Notes: For the final day of klarolineauweek AU: Tropes. This is a Harry Potter AU that features 'sharing a bed because reasons.'

Stick the Landing

(Prompt: kc + "We're hiking and we get stuck in a downpour and wow it is freezing and why didn't we pack raincoats, and oh no, we need to share a sleeping bag now to regain some body warmth" AU. Rated T).

There's no answer to her first knock but Caroline isn't about to give up. She takes a deep breath (not exactly calming in her current agitated state but she was trying) and grasps the brass knocker once more. She puts a little more force into her pounding, the sound echoing throughout the clearing Klaus Mikaelsons house is situated in.

She would not be ignored.

She hadn't been surprised to find out that Klaus lived on a remote piece of land. It was bordered by forests, no other houses anywhere in sight. She barely knows him, only vaguely remembers him from Hogwarts. They'd been in the same house but Klaus had been four years older and hadn't ever even glanced at her as far as she recalls. And Caroline had garnered plenty of attention as a bubbly American half-blood surrounded by cool and calculating Slytherins. More than one person had whispered that the sorting hat was faulty but Caroline hadn't minded. Being underestimated had worked to her advantage. Klaus had kept to himself even back then. When he'd deigned to be seen in the common room he'd staked out a prime cluster of seating near the fireplace and had glowered if anyone but a select few dared to approach him. Judging by his house his preference for solitude remained intact.

Still, she remembers seeing the occasional glimpse that suggested Klaus wasn't as cold as he appeared. Caroline had shared a dorm room with his sister and she and Rebekah hadn't really gotten along. Sniping, petty fights and frosty silences had often reigned supreme in their room and they'd only just begun to manage the occasional civil conversation now, six years post-graduation, when they ran into each other in Diagonally. The few times she can recall Klaus softening, actually smiling, had been when Rebekah had bounded over to show him an assignment she'd aced.

He clearly had a heart buried underneath all the gruffness. Somewhere. She's hoping she can appeal to it and her requests will be heeded.

Caroline's just about to go for the knocker again when she hears footsteps approaching the door.

Finally. Caroline straightens and smooths her royal blue work robes, wishing that her hair were neater. She always started the day with it pulled back but her curls often began to escape by the time afternoon tea rolled around. Something Klaus had noted, her hair always springing wildly from her head in his drawings.

She pastes a facsimile of a polite smile on her face – planning to state her business nicely, at least at first – but it quickly drops when she sees who opens the door. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

Kol Mikaelson grins, unoffended. Not that she's surprised. Bonnie works for Kol's potions start up and from the stories Caroline's heard their working relationship is far from harmonious. She knows Bonnie's temper and imagines that Kol must be able to weather a good amount of sass if he hasn't fired her. Kol crosses his arms and leans against the door. "There was a bit of an accident in my home lab. I thought it best to clear out for a few days. I'm far to pretty to be taken down so early by deadly fumes. I have far more reason to be here than you do, darling. I wasn't aware that you were acquainted with Niklaus."

"I'm not. I just need to speak with him about his stupid cartoons."

Kol's grin widens. "Ah. Yes, you've been popping up in them quite a bit, haven't you?"

"I have no idea why," Caroline sniffs. "And it needs to stop. It's distracting. We're trying to roll out some important policies and he's not helping."

"As much as I would love to bear witness to what will surely be an entertaining conversation I'm afraid Nik's not here."

Caroline grits her teeth and tries not to let her annoyance show. Getting his address had been a hassle (and had required bending rules and calling on certain Ministry connections). "Will he be back soon?" she asks sweetly.

"Who knows? He's on assignment. You could leave a message, or…"

She's not sure she trusts the glint in Kol's eye. It seems… anticipatory and that could mean bad things. For her. "Or…" she prods.

"I happen to know his location. I could send you there? I'm supposed to drop some extra supplies to him tomorrow. If you'd like to handle that particular chore I wouldn't object. You deal with your business and since I'm right in the middle of a break through it's a win-win."

She only hesitates a moment. Klaus's political cartoons ran in the Friday and Tuesday editions of The Prophet. She'd seethed all day at work after seeing this morning's edition. It had been the final straw and she'd begun plotting over her morning coffee. With any luck she could convince Klaus to not have her prominently featured in whatever he had planned for this coming Tuesday. She'd dwell all weekend if she didn't get this cleared up and she had plans for some quality relaxation. Caroline was in charge of PR and she did her best to remain behind the scenes. She wanted the Minister, the changes he wanted to make (long overdue, in Caroline's opinion), to take center stage. If she took Kol's offer she and Klaus could hash things out and she could apparate home and be parked in front of the television with a bottle of wine in under an hour.

She sighs, hoping she won't come to regret this. "Fine, hand it over."

Kol beams, "Splendid." He disappears for a moment, returns with cracked terra cotta pot and a backpack. He hands the backpack to her and Caroline slips it on. Kol fishes his wand out of his pocket and steps out of the house. He sets the pot on the porch railing and taps it with his wand. "Portus," he intones. The pot glows blue for several seconds before it fades, and Kol turns to her expectantly. "Here's your ride. Do have a good time. Tell Nik that I've managed not to burn the place down yet. He was most concerned."

Caroline raises an eyebrow, "Did you have authorization to create that portkey?"

"What do you think?"

"You realize I work for The Ministry? I directly report to The Minister?"

Kol shrugs, "Ah, but I'd bet you're Slytherin enough to look the other way when things benefit you. And I'll return the favor and not inquire into the means you used to get Nik's address."

Ugh. He kind of had her there.

Caroline pulls her wand out of her sleeve holster. She reaches for the portkey, "Deal. Thanks for your help, Kol."

He grins, looking alarmingly gleeful, "Don't thank me, darling. The pleasure is all mine."

A note of dread creeps in as she takes in his expression but Caroline's already touching the portkey, the familiar hooking feeling taking over. She closes her eyes and waits for it to be over, desperately hoping that she was being dramatic and that Kol's words wouldn't prove ominous.

She stumbles when she reaches her destination and the first thing that bleeds through her disorientation is that it's really freaking cold. And wet, rain falling in a thick sheet. The second thing is a shout containing a healthy dose of panic it, "Get down!"

Caroline listens instinctively, glancing around wildly before she dives behind a nearby grouping of boulders. She grimaces, having landed in a pile of slush, but she quickly forgets her discomfort when she feels a blast of heat. The air around her turns humid for a moment and it's actually a relief from the frigid air. Caroline peeks over the top of the rocks warily when it fades her eyes widening when she spots a dragon less than ten feet away.

It's silvery blue, eyes a bright yellow, and Caroline has the worst luck. Swedish Short Snouts were extra leery of humans and were capable of producing some of the hottest flames.

She was going to kill Kol.

Assuming she didn't die.

The dragon prowls from side to side, tense and agitated. It huffs in a breath and Caroline throws up a shield at exactly the right moment. She struggles to hold it under the blast of fire, longer and more intense than the last.

Yeah, this dragon was pissed. This wasn't a warning flame, this was an attempt to fry her extra crispy. Finally, it stops, and Caroline's heart leaps when she sees the dragon's head turning. It huffs, attention caught by a group of birds that have taken flight. Caroline marvels at how graceful it manages to be, despite its size, as it whips around. Caroline holds her breath, her heart pounding. "Nice dragon, go find something tastier," she breathes. Caroline sags against the rock at her back in relief when it pushes off the ground with a shriek, wings flapping as it gives chase.

Caroline jumps when she feels a presence at her side. She can't see anyone a hand grips her arm. "Move," a voice demands, hauling her to her feet. "Quickly before she comes back."

She's pulled into a thick clump of trees and along an overgrown path, "Klaus?" she asks. She thinks she recognizes the voice, but she hadn't often heard it. He pauses long enough to remove the disillusionment spell and Caroline almost wishes he hadn't. As weird as it had been to be led by someone invisible Klaus looks positively livid, nearly shaking with it. "Where are we?" she asks tentatively.

"Sweden," he clips out. "Near the Finnish border. In the middle of a dragon hatching ground."

Caroline's eyes widen. "Oh," she manages weakly.

"Oh?" he parrots forcefully, dropping her arm and stepping back. "That's what you have to say? "You landed right near a nest of eggs. If I'd been in a different location, or much farther out, you could have died, Caroline."

Caroline looks at the ground, digging her toe into the damp earth. Her cute flats are already beyond ruined and the realization of how right Klaus is begins to creep in. She shivers as the adrenaline fades and the cold begins to seep back in. She hugs her arms tightly to her chest. "Yeah, I don't really have anything else. Thanks for the assistance?" she tries hopefully, peeking up at him.

He doesn't relax, his face still a mask of anger. "What are you doing here?" he demands.

"I wanted to talk to you. I stopped by your house and Kol…"

"Kol," Klaus bites out, the single word filled with contempt. "I should have known. I'll tear out his liver."

"I'm right there with you," Caroline tells him darkly. "I'll be happy to help you hide the body. Owl me. But for now I'm going to head home. Can I convince you to stop by my office once you're back in England? I need to talk to you about something."

Klaus laughs but there's little amusement in the sound. "It seems Kol's neglected to tell you some things, love. This whole area's covered by anti-apparition wards. He was supposed to portkey in tomorrow, at a time we agreed upon, and then hitch a ride outside of the prohibited zone with a couple of researchers who are leaving."

As if this whole thing just got worse. "Seriously? I'm stuck here?"

"I'm afraid so," Klaus tells her grimly.

Her teeth begin to chatter when the wind picks up and she rubs at her arms. "Death is too good for him," she mutters. "I wish Dementors were still a thing."

Klaus sighs, turning around, "Come on. My tent's not far from here. It's spare but it will at least be warm."

Warm sounds great to Caroline and she follows him eagerly. They walk in silence for several minutes and Caroline's too busy squinting through the rain that slaps at her face and trying not to concentrate on how miserably cold she is to care that it's a really awkward one. The tense set of Klaus' shoulders tells her he's still beyond pissed.

This was not going as she'd planned.

Klaus' tent is a shabby olive green thing and he holds the flap for her. She's relieved that it's nicer on the inside, though it's smaller and less opulent than most wizarding tents. One room. And one bed. "It's… homey," she tells him.

Klaus snorts, "More magic means more weight. It's just me on these assignments usually so I don't mind the lack of luxury. I don't have a shower but I can get you a towel, some dry things."

"That would be awesome," Caroline says. She feels awful knowing she's an imposition.

Klaus rummages in a small metal trunk at the foot of the bed, pulling out several items. "Can I have your bag? It's got my food supplies in it. I'll get some tea going while you change."

Caroline shrugs out of it, trades him for the pile of clothing he has in his arms. He turns and wanders over to the small camp stove, pointedly giving her his back.

Well, this is extra awkward.

Luckily Caroline's wand survived the ordeal. A quick charm and her wet, dirty clothes are swapped for the ones Klaus had provided her with. She rubs at her hair with the provided towel, wiggling her toes in the thick wool socks she wears.

Klaus remains determinedly silent, packing away the items he's pulled out of the backpack Kol had sent with Caroline. She takes a tentative step in his direction. "So… thanks. For saving my ass out there. Kol left out a lot of the details, just told me you were on assignment. I didn't imagine… this."

"Dragon's aren't especially fond of photography," he explains. "Short-Snouts least of all. It's quite lucrative given that few are jumping at the chance to spend weeks in the wilderness surrounded by giant riled up lizards."

Caroline hums, approaching the small table. She pulls out a chair and settles herself down. "Good to know, I guess."

He turns, two steaming mugs in his hand, dishes of cream and sugar levitating behind him. Caroline reaches for hers gratefully, warming her hands on the chipped porcelain. Klaus drops a teaspoon full of sugar in his, blowing on the top to cool it. "Now, what was so urgent you risked your life to seek me out?"

Maybe something good could come from this ordeal. Caroline straightens, "You cartoons. The ones in The Prophet."

Klaus raises an eyebrow, "Oh? What about them?"

"Why am I in them?"

"You're the director of The Ministry's Public Relations Department, are you not? Always at the press events. Why wouldn't you be in them?" Klaus asks.

Caroline lets out a noise filled with exasperation. "Klaus, think about it. I'm American. Young, unmarried."

"Yes, I'm aware of all those things, love."

He's playing dumb and it's beginning to annoy her. Not as much as it usually would, her normal willingness to go for the jugular absent. Something that annoys her even more than Klaus' bland answers.

Why hadn't she waited? It would be so much easier to activate hardass mode if they were sitting neatly in her office. Here, wearing an oversized sweater that smells like pine needles and wood smoke, a fire crackling nearby, after he'd literally saved her life, she's finding it difficult to work up any of the indignation that had led her here.

"Listen, things got better after the war. Shacklebolt was progressive and got a lot done. But the old pureblood families rallied – yours included – and the Ministers started getting moderate to conservative. We finally have one willing to make real changes."

"And? I voted for him. Is that not enough?

"Yeah, and you remind the general public weekly that someone like me is on his team. I don't want that to freak anyone out. I don't want whispers that I have too much influence to start and lead to push back against the policies we're trying to enact."

"Why did you come back, Caroline? Why not stay in America? They're already taken many of the measures you're trying to make happen, have they not?"

She blinks in surprise at the subject change. "I… guess I missed it. My mom's not magical so I rarely dipped my toes into the magical world there, just when my dad visited. I tried when I moved back after Hogwarts but it didn't feel like home. I applied for an internship with The Ministry on a whim and now here I am."

Klaus nods in understanding. "I will consider your request while I make dinner. Do you have any soup preferences?"

Caroline resists the urge to argue – she did not like the word 'consider' at all. But she was a guest here so she might as well be polite. "Anything but mushroom is fine. Can I help?"

Klaus nods to a small cupboard, "There's some bread in there. Sticks by the fire. Would you mind doing the toasting?"

They share a surprisingly enjoyable meal. After Klaus teased her mercilessly about her initial attempts at making toast over a flame that had resulted in inedible charcoal. She'd defended herself strenuously – it wasn't her fault that she hadn't been camping since she was a kid – but they'd both laughed in the end.

They'd played a round of Wizard's Chest, Klaus narrowly eking out a win. Caroline was going to be requiring a rematch sometime in the future.

They're still at the table, chess pieces packed away. Klaus has been yawning for a half hour, and Caroline's eyes are drooping. Neither of them broaches the issue of bed because then they'd have to deal with the fact that there was only one.

And it wasn't exactly huge.

If there'd been a couch Caroline gladly would have taken it but the only furniture in the tent was the table and chairs they'd been using and the double bed she was trying not to look at. She's already considered the possibility of transfiguring the dining set, but the pieces are rickety, narrow metal and thin wood. She's certain it would make an awful bed and she doesn't imagine Klaus has much in the way of extra blankets and pillows.

She scolds herself for being a chicken. They were both adults. They could survive one night of sharing a bed. Gathering her courage Caroline meets his eyes. "I'm tired. Do you mind if we go to bed?"

Wordlessly Klaus rises, gesturing towards the bed. "Ladies first."

Caroline squares her shoulders and makes her way over. She's never actually slept in a bed with a guy she wasn't sleeping with so this little trip is chock full of new experiences (she's a little upset that her first time she'd set foot in Sweden it had been kind of a disaster). "Do you snore?" she asks, trying to joke away her nerves. "Maybe talk in your sleep?"

"Not that I'm aware of, love." Klaus waits until she's settled, her head on the pillows, before he climbs in. Caroline tries not to flinch away when he brushes up against her. Klaus ignores her tenseness, using his wand to turn the lanterns down before setting it aside. His voice is low when he speaks, "What about you? Anything I should be aware of?"

Caroline knows she should probably confess her tendency to sleep snuggle – many boyfriends and all of her friends have mocked her about it – but she doesn't. She'll just cross her fingers and hope that her unconscious self knows better than to cuddle up to a near stranger. She ignores the fact that she's learned a lot about Klaus in the pass few hours and that she'd been pretty open herself. They probably weren't technically strangers anymore. Still, maybe she'd be lucky? The universe totally owed her one.

"Nope!" she says brightly, rolling over onto her side. "Night, Klaus," she offers before closing her eyes.

His faint, "Goodnight, Caroline," washes over her as she begins to drift to sleep.

When she wakes, she's warm and cozy though her pillow could be a little softer. Caroline lets out a sleepy moan, reaching up to adjust it. She stills when her hand presses down on something that's definitely not a pillow. Yesterday's events come flooding back – near death was memorable - and she realizes that her pillow is Klaus.

Crap.

Clearly her sleeping self had zero concept of stranger danger.

She's pressed tight to Klaus' side, arm slung across his torso as her head rests on his chest. Caroline holds her breath and glances upward, fervently hoping he's asleep.

Nope, no such luck. Damn it.

Amused blue eyes meet hers, a smirk curling lips that she might have dreamt about. He seems in no hurry to move and Caroline squeaks out a, "Hi."

"Hello. Sleep well?"

She clears her throat. He wants to be casual? She can do casual. "Not bad, actually. You?"

"Very well."

"Good. I'm just going to…" Caroline gingerly presses herself upwards, doing her best not to touch him. It's not easy – their proximity and the small size of the bed working against her. She eyes him pointedly, "Do you mind?"

He folds his arm under his head, smirk growing. "Not at all."

Caroline huffs. He was going to be difficult, was he? She moves to climb over him but Klaus stops her, pulling her back down. She ends up sprawled against him and she blows her hair out of her face. "Do you mind?" she spits out, trying not to let her body react to him under her. Did he have to look so good first thing in the morning? Her hands were itching to sort out the mess of his hair.

She stills when he reaches out, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "I'll try to stop drawing you, Caroline."

Caroline narrows her eyes suspiciously, "Try? What do you mean by try?"

Calloused fingers stroke along her jaw as Klaus' expression turns contemplative. "I go to those press conferences and am generally bored out of my mind. My eyes are always drawn to you. Your face is so expressive, your nerves when your waiting for things to get going and your pleasure when they go well. I don't foresee that stopping. If anything I suspect it'll be even more difficult now that I know what a delightful bed partner you are."

Her mouth drops open at the blatant innuendo. It's easier to deal with then his quiet confession. She pokes at his chest, "Please. You wish you knew how delightful I was in bed. Here's a hint: it's plenty."

A new interest flits across his face, a heat that hadn't been there before. His tongue slides along his lower lip and Caroline's eyes drop to follow the motion. "I wouldn't be at all opposed to learning more," Klaus says.

Caroline finds that she's not either. "Dinner," she offers. "Once you're back to civilization. I am so done with roughing it."

Klaus rolls them and Caroline finds herself pressed under his lean frame. She slides her hands up his sides unable to resist touching him now that things are going in a more… intimate direction. "I'd like that," he murmurs, bending to brush his lips over hers. She slides a hand into his hair, tugging until the kiss firms, her lips parting at the stroke of his tongue.

Things get hazy after that. Clothes get pushed aside for wandering hands, her lips end up swollen and she'll definitely have some marks to hide when she goes back to work.

It's a mad scramble to get her to the truck that'll take her out of the anti-apparition zone.

Totally worth it.