This chapter is still a little short, but I hope it's okay. I've been having trouble finding any creativity in this place, but I'll try my best to keep this story rolling at an acceptable pace.

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything

Chapter 13: Explaining the Truth

"Stiles," Derek tried, sitting at Stiles' side on a couch in the Slytherin common room. The enormous area was dark, only lit by the light of the projector. The moon was slowly creeping over the lake's surface, making a valiant, yet vain attempt to provide more light to the reverent students.

"Hold on," Stiles murmured, his quill poised over a roll of blank parchment. He stared at the page, waiting for ingenuity to strike, but his mind was as blank at his paper. Well, not exactly blank as filled to the brim with the face Derek had shown his weeks back. He hadn't been able to purge the image from his mind since then.

How in the ever loving hell had he not realized Derek was a werewolf? There had been a number of signs and phrases thrown around so carelessly that should have tipped him off right away. There had especially been signs from his family members. Were they all werewolves or was Derek just a special case?

"Stiles," Derek tried once more, leaning forward enough to look into Stiles' face. "You've been staring at it for three hours. I'm almost positive whatever you're trying to do is not going to do itself."

"If humans can do themselves, so can homework," Stiles muttered foully, tossing the parchment onto a coffee table filled to the brim with food. Without a spell in his mind, Stiles angrily waved his wand haphazardly at the page. Immediately, his quill picked itself up and began scrawling across the page.

'Derek is a werewolf. Derek is a werewolf. Derek is a werewolf. Derek is a-'

Stiles let out a cry of surprise, flicking his wand again. The parchment ignited, flaring bright, throwing orange light across the closest students before shriveling into a black pile of ash, leaving behind a small, barely noticeable scorch mark. His breath came hard, ragged and shocked. He couldn't meet Derek's eyes.

With a sigh, Derek stood, offering his hand to Stiles. "Come on, I have to explain a few things to you, I supposed," he murmured, ignoring the stares boring into their bodies.

He could feel Scott's and Madame McCall's careful gazes, nearly identical in their intensity and concern. He could feel Danny's approving, yet pointed, gaze, watching for any mistakes by Derek or distress on Stiles' part. Malia, Cora, Laura and Lydia watched, waiting patiently for his next move.

Despite his cautious attitude over the last few weeks, he took Derek's hand without hesitation, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He was guided from the filled room, oblivious to the eyes following their exit.

They were out on the grounds before Stiles knew truly what was happening. They were lit by the pearly light of the full moon, washed white, shadows more stark than usual.

"Where are we going?" Stiles whispered, as if he spoke any louder his voice would wake things he'd rather leave asleep.

"The Shrieking Shack," Derek replied just as quietly, leading him on a longer path than Stiles usually took to get there.

A shudder ran through Stiles' body. "Why are we going there?"

Last he remembered of the Shrieking Shack was being clung to by a sobbing werewolf and nearly passing out as they maneuvered their way to the Gryffindor common room. He could still see the house torn to shreds, the glint of Derek's fangs and claws, the flash of his steal blue eyes.

"Just around there. I don't… want to go inside," Derek muttered, eyes turned pointedly away from the rising moon, "It's more secluded. Less possibility of being seen."

"You make it sound like we're going to go make out or maybe do it in the woods," Stiles laughed, making a stab at lightening the mood.

Derek glanced over his shoulder, a small smirk firmly in place. "Only if you want to."

Stiles' cheeks flared red, staining his cheekbones and slowly crawling towards his ears. He stammered an incoherent reply, stumbling over his own feet in his haste to get his mind working again.

Pulling him steadily along, Derek kept him squarely on his feet and on the correct path. He led Stiles, the moon climbing higher and higher into the dark sky. They skirted through the woods, moving around the Shrieking Shack, deep into the forest. They came to a stop when they could see neither the castle nor the lights of Hogsmede.

Derek untangled his fingers from Stiles'.

Stiles watched him with cautious, yet altogether, curious eyes. His eyes followed him as he set enough distance between the two of them that Stiles could protect himself if needed. He was sure he wouldn't need to.

"I know you already know about me, obviously from that…" he trailed off, pain slicing across his features, "But I wanted to explain everything to you myself. I've wanted to tell you for a while now. Laura finally agreed. She said that it was only right that everything get explained to you, especially because you were so tangled in our family already."

Stiles remained quiet, letting Derek work his way through his thoughts without interruption or distraction. His mind whirred, shifting through his own thoughts at a pace that had him feeling slightly dizzy. He wondered if his mother and Talia's relationship would finally start to make sense now, or if he'd start to understand why Talia had given him his mother's ring before he was ready.

Sighing, Derek slowly started to pace before Stiles, running his fingers through his hair, twisting them together. His eyes found the still rising moon, his body flinching in response to the soft light that ran along his skin. A heavy breath fell from his lips, hands quivering.

"You already know that I'm a werewolf. I wanted to… show you that part of me while I'm in control, the part that consists more of the wolf than myself. The wolf is always with me, but its more at the forefront when I shift," Derek explained, "I'm probably not making any sense."

"Not really," Stiles agreed before grinning, "Good thing I found some stuff to study up on you guys. So, I'm not an expert, but I'm not completely ignorant either."

"You'll wish you were soon," Derek muttered, looking up at the moon. He didn't flinch away from its light this time. Instead, he allowed it to change him.

Stiles watched in something akin to fascination as Derek's features changed. Slowly -or what Stiles felt was slow, but could have honestly been the speed of light for all he knew- Derek grew actual facial hair instead of the peach fuzz Stiles had be trying to cultivate. His canines grew long and wickedly pointed, protruding past his lips. When he found Stiles' eyes again, his eyes were glowing that steel blue he had become accustomed to and his nails were sharpened to thick points.

"This is… the other side of me," Derek said, spreading his hands over himself. He was silent for a moment. "Are you scared?"

Shaking his head, Stiles grinned. "Not at all, and I'm sure you'd be able to tell anyway. Now, if you were attacking me or doing something equally as horrifying, then maybe, but you're calm and collected, like you usually aren't. What do I have to be afraid of?"

"The knowledge that I'm a monster."

Stiles blinked despairingly at him. "You're not a monster. Kate, she's a monster. Murderers, they are monsters. People who were born different are not monsters. No one is a monster until they've proven that they are," he told Derek.

"You don't understand. I killed-" Derek cut himself off quickly, stumbling back.

"Derek," Stiles started, moving towards him, but Derek threw out his hand in warning, arm trembling.

He shook his head hard. "Don't come any closer, Stiles! I don't know what's happening!"

'Oh fuck,' Stiles thought, watching helplessly as Derek hunched forward in agony, his body contorting and shrinking. Bones cracked loudly, echoing through the forest and muscles snapped. With each noise, Stiles flinched, his stomach tying itself in ever tighter knots.

All at once, the forest fell silent, Derek lying in a crumpled heap on the mossy floor, Stiles dancing from foot to foot, unsure of what to do next. He danced closer, peering at Derek with terrified eyes.

"Derek," he whispered fearfully, taking another step forward.

The heap shuffled, clothes falling from an onyx body. Derek stood on all fours, his hands now paws, his body thin and lethal. His face had elongated into an elegant snout, those familiar blue eyes peering at him from the face of a wolf. Behind him, a ridiculously luscious tail swished from side to side.

Swallowing, Stiles whispered, "Derek, is that you?"

Grinning, the wolf barked a reply.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus," Stiles groaned, running his hands through his hair and staring up through the canopy of branches to the night sky. Glancing back at Derek, he shouted, "Oh fuck!"

The wolf cocked its head to the side quizzically, eyeing Stiles curiously.

"Do not give me that look telling me I'm crazy," Stiles snapped, pointing a finger at the wolf, "Do you even realize what happened? Or has it completely slipped your notice?"

The head cock again. A twitch of an ear.

"You're a wolf, Derek! You're the animal now! I know you can't look at yourself, but can't you at least feel it? Your junk is just out in the wind for Merlin's sake!" He gestured wildly as if that would help the wolf Derek had become understand.

The wolf's mouth seemed to turn down in a frown. Experimentally, he twitched his ears, turned his tail in a wide circle, scratched at the ground. Horror grew in the creatures' eyes. He barked frantically at Stiles, jumping from side to side, like he wasn't entirely sure what to do in his new body.

"Whoa, calm down there or you're going to hurt one of us. That would seriously suck," Stiles tried to reason, raising his hands in an attempt to calm him. When Derek had settled into agitated pacing, Stiles asked, "Maybe we should go talk to Laura?"

It was only a simple suggestion.

Derek turned even more horrified eyes on Stiles, releasing several barks of adamant refusal. He made a sound that sounded something close to a mock of his sister's high laughter before snapping his teeth aggressively.

Stiles dropped his hands onto his bony hips. "Well, if you can't figure out how to change back, we're going to have to go see Laura," he pointed out.

This time Derek growled low and threatening and dangerous in the back of his throat.

"Oh, don't you dare growl at me or I will not hesitate to transfigure you into the fluffiest mother fucking kitten," Stiles snarled right back.

Derek glowered at him gloomily, but made no more indication of hostility.

…..

Laura sat on the arm of the couch in the Gryffindor common room, a quivering hand pressed over her most definitely grinning lips. "You're telling me that you came all this way looking like that?" she asked, her voice wavering with her laughter.

Her eyes slid over the clothes tucked away at Stiles' side and the leash attached to a studded leather collar circled around her brother's throat.

Derek snarled, glaring ferociously at her.

"No need to glare at me so harshly," she reprimanded, the effect diminished by the giggles coming through her voice. They peeled out of her throat, refusing to be held at bay, quickly transforming into loud guffaws of laughter.

"Yes, we did," Stiles sighed, wondering exactly how they must look. "Can you help us with this or will I have to try transfiguring him back?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Of course I can help him. Obviously I'd have to be able to or I wouldn't be here myself."

"Wait! You can turn into a wolf too?" Stiles cried, earning a harsh shush and bark from the Hale siblings. He quieted immediately. "Is everyone in your family a fucking werewolf?"

Shrugging, Laura said, "Mostly. There are a few humans. Most of the werewolves can't completely shift though. So far, Mom, Malia, myself, and now Derek are the only ones who can do it out of the entire pack. Mom still hasn't explained why that is to me."

Stiles frowned at the thought that they weren't speaking of the Hale pack in the past tense, as if denial would mean they were still alive and well. Then another thought crossed his mind. "Oh my god! Does that mean everyone in the house heard… over summer…?"

"And smelled."

An indescribable noise of embarrassment fell from Stiles mouth, heat coursing across his feet and over his neck. "Why didn't you tell me?!" he shot accusingly at Derek.

He only glared back.

"Just- Just get him back so I can tear him a new one about this!" Stiles screeched, shoving a finger at the wolf.

"Anything for you, darling," Laura said. With a simple whisper in Derek's ear that Stiles was almost positive was something dirty, he returned to his human body, mortification and embarrassment painted across his face as he grabbed his clothes from Stiles, and jerked them on. He ripped the collar from around his neck. Laughing, Laura left the common room, headed back for the Slytherin common room. "Have fun, you two! Use protection!"

"Laura!"

Still not as long as my usual chapters, but I think it might take me a little bit to get back up to my old word count. For now, I hope this chapter was not ridiculously terrible. I got classed up for firefighting for Monday, so I won't have time to write then, but I'll get writing soon.