Chapter 36: The Last Year
Stiles stretched his legs across the laps of the people beside him, leaning his head back against the window. "Alright, everyone, this is our last year at Hogwarts. After this, there's no more magic school, no more waiting to get a job. It's either college or a job in the Wizarding World. We've got to make it good. We've got to make it spectacular. We've got to make it crazy and interesting. We've got to have tons of movie nights and dances that go completely awry in the space of an hour."
"So, what you're saying," Aiden began, folding his arms across his chest.
"Is that we're going to make our best attempt to get ourselves expelled," Ethan finished for him, raising an eyebrow as Stiles scoffed. "Are you saying that's not what we're going to try?"
"I don't think that after all of the shit we've gotten into since Third Year, we could actually come up with something that could get us expelled," Stiles told them, "And anyway, what kind of example would we be setting for Maura if we got expelled. She'd go thinking it's okay to go and get herself expelled!"
Erica rolled her eyes towards him. "She's not even half a year old, Stiles, she won't even remember that we got expelled."
"It's the principal of the matter. She'll hear stories about it. It will be best to avoid the situation all together."
"Whatever," Erica sighed moodily, turning her eyes out the window. Boyd traded seats with Issac, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as Isaac dropped down beside Scott with a sheepish smile.
Popping up from his seat, Stiles stared at all of them, hands on his hips. Moroseness slipped over him, sliding to him across every line and thread that connected him to his pack. The emotion came to him from even Allison and Kira who had traveled to Hogwarts the day before them. "Come on, you guys. It's our last year at Hogwarts. Why are we starting the year out gloomy? If we're going to make the most of this year, we should charge in with smiles on our faces and go start playing pranks on the other Seventh Years! You don't have to follow me, but that's what I'm going to be doing if you need me."
Grabbing Scott's wrist -because were a Scott went, an Isaac usually followed, and where and Isaac went, an Erica and a Boyd usually followed, and so on- he dragged the rather willing werewolf behind him.
…..
'Witches and wizards, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final Quidditch match of the year! It's sure to be a good one!' a new announcer and the old one called over the stadium together. The new announcer's voice was pitched high against the older announcer's deeper thrum, her enthusiasm palpable as she stood daringly on the edge of her box. 'Slytherin versus Gryffindor! Not only that, but players like Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale will be playing their last game today! What a tragic happening! After the year of crazy that not only they have caused, but their close friends have caused as well, I will be sad to see them go! I've been assured by their teammates though, that they are bound to put on one last spectacular game for us today with a special surprise at the end! What is that surprise, you ask? Only the end of the match will tell!'
Stiles hovered across the field from Derek, throwing him a wide grin as Derek shot him narrowed eyes. He pressed the tips of his fingers theatrically to his mouth, holding them out to Derek, and wilted when he shook his head. "Oh love, why do you wound me so?"
Derek didn't have the chance to respond as the announcers called, 'The golden snitch has been released!' Coach Finstock, hovering to the side of both teams, threw the quaffle high into the air. 'And the game has begun!'
Both teams burst into action, crashing against each other in a spectacular mingling of crimson and emerald. A shout of triumph rose up as Stiles got his hands on the quaffle, shooting out from the fray and darting towards the goal posts. If he wanted his plan to go as... well... planned, he needed to keep his hands on the quaffle for most of the game and have it in his hands when the snitch was caught. With the look of challenge gleaming in everyone's eyes, he doubted that that was likely to happen though.
Ducking as a bludger whizzed passed his head, he chucked the quaffle towards the Gryffindors' posts.
'Ten points to Slytherin! It hasn't even been two minutes, and the game is off to a spectacular start!' the old announcer shouted, having joined his protege on the edge of their box.
With his mind focused on other matters, he didn't much care particularly who won this game, but the faster it happened, the better it would be for him. He wouldn't have the chance to try to talk himself out of this if it all happened quickly. He'd let Lydia in on his plans, and he could hear her from where she stood in the stands beside Allison, shouting at the top of her voice.
"Go, Cora! Make me proud! Catch that snitch and see what waits for you at the after party!" she called, and if that didn't light fire in Cora's veins, Stiles didn't know what would. Her voice dropped away to silence each time the quaffle disappeared from his hands, sailing through either of the goals or passing between the two teams, but rose again when it was safely back with him.
The rest of the pack who were not part of the game, oblivious to Stiles' plan, simply shouted no matter which House scored. They were becoming increasingly louder with each of their alpha's mate's successive points though.
Stiles couldn't help but grin, purposefully reaching out to Derek through their bond. He found him in the middle of a scuffle between a writhing group of green and red. Distracted by the shot of desire the Stiles allowed along the bond, he found Stiles in the sky and the quaffle promptly dropped unnoticed by the quarreling teams. Throwing a kiss in Derek's direction, Stiles darted down, scooping the quaffle into his arms, his fingers grazing the grass of the field.
As he threw the quaffle through the Gryffindor's goal once more, he felt Erica's mounting irritation peak as she followed close on Cora's heals, chasing her and the Snitch around and around the stadium in an ever tightening circle. Stiles had only just gotten the quaffle back in his hands when they reached the middle. With a final burst of speed, Erica flew passed Cora, throwing herself from her broom at the Snitch.
The stadium went utterly silent for the space of a heartbeat while Erica rolled ass over teakettle across the field. Popping back up to her feet, she thrust her fist into the air, two tiny golden wings fluttering from either side, and howled her triumph. The Slytherins' roars joined her howl, overshadowing the announcers' voices.
Stiles was frozen, staring down at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for this! He wasn't-
"Stiles!" Lydia screeched, dragging him from his shock and fear. She eyed the quaffle he still held pointedly where it had begun to tremble in his hands.
Swallowing thickly, his hands trembling right along with it, he shouted, "Derek!" and threw it into the air.
The quaffle burst, shredded pieces of red leather flying in all directions. Fireworks exploded over the stadium, a rainbow of colors and a cacophony of sound. As they fell, they formed four words, the most important question he'd ever asked another living person.
'Will you marry me?' blazed across the sky, drifting towards the field, but remaining whole as if refusing to fade.
Stiles wondered if that had been by Lydia's design or just another piece of the spell they'd used to put it together. Holding out a hand, he watched as two simple rings dropped into his palm. They were silver bands, one inlaid with intricate, interlocking knots of white gold and the other with the same only in onyx. His insides were trying their damnedest to make themselves outsides, and it was all he could do to force down the nausea building in his body.
Had his father really done this two times? Was he crazy? Stiles wasn't sure he was going to make it through just this once.
Derek was staring up at the question, his mouth hanging open in undisguised shock, the colorful lights of the fireworks flickering across his face.
Slowly, Stiles drifted towards him, clutching the rings so tightly that they bit into his palm, his knuckles pressing white against his skin. "Derek?" he asked quietly, reaching out to him physically and across their bond to draw his attention. He waited until Derek had turned stunned eyes to him before continuing. "We've known each other for nearly five years now, and just like any other relationship, whether romantic or platonic, we've had our ups and downs, but we always returned to each other at the end of the day." Swallowing, he dropped his voice so only Derek could hear. "I know that being your mate transcends everything and anything else. Nothing physical could ever hold the same value as that does, but I want the world to know that I'm yours and you are mine. So, Derek Sourwolf Hale, would you do me the pleasure of being my husband, my mate, my alpha, and everything else in between?"
Derek was silent for long enough that Stiles' already sweaty palms made his grip on the rings tenuous. Finally, Derek smiled softly. "You beat me to it." Uncurling Stiles' clenched fingers, he plucked the silver ring with white gold from his palm and slid it on to Stiles' ring finger. A shuddering breath fell from Stiles' mouth, and he in turn slid the silver and onyx ring onto Derek's ring finger. "Husband, mate, alpha, and everything else in between," Derek murmured, leaning forward to steal a simple kiss, but the stadium had other plans for them.
'He said yes!' the new announcer screeched, bringing the pair back to themselves as the world around them exploded into cheers and wolf whistles. Down below, they could hear the pack screaming themselves hoarse, and Stiles was positive he had heard a sighed, "Finally," on the wind from Danny.
Turning to Derek, he grinned. "I guess they've been waiting for this for a while now."
Derek glowered down at the commotion. "We're not inviting any of them to the wedding, I hope you know."
Stiles sighed forlornly. "That's out of our hands, I'm afraid. Lydia started planning the ceremony and reception as soon as I brought her in on this. She said she'll take our input on some things, but most of it is just going to be a surprise. I'm just afraid she's going to try to stick one of us in a dress." He laughed lightly, but they both knew that it was a real threat. "So... what do we do now?" he asked, pushing against the excitement that the pack was throwing at him.
Raising one of those infuriating eyebrows at him, Derek wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him towards him. He spanned the short distance between them, and ignoring the rest of the world, pressed his lips to Stiles'.
Sorry if this was not what you were expecting for the ending, but I've had this chapter planned since I first started this project. I leave in just a few days now, and I thought I would be best that this story finally came to a close. It's been more than a year since I started it, and even though things didn't go exactly how I'd planned them, I'm happy with the outcome. I hope you all enjoyed the ride as I did, and I hope to see you all with another story in a few months.