his back, Caroline sucked in deep breaths. The fresh air and Klaus's cologne was a comforting mix. "Forget my flying certificate," she said, "you can just fly me anywhere I need to go."

"Happy to," Klaus agreed easily, one hand moving to cover hers, "but I figured you too stubborn to give up so soon."

"Baiting," she accused in a singsong voice.

Klaus shrugged, smiling when she tightened her hold at the jolt of motion. "Perhaps." He coasted the broom to an easy hover and pulled one of her hands to the handle. "As much as I adore your brain, you think too much rather than guiding the broom to do what its meant to do."

She bit his shoulder playfully. "Easy for you to say," she pointed out. "I grew up with a scooter and a Barbie Jeep. Flying isn't exactly like riding a bike."

Chuckling, Klaus gripped her knee with an affectionate squeeze. "Well, not with that attitude."

"Hey-"

"Get a room, Forbes!" They both turned aggrieved glares to Damon Salvatore, shouting over from his own broom. "Some of us have too much taste to want to see Mikaelson-"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Madam Hooch called, casting an unimpressed glance up to their little gathering. "And Miss Forbes, I expect you to repair and ride your own broom if you intend to complete this course."

Sighing, Klaus eased them down toward her earlier crash site, Damon clapping in his smarmy way as they made their descent.

Caroline could have killed him dead with the look on her face. "Why don't you just take your broomstick and shove it, Damon?"

"How about-"

Klaus might have set a threatening hand on his wand, but it was Caroline's whipping out of her pocket that had Damon paling even pastier than usual. "What was that?" she asked, voice cold as ice. With a dismissive snort, Damon flew to the other end of the courtyard. "I'll make him regret it later," she promised.

"Looking forward to it, love," Klaus replied, pulling her close for a quick kiss. "Let's get your broom back to fighting shape, though, shall we?"

Pouting, Caroline summoned all the pieces she could. Reparo only worked on a few at a time, unfortunately, and it took five whole minutes to have a mostly serviceable ride. "I don't know," she winced, looking at the splintery mess. "I think we should really work on the 'you fly me places' plan instead."

With a soft kiss to her temple, Klaus nodded. "I'll take you, wherever you want to go," he promised. "But I'm headed to the pitch tonight for practice. If you care to join me, we can work through some flying drills for you, too."

"Just us? Because I'm not about to embarrass myself in front of even more people," she warned, still angry she was one of only three seventh years yet to receive their certification.

Klaus shrugged uneasily. "Henrik wanted to practice…"

Smiling at the reminder of what a softie her boyfriend was when it came to his baby brother, Caroline turned her face up to kiss him. "Henrik will be nicer to me than even you are, so I'm in. Thanks, Klaus."

He pulled her close for a deeper kiss, teeth nipping at her bottom lip until she moaned. "I'm always nice to you."

"Miss Forbes! Mr. Mikaelson!"

They reluctantly broke apart as Madam Hooch glared, but even the haphazard broom she flew wasn't going to bring Caroline down again. Well, she hoped.