Prompt from tonkola: ANYTHING Harry Potter AU with Klaus being secretely in love with Caroline because I'm unashamed trash. Maybe he gets hurt during Quidditch because he goes against Tyler for taunting him about his crush and Caroline helps nursing him back to health and fluff ensues?
"What the hell are you two doing," Caroline yelled, waving her wand and silently separating the brawl happening in front of her. "Ten points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor!"
Klaus scoffed, thumbing some blood from his lip. "We're awful close to the House Cup for you to be taking points away from our house, love," he said with that damn smirk.
"Says the jerk fighting in the hallways," Caroline argued as she watched Tyler struggle to stand. "You're lucky I caught you before wands were pulled, or else we'd be having this conversation with McGonagall."
"Better listen to your girlfriend," Tyler taunted, feeling out his jaw. A bruise was blooming from Klaus's punch, but he didn't seem to learn his lesson.
Klaus surged forward to remind him again, only for Caroline to jump between the boys. Klaus stopped immediately, but she still pinned him with a stern glare as she barked orders to Tyler.
"Get to the hospital wing," she demanded, not moving until Tyler finally walked away. Turning back to Klaus, she checked over his wounds. "You're an idiot."
"Thanks for the pep talk, love," Klaus growled, pulling away harshly. "He started it."
Caroline scoffed. As Head Girl, it might technically be in her duties to handle disagreements among students, but Tyler and Klaus's fights had only gotten worse. With this latest scrap, she really considered letting McGonagall intervene after all. "You two egg each other on, and you know it," she pointed out. "Come on, I need to clean some of these cuts."
It was hardly the first time Caroline had played mother hen to his tempestuous self, made all the more embarrassing by the fact Klaus was certain he loved the girl. Worse, she had no idea.
"What was it about this time," she asked as they made their way down to the dungeons. As two of only a handful of werewolves enrolled at Hogwarts, Tyler and Klaus knew better than to interact the day before a full moon. Their agitated state could easily be set off by a rival wolf, and all the chocolate in the world wouldn't relax them.
Shuffling his feet, Klaus played up that usual answer, even if the true reason behind their spat had more to do with the blonde in front of him.
"He bumped me in the corridor," Klaus lied, shrugging as they reached the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "Serpen sanguinis."
Caroline quickly pulled him to the large bathroom she kept stocked with First Aid supplies. She may have taken to magic more quickly than some muggleborns, but she could still appreciate the comfort of a cold compress against a dull pain. "Here," she said, cracking an ice pack. "Hold this against your eye, the purple eyeshadow look tends to go better on both eyes. And not all over like that shiner you've got coming."
Klaus tried not to laugh, her stupid joke not nearly funny enough for him to pretend he doesn't hang on every word she says. He covered his reaction with the ice pack, deciding to distract her with his utter confusion at muggle products. "How does cracking this bag make it cool?"
Dabbing at his face with antibiotic gel, Caroline smiled. "I'm able to break up your fight with a wave of my wand, but you can't believe a chemical reaction makes a convenient ice pack," she asked. Seeing his look of sincere interest, Caroline smile stretched just a bit farther. "It's like how some potions only work once they come into contact with something. They're fine just sitting in a vial, but you break it over someone's head and suddenly, their hair has changed to bright green."
At the top of his class in Potions, Klaus could appreciate that explanation. However, he appreciated the careful touches Caroline laid on his face as she place bandages over the worst of his cuts.
"Don't think you've made me forget about the fight with Tyler," she warned, staring into his abashed expression. She softened at his obvious discomfort, but she pushed further. "You can tell me anything."
And he could. Despite a rocky start during their first year, Caroline and Klaus had bonded over a Potions project. Caroline could handle the exacting measurements, but somehow, her potions always turned out wrong. With Klaus's help, she had managed to perfect her wand motions and ingredient selection (wilted roots did not have the same punch as crisp ones).
Over the years, their friendship had waxed and waned. Caroline's friends and eventual boyfriends didn't like the rakish Klaus hanging around. Klaus's siblings went through various periods where Caroline was the most annoying person in the world to them. During their final year, though, Klaus and Caroline had still gravitated toward each other. As Head Girl, she had special privileges to help any werewolf students manage their transition and return to school. Klaus would often find care packages sitting on his bed when he made it back after the full moon.
Worse, his small crush had fanned into a complete devotion. Everyone knew, they could see it in the way he followed the golden girl's every movement. If Caroline was aware, she had yet to acknowledge it, which made the true cause of the fight all the more awkward.
Klaus growled softly as Tyler passed him in the corridor, a natural reaction for wolves before the full moon. No doubt sensing his mood, Tyler still decided to poke the beast.
"I hope you don't mind," Tyler teased, "but Caroline's going to be a bit busy tomorrow. She promised to help me work out the kinks from turning."
Clenching his fists, Klaus couldn't hide his snarl. Often, Caroline would invite him to do yoga with her the morning after a full moon. The stretching and meditation helped him focus on his human instincts, and the blonde's friendly presence alone was enough to calm him naturally.
What Tyler implied, however, was not yoga.
That didn't stop the moron from taunting him, though. "Yeah," the younger man said, stepping into Klaus's space. "She seemed real interested in making sure I was feeling okay."
Klaus shoved him back, which led to Tyler throwing the first punch.
"What," he snapped over Klaus's tense form. "You have a problem with Caroline choosing a better man to play with?"
Like a lightning strike, Klaus shot forward with nothing but destruction in mind.
Clearing his throat, Klaus looked away from Caroline still fussing over his knuckles. As she reached a wet rag, Caroline nudged him gently. "Just tell me."
"He made some ugly comments about you, love," he admitted in a low voice, still not meeting her eyes. "I didn't feel particularly pleased, so I did something about it."
"And lost us points because of it," she said, unimpressed. "I'm a big girl, I can handle jerks spewing crap all by myself."
Klaus finally glanced up, helpless. "But I don't want you to have to handle it by yourself."
She looked surprised, a blush rising to her cheeks. When she didn't say anything, though, Klaus knew it was time to say something or move on. His days of crushing on Caroline Forbes needed to come to an end.
He reached for her hands, if only to conceal the tremor in his. "Caroline, I have always considered you one of my best friends," he admitted. "But I want so much more than friendship from you. Your loyalty, your drive, your unbelievable optimism brings a light to my life I never knew existed. Even knowing that saying all this probably risks everything, I need to tell you how much I lo-"
She didn't even let him finish the sappiest love declaration she could have dreamed, because all Caroline wanted in that moment is to finally kiss him.
When she pulled back, she couldn't contain a giggle at his look of awe.
"You're surprised," she asked, staying close. "I could have sent you to the hospital wing right away, and Madam Pomfrey would have your pretty face back to form already."
Reaching for her waist, Klaus yanked her forward to kiss her again. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to stop, considering the spell she seemed to have cast over him.