This is a very late fic for Luiza's birthday (itsnotacrimetoloveyou on tumblr). It's always harder for me to write for people who I adore, and Luiza definitely falls into that category. You can find her fics under the penname coveredinthecolors.

This has some dark themes, though nothing more intense than my usual in fics (think on par with CoDT in terms of dark). It's also a true crossover, meaning that Klaus is the Original hybrid, but set where the HP world is coexistent with TVD canon.

I hope you like it!

Caroline picked boredly at her salad, skewering an apple slice and taking a bite as she half-listened to her uncle Kieran as he droned on about how disappointed he was in her cousin Camille for choosing to go to muggle bartending school. It was a lot of effort to resist pointing out that she'd probably make bank in tips because of the thrall. It seemed perfectly practical, to be honest.

"Who's ready for turkey?" her father cut in when Kieran paused for breath, and she heard a sigh of relief from her mother, who had obviously been waiting for the end of the conversation. There was a chorus of affirmatives from around the table and Bill gestured for an elf to bring in the next course.

It was the last family dinner she'd have to endure before she went back to Ilvermorny on Sunday night and she couldn't wait to leave. She knew she should probably feel guilty, but coming back to the castle was always nerve-wracking. At this point, her being the veela princess was mostly old news among her classmates, but the veela visiting or living in Mystic Falls when she was on break never seemed to shed their fascination with the royal family.

She was just cutting her first piece of turkey breast when the large doors leading to the banquet hall opened with a bang, and she nearly dropped her fork in surprise.

"I hate to interrupt what looks to be a most exciting celebration, but I'm afraid I'm a busy man and I have much to do."

The man standing in the doorway was attractive; his sandy curls and dimpled cheeks doing little to distract from the distinct aura of danger radiating off of him in waves. He walked over to the table, pulling an empty chair over and sinking down onto it, his fingers steepled together. "I'm Klaus," he said simply.

Caroline had no idea who he was, though she felt her father's hand suddenly close around her arm as though he was getting ready to disapparate. The man seemed to have noticed the movement too as he paused, staring straight at them.

"I see you've heard of me," he said softly, his eyes sliding from her father to her face, and she felt an odd shock run down her spine.

"Why are you here?" Bill asked, though from the wary look in his eyes, Caroline had an uncomfortable feeling that he already knew.

"I should think that it would be obvious," he said, reaching into his back pocket and producing an ancient-looking piece of parchment. "As promised to me five hundred years ago, give or take a decade, I've come to collect my payment."

There was a small smile twisting his lips as his eyes fell on her. "Now, what's your name, sweetheart?"

Caroline swallowed before speaking, unsure why he wanted to talk to her but unable to suppress the feeling that it was not a good omen. "Caroline," she said, thankful that she could keep her voice even.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," he said almost absently, his eyes already back on her father. "I'll take her now. I hope you don't mind that I've arrived a bit early. I'm normally polite enough not to intrude, but my witch booked us too early a flight and my brother's commandeered the private jet for some sort of premeditated mass-murder in Portugal, so we'd best be off now or we'll have to compel seats on the next one, and it does get complicated with all the security cameras these days. Come along, Caroline."

"What? Excuse me?" Caroline spluttered, trying to process everything he'd said in the last few sentences and still not quite able to wrap her mind around it, especially considering she didn't actually know why he thought he was taking her anywhere.

"Don't worry, love. I ate her. Difficult to find good help these days, but there's always more where she came from."

"I mean what are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere with you?" Caroline asked before backing up a few words. "Wait, you ate her? What does that mean?"

"I take it you don't know who I am, then?" he asked, his eyes flitting back and forth between her and Bill. "This is the Princess, I hope? It'd be a pity if I'd taken a liking to the wrong young lady."

The way taken a liking rolled off his tongue rang ominous in the hall, but she nonetheless felt her skin heat at the way he was looking at her.

"She is," Bill bit out, and Caroline found herself getting frustrated with all of the vague responses.

"Can someone just tell me what's going on?"

"Well, I had expected you to be informed," Klaus said boredly. "The short version is that I assisted your little clan a few centuries ago, and we made a bargain. Times were different then, and the gift of one's only daughter's hand was thought to be an honor, and I was therefore promised payment in the form of a wife. Now, I'm not the marrying type, but who was I to turn down a weapon in the form of a lovely girl with such... useful abilities..." his eyes dragged up and down her body as he spoke, and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Such power," he murmured, and she had a feeling he hadn't realized he'd spoken.

"In the form of a what now?"

"A wife," he repeated slowly as though he thought she'd lost a few IQ points in the last thirty seconds. "I have the contract here if you'd like to see it. Signed in blood."

"Yes," she said at the same time her father said no, and she shot him a raised eyebrow as she reached out for the contract, wriggling her fingers. She could have sworn Klaus's lips twitched.

He handed it to her and she squinted to read the cramped calligraphy, nausea twisting in her stomach as she read the particulars.

She scanned it for a consummation clause and some of the tension left her when she didn't find one, most likely because it was assumed that it was a given at the time, nor was there any explicit expectation of actual official marriage. It seemed odd but lucky until she got to the blood binding ritual, and she was so not up for that.

Blood magic was tricky, definitely not something to be taken lightly, and this particular one looked like the purpose was to artificially activate the soul bond that veela were famous for.

There was enough prejudice with regular wizards that most veela took great care to encourage the rumors that one could be "half-veela", but it was like any other genetic power. You were a veela or you were not. Some women inherited the trait and some didn't. She'd grown up able to enthrall anyone she wanted if they were caught unaware, but a veela's bond with the lover she chose was just as coveted by women who didn't know better.

The idea of a soulmate was romantic on its face, and truthfully there was nothing wrong with the power as long as it was used on a person who was trustworthy. The bond fostered feelings of protectiveness and it heightened the emotional connection, both of which were idealized in a relationship, but still nice enough. However, she knew Klaus probably couldn't care less about those aspects.

No, he was after the immunity to enchantment a veela bond offered. Though occlumency and protective wards were effective, non-wizards couldn't practice them, and she knew of the Originals, knew what they were.

Klaus was part wolf, so the thrall would be less effective, but she knew that covens had tried to lock that part of him away more than once, to leave him as simply a vampire. In other words, vulnerable to the control.

She doubted he was comfortable with that.

Still, if she entrusted her safety to the man who saw people as weaponry, she wasn't sure how that would turn out, other than 'badly'. She swallowed as she scanned the contract, wishing, not for the first time, that she hadn't been lucky enough to get the gift.

She set it down by her plate, gritting her teeth.

"I don't want to."

If the ritual didn't happen, then the rest of the bits of the contract didn't either, and she would fight tooth and nail to make sure that she never got stuck in the pentagram.

"There are consequences, love. Magic has a price, and if you don't fill your end of the bargain..." he trailed off, but she knew the consequences of breaking the blood bond. Still, losing all of her magic might be worth it.

"I'm not doing it," she said stubbornly.

"Then perhaps I'll kill your entire family," he said casually, his fingers flexing as though he was just itching to rip out Great Aunt Margaret's heart.

He probably was.

"Don't," she said quickly, reaching out as though she could physically block him from three seats down, and he gave her a dimpled smile that could have looked boyish and innocent if it wasn't on him.

"Then I suppose we're in agreement, hmm? Now, as I said, best not to dawdle. Come along, sweetheart."

"But I have school starting again next Monday," she said, naming the first excuse she could think of. There wasn't any way out of a binding contract signed with blood (if she could go back and kill whatever elder signed it she totally would), but maybe she could put it off indefinitely.

"School?" he asked, looking more amused than anything.

"Yeah. It's the end of winter break. So, you know, I'll be busy. I'm graduating this year so I have my finals in a few months, and I'm on the dance committee..." she stopped her rambling abruptly when he stood, walking the few yards to her and holding out his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Your phone. Give it to me."

"Why?"

"I'm going to give you my number."

"You could say 'please'," she muttered, pulling it out and pressing her thumb to the button to unlock it before handing it to him.

He didn't respond, programming the number in and handing it back to her before picking the contract back up from where it was sitting in front of her. "I'll be in touch," he said, flashing her another dimpled grin before he was gone with a whistle of displaced air.

It was completely silent for a few full seconds before Caroline rounded on her father. "What the hell, Dad?"

"We thought he'd forget," Bill said, wincing. "Well, more hoped than anything."

"Well, now I'm going to be a victim of a blood binding ritual, so thanks for the fantastic birthday present."

"Caroline—"

"No. This is unacceptable. Arranged marriages have been outlawed for over two hundred years."

"Not if they were arranged before the—"

"I know, but it's not fair. Like, this shouldn't be a thing."

"I know baby girl."

Caroline swelled to her full height, her palms warming as she felt the heat of a fireball begin to gather. "I shouldn't have to get married. This is the 21st century. I have rights."

"Caroline, the elders—"

"Lived five hundred years ago and yet somehow managed to preserve the systemic oppression inherent in the greater magical world's patriarchal society in a subculture with a powerful female presence and power. So no. Fuck arranged marriages, fuck the patriarchy, and fuck you."

The hall went silent other than a few soft gasps at Caroline's foul language, but she ignored them, pushing out of her chair and walking to the large oak door to make a dramatic exit.

Her heart was pounding as she stalked down the hall to her bedroom, highly aware of her wand, which was strapped to the holster on her thigh, begging to be used.

She wanted to disapparate, to run, tears pricking at her eyes as she fought to regulate her breathing. She knew she couldn't though. Magical consequences aside, he clearly wasn't afraid to threaten her family, not to mention what he could do to her.

Klaus didn't seem like the sort of monster to take betrayal lightly.

She changed into her pajamas with shaking hands, suddenly exhausted. She went to her bathroom to brush her teeth, catching her own blue eyes in the mirror and suddenly hating herself. She hated her powers, her heritage, her life. Hated what would so clearly become of her.

She had to stay strong, though, she decided. She would not bend to his every whim, not use her powers for his gain and then fall prettily into place behind him like a good little minion. Caroline had been raised to rule, and she would not be relegated to a pawn of a monstrous psychopath. There had to be some sort of leverage over him that she could exploit. She wasn't going to let herself be cowed.

Curling up in bed with a sigh, she decided that she'd sleep on it. Develop a plan of attack in the morning.

Still, every time she closed her eyes she saw Klaus's satisfied smirk burnt on the back of her lids, her fear seeming to accentuate the glint of sharp teeth and the angles of his face.

XXX

"Where's the girl?"

"Never you mind," Klaus growled, ushering the witch onto the plane. They'd booked all of first class and he took a moment to compel the flight attendants not to bother them and to make sure no one came through the curtain separating them from coach. He'd seduced Genevieve decades ago back when Rebekah had been playing nurse in New Orleans, mostly to amuse himself as he waited for Rebekah to tire herself out, and the poor girl had never quite gotten over him. She was useful, both knowledgeable in magic and unusually powerful, and always willing to lend a hand when he needed magic or spread her legs when he needed release.

"I thought you needed her to-"

"I said never you mind," he said, his voice sharp, and the girl fell silent, glancing out the window at the tarmac.

"Fine," Genevieve said, clearly hurt, and he was thankful she wasn't looking at him as he rolled his eyes, pulling his phone out of his pocket and fiddling with it for something to do with his hands.

Caroline Forbes had certainly not been what he'd expected.

He'd gone in assuming that she would have been told of her fate and had time to get used to it, but it seemed that she was completely ignorant to the contract the elders had signed so many years ago. It was certainly more inconvenient, but she would fall eventually. She was a seventeen year old girl. It shouldn't be hard to make her weak in the knees for him, to bend to his wishes and give him full access to her powers.

He'd been waiting to execute this plan for years, had considered every angle, and Caroline's aura was an essential component. He'd be damned if it was ruined because the girl was too stubborn to give in.

To be fair, she had just found out, and he knew that the knowledge that she would be bound to him must be a bit of a shock. If he gave her a few days, she'd surely relax and warm to the idea of being his.

What girl wouldn't want to be under the protection of the most powerful man in the world?

I hope you enjoyed this! Please let me know what you thought. Favorite lines? Predictions? Parts?

Thank you so much for reading!