Work Text:
Stiles didn’t even get to go on the train! Because he now lived in Hogsmeade. Quiet place in the summer, but at least it had cool shops and an incredible view of the castle beyond the lake. The castle where he had just been transferred to.
♦♦♦
While his father had attended Hogwarts a gajillion years ago, and they were local to the area, his mother actually attended a small Slavic wizarding school. Stiles had already been fluent in English, Polish (from both sides of the family), and Russian by the time he was five.
His mom had died a couple of years prior to Stiles’s eleventh birthday. And when the letters arrived, he told his father he wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps. John agreed immediately. And so Stiles Stilinski – who (unfortunately) ended up using his given name considering the school – went to his mother’s alma mater.
During the first five years, he made excellent marks, flew by on the small Quidditch team, and was a menace – a mischief boy. ;)
In year three, a select group of students were allowed to participate in an owlery pen pal program. He had hoped for his best friend Scott who attended Hogwarts; they were childhood friends prior to “boarding school” (as far as Mr. McCall, the muggle, was aware). Alas, he’d been paired with a Lydia Martin, Ravenclaw. (Which was cool because he had been able to ask questions from stories his Ravenclaw father had told him, and then call out his father on the blatant bullshit.) After the first month of back-and-forth letters, he understood why they’d been paired up. And while he’d yet to meet her in person, he was in love with this mathematical genius witch.
And today was the day. First of term for year six.
Due to his OWL scores and his research with Lydia, he was extended another chance at Hogwarts. He didn’t even blink before saying yes to the deputy headmaster, Professor Argent – who’d attended school with his father, both of whom were Ravenclaws – when the man made the offer over dinner early that summer.
♦♦♦
As the time came nearer to when the train was to bring students to Hogsmeade, Stiles and his officer father left for the platform. John’s duty was to ensure everyone’s safety off the train. Stiles just wanted to find Scott. Plus, Scott promised to introduce Stiles to his pen pal. Now they could research together, in person – talk things out, bounce ideas in real time. Experiment! He was internally bouncing in giddiness.
His father caught his arm and lifted him upright. “Watch where you’re going, Kiddo.”
“Sorry,” Stiles blushed. Coordination was not exactly his best quality. “Got caught up in my thoughts. I finally get to meet Lydia!” he gushed. “And Professor Morrell. And maybe even room with Scottie!”
“Stiles, remember. Hogwarts has House dorms and a friendly inter-House competition. You get sorted, so remember you only have a fourth of a chance to be with Scott.”
“Nah. More like a third. Not sure friendly or just or loyal are my strong suits. But you’re a Ravenclaw, as is Lydia. So that’s a strong possibility. Wise, logical, inquisitive –”
John Stilinski groaned. Yeah, inquisitive. His kid needed to tone that down.
“And witty, pops,” Stiles continued. “As for Gryffindor, there’s that strong moral compass, stubbornness, and brave –”
“Reckless bravery,” his father muttered out loud.
Stiles rolled his eyes and continued: “Though I’m not trusting or super honest like Scott.”
“You’ve spent a lot of time researching this.”
“Uh, duh! It’s what I do, Daddio!”
“Well, how’s your Slytherin knowledge?”
Stiles stopped walking. “Do they really live in the dungeons, Dad?”
John sighed. “There have been upgrades in the last few decades. And kids aren’t imprisoned. I have heard, though, that they have a view inside the lake.”
Stiles’s eyes went wide. The creatures that live there! “OHH! That is so cool!”
“So, Slytherin?” John redirected as they continued their way to the train station.
“Right. Okay. So, I am ambitious and driven! Intelligent and ruthless,” he smirked. “I am not,” he paused to mentally go through more traits, “subtle–”
His father snorted loudly.
“Hey!” he side-eyed his dad and then continued on. “I’m not well prepared or focus-oriented.” He shrugged. “So, guess we’ll see how sorting goes!”
“I’m proud of you, no matter where you land.”
“Thanks, pops,” he gave him a side hug. “Oh! I hear the train!” and he ran ahead.
♦♦♦
The sheriff used a hoover charm to allow Stiles to see from above. Even though Stiles himself was sure he was allowed to do it.
As the doors of the train opened, Stiles held his breath.
“STILES!” a voice yelled.
All other conversations halted as students looked around.
“Scottie! Over here!” Stiles responded just as enthusiastically, jumping up and down, waving frantically.
Scott rushed over and Stiles swiped the hoover away. “Missed you,” they said in unison, like they hadn’t just seen each other a week ago shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley.
Soon, two girls came over, a dark-haired Gryffindor and a red-haired Ravenclaw. Stiles’s eyes widened at the realization. “Lydia!” He pulled away from Scott and stepped forward, wanting to hug his – whatever they were for the last 2.5 years.
“Hello, Stiles,” she said with a teasing tone.
It was the first time he’d heard her voice in person. Voice memos did her no justice.
“Now that you’re here, I hope you won’t slack off. I have research plans and experiments I need conducted. Now that I have a partner, Morrell, Argent, and even Headmistress Hale have given me more freedom. Don’t screw this up.”
And she walked away, towards a group of three boys, two of whom were in Ravenclaw ties. But she wrapped her arms around the shortest boy, the one in Slytherin green.
“She’s scary and awesome and amazing and beautiful,” he sighed wistfully.
“And taken,” the girl still there jumped in. “Allison Argent. I believe you’ve met my father.”
Stiles blinked. Arg -? “Oh! The Deputy Headmaster. Yep. Head of Ravenclaw. How’s he feel about you in Gryffindor? Was that your mom’s house?”
Allison laughed and shook her head. “My mom’s a snake. She works for the Ministry. Dad’s proud. Mom was initially sad.”
“I think it happens more now,” Scott chimed in. “Like, family doesn’t immediately mean you have to follow suit. Like me and my mom.”
“Speaking of, where is our lovely Nurse Melissa?”
(When Stiles last spoke to her, she begged the boys to behave and not get into trouble. The best answer was no response. Can’t break a promise if you don’t make a promise.)
“Talking to the sheriff,” Allison responded.
Stiles and Scott turned their necks so fast that there were audible cracks. They caught their parents chatting close together as students filed out of the train. The boys then turned to each other with huge smiles.
“And dad tried to claim it was part of his job. To keep the safety of the kids. I knew that was sketchy. Thought it was just about seeing me off. But, no p e,” the ‘p’ popped. “It was ‘cause he wanted to be with Mel before school started.”
“You think they’ll get together before we graduate?”
“Ugh, I hope so. I just want you as my damn brother for real already!”
♦♦♦
The experience of the first evening at Hogwarts was very different from Stiles’s previous school, which was a third of the size. He was escorted with the first years, towering over the 11-year-olds, listening to them trying to figure out the dangerous House placement. And true to style, he helped encourage the fear. (Even though he knew about the hat.) Listen, his parents named their kid Mieczysław and they didn’t live in Poland. His mother had lovingly nicknamed him Mischief before he officially went by Stiles in grade school. He needed some more entertainment while being the weird older kid.
When Argent led them into the Great Hall, Stiles was among the newbies to gasp. The high ceilings, the majestic magic showing off, he wanted to learn more and everything.
As they stood at the front of the Hall, in front of the professors’ high table, Deputy Headmaster Argent started explaining the sorting ceremony. Stiles zoned out and turned around, taking a look at the long tables full of students. They were separated by colored ties and above the tables were House banners. In his previous school, it was small for such extravagance. People tended to gather based on country/language. The only uniform distinction was based on school year.
Stiles spotted Scott and Allison at the far-end table, by the windows. He waved to his bestie and hopefully new friend. They waved back. There was a blonde girl who looked over at him, eyeing him up and down, and then presumably asking about him.
Next was the yellow crowd, Hufflepuffs. He wasn’t familiar with anyone there and had low expectations for associating with them. Slytherin was next. He zeroed in on Lydia’s boyfriend. But that was it. And then on the other far side, walled-in, was the Ravenclaw blue. Lydia’s red hair was easy to spot. She was chatting with the boys from the platform and a dark-haired girl.
Maybe it would be easy to make friends here? He knew Scott. He knew Lydia enough that she seemed to willingly want to spend time with him. Maybe even outside of work. So he could blend into the group? He really hoped it would be easy to make friends. Being the English, ADHD kid who loved chaos and was highly inquisitive didn’t make him lasting friendships. (It was one of the reasons to transfer.)
Finally, all the first years were sorted and it was just him, the nearly six-foot tall transfer student. Awkward.
“This year, we have a transfer student to Hogwarts. This is,” he paused and looked at Stiles.
Stiles looked back, hoping the dude remembered their meeting over the summer. Don’t use his given name. Don’t do it.
“Stiles Stilinski.”
Stiles took a long exhale in relief. And then waited for more. He looked up and saw Argent’s waiting, piercing eyes. Oh, right. Sorting Hat. Duh. And Stiles tripped up the few steps and sat down. The hat was placed on his head.
“Ah. I see you know what’s expected, child. And you’ve brushed Hufflepuff aside. But you are quite loyal, I see. Selectively so. Strong sense of justice, but morally ambiguous at that. Yes, I see. We can take Hufflepuff off the table. You have a desire for kinship, but is that enough for Gryffindor? Brave, yes. But too cunning and inquisitive to jump into things. No, I’m afraid you and your friend will be separated once more. Many similar traits as your father, but more resourcefulness over planning. While highly intelligent and you have a need for learning, that goes beyond the simplicity of learning itself. Hmmm, I’ve settled, child.”
“SLYTHERIN!” the sorting hat shouted, and the voice in his head was gone.
Stiles blinked. He hadn’t expected it to actually be like that. He hadn’t been prepared for a psychological evaluation.
Argent lightly pushed him to get Stiles in action. “You can sit with the first years or go to Jackson, another sixth year.”
“Which one is that?” Stiles whispered.
“Lydia’s boyfriend.”
“I know Lydia, not her boyfriend,” Stiles snarked back with an eye roll. He left the platform and headed between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw row. He bypassed the first years and went towards the boy he saw Lydia wrap her arms around. “Jackson, I presume?”
The boy gave him a once-over and nodded, pushing the person next to him down to make room. “Lydia said I had to be nice. But if you hit on her or make her uncomfortable in any way, I’ll kill you.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Her, yeah. I’m afraid of her. I know she can take care of herself, so getting on her bad side puts me in the grave.”
Jackson nodded. “Glad you know.” Then he lowered his voice: “She gets put off if I try to ‘rescue’ her.”
The two laughed. Did Stiles just make a friend?
♦♦♦
The First of Term Feast ended after food and food and chatter and food and singing and food and school announcements and food. Either they put something in the food or all the food just naturally made him sleepy. Which was good since Lydia leaned over and told Stiles explicitly that he was to meet her when and where in the morning. Way too early for his liking, but he was also excited to meet Professor Morrell and get working.
As students started to leave the Great Hall and first years followed prefects, the dark-haired Ravenclaw stopped Stiles with a hand on his shoulder.
“Mother would like to meet you,” she smiled and led him towards the high table.
The headmistress stood up. She was so regal, and Stiles almost wanted to bow, but that was silly – and he could control that impulse. He watched her make her way down to him. Her dark hair and dark eyes lifted her wide, mischievous smile. (He remembered his father mentioning that she was a Slytherin.)
“Hello, Mieczysław.”
He flinched.
“Stiles, is it?”
“Yes, please, ma’am.”
“Well, Stiles. Welcome to Hogwarts. And congratulations on joining Slytherin. I think you’ll like our house very well.”
“Not that you’re biased or anything,” the girl quipped.
Stiles blinked, having forgotten the girl in favor of her mother. Wait, what?
“I’m sorry for my children. One could say they were raised by wolves,” she chuckled. “This is my daughter Laura. She’s Head Girl and a Ravenclaw.”
Stiles waved at her. So, she was a year ahead.
“And this is my son, Derek.”
Stiles blinked. By the headmistress’s side was a boy his height who – he hadn’t been there before had he? Stiles would have noticed that body, even under the robes. The dark hair, green eyes behind glasses. Stiles was entranced. So pretty, he thought to himself. And then blinked again. Really hoping it was to himself and not out loud.
“Sorry, zoned out there. What?”
Talia smiled. “Derek is a Hufflepuff and prefect. He’s in your year and will be sharing most lessons with you. I’ve assigned him as your guide to the school.”
“Um, excuse me, ma’am. That’s very nice of you, but I have Scott and Lydia.”
“What she means is she’s making Derek friends,” Laura teased.
“I already have friends,” Derek blushed, glaring at his sister.
Stiles nearly melted at the deep blush on the chiseled face.
“I know you have Scott, and Lydia will be dragging you around for research, but Derek can share more about the school and procedures with you. Let him show you around. Give him a chance,” Talia said, her tone holding a final decision. Both boys nodded.
“Now, Stiles. Let me walk you to the Slytherin dorms and explain a few more rules and expectations I have of you, joining as a transfer student.”
♦♦♦
Stiles yawned. It was officially the first school day of year six. And the first lesson was potions. With Finstock. Scott had told him all about the Gryffindor Head of House and Quidditch referee. At least Quidditch made semi-sense with this man’s insanity. Quidditch was a hodge-podge of everything and nothing. (Which, honestly, was right up Stiles’s level of chaos.)
Scott plopped down beside him. Stiles smiled.
“I’m so happy we have most lessons together, dude,” the Gryffindor prefect wheezed. “Don’t know how I’ll survive NEWT-level courses without you.”
“Maybe we can learn some asthma-controlling potion,” Stiles teased. (No, actually, is that a thing? Something more magical than an inhaler? He’d have to talk with Lydia about that for a potential experiment.)
“Piss off,” Scott said after a deep breath.
Stiles did his best (not really) to not laugh.
“How long have you been in class? I didn’t see you for breakfast.”
“Lydia and I had a breakfast chat with Professor Morrell. Working on this term’s schedule and research plans.”
“You literally just got here and you’re already planning research?”
“Dude. Lydia and I have been making plans for like two years now. And since we’re in the same school, we can actually work on practical elements.”
Scott eyed his Slytherin best friend and then leaned forward, spotting Lydia and Jackson at the next lab table over. He sat back and looked at Stiles skeptically. “Isn’t Lydia all about muggle maths?”
The Ravenclaw prefect overheard the slander. Her flirtatious smile turned cold. “Math and science aren’t about witches or muggles. Mathematics is the universal language of the universe. Just because most people don’t understand concepts such as calculus or alchemy doesn’t mean-”
She was interrupted by a pop and smoke. And a momentary delay of the combined scents of pomegranate, hand sanitizer, oranges, and post-rain humidity. (How? What? Why?)
Scott coughed and this time actually pulled out his inhaler, taking a deep inhale of the medicine.
The Potions Master – Professor Finstock – stood proudly in front of the class.
“Nice entrance, sir. Very refreshing for the first of term. 10/10 would see in Vegas,” Stiles quipped.
Finstock zeroed in on the talker. “Who are you?”
“Transfer student. Year six.”
He eyed the boy up and down. “You play quidditch, kid?”
“Yep,” he popped the ‘p’ with a smile. “Seeker, if the Snakes will have me.”
Finstock grinned manically. “Oh, I can’t wait to see Boyd kill you,” he said as he picked up the potions book, directing everyone to the page he wanted the students to start with.
Stiles leaned over to Scott. “Which one’s Boyd again?”
But it was Lydia who turned back to respond. “Our 6’2, muscular black seeker.” Then she turned to her boyfriend, Slytherin’s Quidditch captain and chaser. “Good luck, darling.”
♦♦♦
The thing was, magic was real. And the entire school was magical. Literally. The stairs moved; statues winked. There was a room that seemed to be around when you required (heh, get it?!) it and for any occasion. So nothing should surprise him.
Except. There was a large black wolf lying in a corner, under the half moon light shining through the window.
It was after midnight and Stiles should be in the dorm at least, if not actually sleeping. But his brain was awake and it was a week into term. He wanted to explore and learn all about the school. He had five years of secrets to catch up on.
But there was a wolf.
That wasn’t right, was it? Scott never mentioned wolves. Or really any creatures inside except for owls, cats, and toads. (Wait, why weren’t dogs allowed?!)
He blinked and the wolf was gone. He blinked again and rubbed his hands over his eyes. Okay. Bed time. He was seeing things. Obviously.
♦♦♦
Stiles somehow invited himself to the Quiet Study Group in the library. By which he meant that he pestered School Guide Derek about his Thursday evening plans. And then tagged along when Derek mentioned the library.
Scott had told Stiles about the Restricted Section and Stiles wanted in.
The librarian was unimpressed with him.
But Lydia was there. And Derek forgot to mention he was hanging with people! So Stiles plopped down after Madam Ito stared him down.
“What are we doing?” Stiles greeted the three people.
“Stiles,” Lydia said, exasperated, “why are you here?”
“Derek’s mom told him to show me around and then he said library and I realized I hadn’t been here before so I here I am,” he replied in a single breath. “And you?”
“Study group,” Derek mumbled bashfully.
“Oh! That’s a great idea. Scott could –”
“No.”
Stiles shut his mouth.
“It’s a closed group,” the third voice replied. Boyd. The Ravenclaw seeker.
“It’s a quiet group,” Derek said.
Stiles frowned. Okay, so making friends – not as easy as he hoped. He took a deep breath in, two, three, out, two three. “If I’m quiet, can I stay?”
The boys sighed.
“You have one chance, Stilinski,” Lydia agreed. “But only because I can use your mind.”
“So who gets my body?” came out immediately.
Lydia rolled her eyes and ignored him. Derek blushed. Boyd gave him an unimpressed side-eye. And then they all continued their work, so Stiles shrugged, grabbed a parchment and pen from Derek – who looked up, his green eyes frowning behind his glasses. Stiles turned away from the look and stopped himself from writing poetry about his crush on a hot nerd. Nope.
Instead, he brainstormed how a wolf could get into the castle.
♦♦♦
It was late September, and the weather was changing. But this Saturday, it was sunny and warm, and one of the last days like this of the year. So, students were outdoors. Many of the sixth years were at the Quidditch pitch, including Stiles and Scott. Neither of whom were actually doing anything. Instead, they were sitting in the stands, watching.
And what a sight it was. There were a few groups around.
Kira and Boyd were having a sword duel. Kira was a tiny Hufflepuff, but she was a swordsmith. With her family’s Japanese heritage, her samurai skills were on point. Literally. Stiles did not want to be near the pointy side of her sword. And then there was Boyd. The Ravenclaw towered past six feet. He was broad, muscular, and had a steady flow in his movements. Stiles was observing this behavior since Boyd was also the Ravenclaw seeker, and Stiles wanted to meet his competition.
Speaking of – Stiles was playing with an old snitch that was no longer playable. It helped keep his ADHD and anxiety in check. Feeling the buzz of energy, letting it go and catching it, sometimes just tossing it up and letting it fall back into his palm. Plus, the whole seeker thing. He used that excuse to get Jackson to leave him be while in the dorm or even in the Slytherin common room.
“Wow,” Scott sighed in awe.
“Hmm, what’s up?” Stiles refocused on his friend.
“Allison is an archery master. Look at her aim,” Scott responded dreamily.
Stiles switched his attention to the two dark-haired girls – Allison Argent and Laura Hale. Both were tossing objects at each other as the other hit it in the air. It was a hypnotic experience.
Laura cast a charm that produced an object the size of a hard candy. And swoosh! Allison hit it on target, and it exploded on impact.
Stiles blinked and the pitch and activity refocused. He shook his head. That girl had some amazing gifts. It was amazing the things that were powerful in a magic school – and it wasn’t the physical magic.
Stiles shifted in his seat and continued looking around.
Derek.
He wasn’t on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Stiles didn’t know why. Derek just shrugged when asked and said it wasn’t his game.
Watching the scene unfold, Stiles figured out why. Because his game was baseball.
He was surrounded by four beaters, from different houses: Slytherin’s Malia, Hufflepuff’s Isaac, and Gryffindor’s Erica and Cora – Derek’s sister who was only a third year. He was throwing – Stiles leaned forward – actual baseballs in rapid succession, in every direction. The four encircling him were just going to town, moving farther away, coming closer, jumping up. Honestly, Stiles was surprised no one was on a broom. But they all appeared to have fun. Though the girls were definitely more aggressive and competitive.
At one point, Cora used her beater bat and lodged one towards the archery ladies. Laura turned as if sensing the ball and let an arrow fly, cutting through the baseball, slicing it in half.
It was a real moment of Hale beauty.
“Need a drool bucket, losers?” came a voice on the row above.
Jackson sat behind Stiles and leaned over, closing Stiles’s literal open mouth.
Once again, Stiles blinked to snap himself out of the hypnotic focus.
“Like you’re one to talk, Whittemore,” Stiles teased. He knew the way Jackson followed Lydia around, how he talked about her, how he viewed her. Both from being dormmates with the guy and from Lydia herself.
Jackson scoffed. “At least I’m dating the person I’m heart-eyeing,” he snarked back, a light blush on his cheek.
Stiles considered it a win and looked back at the pitch. His eyes zeroed in on Derek’s biceps as the Hufflepuff continued different pitches at his friends.
♦♦♦
Sleep had been an issue for Stiles since his mom’s illness. Or rather, anxiety entered his life and impacted his sleep. Which led to many midnight research spirals. But sometimes the Slytherin Common Room was too constricting for him, so Stiles continued his nighttime adventures. Mostly it was to tire himself out, but after seeing the wolf again, he became obsessed. (To no one’s surprise, except no one knew so it was no one’s business to comment, Brain.)
He’d never gotten close enough to know if the animal was real, but as his dad would say: one’s an incident, two’s a coincidence, and three’s a pattern. And the wolf was now in the same spot for the fourth time, just lounging, soaking up the moonlight.
♦♦♦
Stiles wasn’t sure why he was taking NEWT-level Care of Magical Creatures. He loved learning about magical creatures, but in a research way, not caring for them. But this was Scott’s specialty. Or maybe Stiles just disliked Deaton.
For a population full of magical inhabitants, this man was the most mysterious. Stiles didn’t like him. But he was Scott’s mentor. So he tried to behave as best as he could. (Which meant he counteracted Deaton’s cryptic teachings with passive aggressive bullshit and snarky answers.)
Today’s lesson ended with a research paper assignment – the legend of mythical creatures. Everyone needed to get their topic approved before leaving.
Stiles remembered the black wolf. Perfect. He immediately went to Deaton.
“Wolves!” he proposed loudly.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?” he complained.
“Wolves are not mythical creatures, Mister Stilinski. Follow the assignment.”
He hated the dude. His sister, Professor Morrell, would have let Stiles move forward and even encouraged the non-standard following of the assignment.
“Fine. Dragons it is,” Stiles huffed in response, starring the man down.
Deaton only nodded in acceptance.
Jokes on you, Stiles said to himself as he began formulating his sources. Enjoy ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ as source material. And he started furiously writing his intro the moment he was back at his seat.
♦♦♦
It was another Thursday evening Quiet Study Group. Stiles was writing about dragons. Dragons during Merlin’s reign, Chinese tales of dragons, Avatar: the Last Airbender and the dancing dragon, the How to Train Your Dragon book series, Disney’s interpretations. He was just following the assignment – mythical creature legends. These were all part of dragon lore.
Suddenly, there was a hand on his knee. He hadn’t realized he had been fidgeting, the excitement of pissing off Deaton giving his body energy. But now? The energy shifted. Stiles’s entire body froze. Derek’s hand was on his knee, holding him still. Stiles swallowed and glanced over to his right, but Derek was deep into his reading. Did he even realize that his hand was touching Stiles? Stiles blushed, cleared his throat, and turned back to his essay. It was another five minutes before Derek removed his hand. And then another 20 for Stiles’s heart to get under control.
♦♦♦
Things were getting intense for Stiles. And by things – feelings. He had feelings. And he didn’t like having these feelings because he couldn’t stop thinking about what the feelings meant. And he didn’t know what to do about these feelings. Not because of the boy thing but because of Derek thing.
So, on a Wednesday, he knocked on the office door of Slytherin’s Head of House – Peter Hale, transfiguration professor and brother to the headmistress. Since his father lived in Hogsmeade and students had permission to venture out on weekends, he requested if he could have a special leave and spend all of Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday morning with his father.
With the approval given, he wrote an owl to his father to tell him the plans.
♦♦♦
The Stilinski boys spent Saturday morning at the joke shop, went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, and spent the afternoon hanging around other places. Though as dinnertime neared, John had to physically drag his son out of Tomes and Scrolls. The kid could not be trusted in a bookshop.
After dinner, the duo sat in the living room of their small house. A football game was playing quietly in the background.
“Okay, kiddo. I’m happy to have you here for the night. I’ve missed you. But I know there’s more to the story than missing your old man.”
And just that easily, Stiles moaned and confessed about his feelings problem.
“It’s not Lydia, is it?” John asked skeptically.
“What? No, dad!” he scoffed. But then smiled as he thought about her. “I mean, she’s just as amazing as I knew she was from just our research pen-palling. But she’s like best friend material,” he concluded. “Plus, Jackson would murder me. And he knows where I sleep.”
His father chuckled. “Good to hear that this crush is purely platonic.”
Stiles nodded.
“So, now tell me who your non-platonic feelings are for.”
Stiles groaned, grabbed a couch pillow, and tried to suffocate himself.
♦♦♦
Stiles managed to survive his first term at Hogwarts with only pissing off half the professors and ghosts. Students had a slightly more favorable opinion of him. The Head Girl delighted in his presence; maybe Stiles should shift his attention to the older Hale. But even thinking that redirected his thoughts to Derek in his thumb-hole sweaters and glasses and his always-reading and the way he interacted with both his sisters and when his mom would come up to him during breakfast with a head kiss and he would blush so prettily and…
♦♦♦
Midterms came and passed (easily for Stiles). Winter holiday had arrived. No classes for a month! Stiles and Scott were staying at Hogwarts, having plans to sneak into each others’ dorms. Except Jackson was also staying and if he caught Scott anywhere near the Slytherin rooms, someone was going to get maimed, and Stiles really wanted to not piss off Nurse Melissa. (Yet. Cause, the inevitable could still happen.) Lydia opted to stay for the holidays – to avoid her parents’ drama, but mostly because she and Stiles had research plans. (Which, may or may not end up with someone in the infirmary.)
The morning after the students who went home for the holidays, the Great Hall’s décor changed to a single table. And that was when Stiles noticed a certain family was missing. He frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Scott asked as he swallowed some porridge.
“I thought the headmistress would be here.”
Scott shook his head. “Nah. We’re pretty much stuck with Finstock in charge during the holidays.”
Jackson looked at Stiles with a knowing smirk. “You know Headmistress Hale has a family, right?”
“Wow, no. I forgot. The three Hale students didn’t tip me off,” Stiles quipped back.
“She’s got a husband, too.”
“I think there’s a younger kid after Cora,” Scott chimed in, oblivious to his friend’s feeling.
“Maybe you’re just missing a certain Hufflepuff,” Jackson teased.
“You take that back!” Stiles squeaked.
♦♦♦
Later that afternoon, Lydia and Stiles were in the library, working on their research. With a month ahead of them and limited student attendance and minimal supervision, it was the perfect time to experiment.
Stiles wondered about his wolf buddy.
♦♦♦
That night, Stiles took a midnight stroll and came up to the empty meeting spot. Wolfie wasn’t there. He frowned. First Derek and now the wolf was gone.
♦♦♦
“Lydia, have you ever wondered how to identify an animagus?”
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
“Like, whose…essence is beneath the transformation? Is that a thing?”
“Interesting. I haven’t come across that topic. We could do some research. I think there’s a lot of potential in that topic. Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“Nope!” Stiles said, shiftily.
She just stared at him another moment before returning to her notes.
♦♦♦
The duo spent nearly all their time in the library, in the Restricted Section – after receiving a blanket permission request from Professor Morrell, much to Madam Ito’s displeasure.
They were unable to locate existing literature on the phenomenon of seeing through the animagus transformation. Which meant this was a perfect opportunity to research and test and science experiment magic!
♦♦♦
Lydia was the one to talk to Professor Finstock about allowing them access to the potions room for practice. The staff liked Lydia; she was wise and proper and trustworthy. Stiles was… not.
They then spent the remaining holiday trying to concoct a potion.
Jackson hated him for stealing his girlfriend’s time. Scott pouted but enjoyed the free time to hang around with his mom in town.
♦♦♦
Dinner a few days prior to the end of holiday included the addition of the Hales; they showed up a couple of days before the rest of the students.
And that night, when Stiles took a midnight stroll, the black wolf was back!
Stiles left without making his presence known. His mind was racing; this was why he brought up the idea, right? Because there had to be a connection.
Well, the only way to see if the potion works is to test it out. And since Stiles helped create it, it was only fair that he was the first to try it.
Also, if it inevitably went wrong, Melissa was more likely to go easy on him because she loved him. (Yeah, let’s go with that.)
The midnight before the students returned to school, Stiles chugged the newly concocted liquid and waited five minutes, just in case something went wrong. And then made his way to the moonlight meet.
This time, something was different. While the first time Stiles saw the wolf, he thought he was seeing things, this time…he could see the outline of a wolf, but through the haze, there was a person.
“Derek!” he exclaimed.
The wolf turned to look at the voice.
And there he was. Those deep green eyes staring at him.
“It worked!” Oh, my god! The potion worked. Holy crap, I knew the wolf was too human-like. Oh, shit, wait. Does that mean Derek likes me back?!
Because he and the wolf have this connection where they meet up here when sleep is nowhere to be found. And the wolf just let Stiles ramble his energy out until he’s ready to go back to the dormitory and crash.
Panic. Panic sets in. And they both leave.
♦♦♦
Stiles ended up crashing into Jackson’s bed and waking him up.
“Piss off, Stilinski.”
“Do you wanna know what Lydia and I have been working on? ‘Cause it worked. And I’m about to have a panic attack.”
Jackson blinked awake and led them out of the dorm room and into the common room. They managed to conjure up some cakes and whiskey-spiked tea.
Stiles then told Jackson about the wolf, the animagus see-through potion, and Derek.
♦♦♦
Classes resumed the following Monday. Stiles had never been one to act normal when anxious. Derek talked even less. The tension between the two was awkward at best. And all the sixth years could feel it.
♦♦♦
A month lapsed since Stiles found out about Derek’s transformation. Quiet Study Group was most definitely quiet, but it soured the atmosphere for the Ravenclaw prefects.
“The sexual tension is uncomfortable,” Boyd told Lydia in their common room Wednesday night. “Fix it.”
Lydia nodded. With Stiles in a funk, he was of no use to her.
♦♦♦
Thursday evening, Lydia casually asked Stiles a question about his mythical creatures essay, knowing the pop culture references he included. Boyd interjected with a leading comment, making way for Derek’s frustration at Stiles not taking the assignment seriously.
Within five minutes, Stiles and Derek were having a full-blown, loud argument about dragons and how the Slash Dragon in the ‘Merlin’ television series was in no way a viable source material on the history of dragon lore.
Madame Ito smiled as she shooed them out of the library.
This didn’t deter their argument; at this point, the tension felt less about the topic and more about the month-long silence.
Stiles ended up shoving Derek, but instead of bumping the wall, Derek knocked into a door. They both paused. The Room of Requirement. The school always seemed to know what was up.
The boys looked at each other and then both entered the room. They needed a quiet, personal place to clear the air.
Stiles confessed he misses his wolfie quality time. (I just miss you, Derek.)
Derek kissed him. (I miss you, too.)
As the kissing heated up, the opening notes of the Star Wars theme surrounded the pairing. They broke apart, and Stiles looked around the room. It was transferred into a movie theater, with bean bag chairs, a large-screen projector, and popcorn and candy carts.
Stiles laughed and flashed Derek a smile.
Derek nodded and they went to grab some snacks. They snuggled together against the bean bags, watching Star Wars and holding hands. Thrown in with them both reciting lines and sharing kisses.
It was long past midnight by the time they parted.