a really short chapter, but a very important one!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Seamus coughed and stumbled through the smoke filled house, but he was getting nowhere.

He couldn't even see Sean any more through the haze, but he hadn't heard the door open and Sean's footsteps were no longer sounding from over there, which made Seamus's gut twist in fear. He didn't like Sean, but he didn't want him dead, especially killed in a fire Shay may or may not have caused.

But he had bigger problems to worry about. Covering his mouth, Shay bolted up the stairs towards the room of his little brother.

The door was locked, but Shay, filled with adrenaline and the need to get to James, kicked it down easily enough.

Jamie was there, only semi conscious and tied to the bed post, but otherwise unharmed. Shay dove forward and started yanking and biting at the ropes until they broke with a snap, freeing their prisoner.

Shay was growing weaker, but he had to do this for James, so he hauled the boy up and supported him as best he could. Together, the pair ran for the stairs.

Unfortunately, Shay still couldn't see do to the smoke and he tripped on a pair of Sean's shoes (from what he could tell anyway). Shay opened his mouth to curse until he saw a window of opportunity.

Down here, the air was clearer and he could partially see the staircase a few feet away from him. Dragging James behind him, Shay crawled over the staircase and very carefully, began to slide down them until he and James finally arrived at the very bottom.

But all was not over yet. The downstairs was completely engulfed in flames and tongues of red hot fire were reaching towards them.

It was so hot and he couldn't breathe. Why hadn't anyone come yet?

James's head was rolling this way and that and his breathing left his mouth with a painful weeze.

"Mom-ma!" He called, weakily. "He... elp."

The door was only a few yards away, but those yards were blocked by flames.

No one was coming; he was all alone.

He grappled for the doorknob, crying as he saw flames dancing towards them.

Footsteps. Someone calling his name.

The door swung open and he fell into the unfamiliar arms of a person wearing a yellow and red suit.

Someone was picking him up, cradling him in their strong arms.

"Dont worry, Shay," the voice of Adam said. "I've got you."

"Dont worry, kid," the person said. "I've got you, now."

And then, everything went black.

And then, everything went black.

Dean knew something was wrong from the moment he woke up. He couldn't explain it, but his stomach was twisted into knots and he felt strangely hot, like he'd been placed in an oven overnight.

"Mom," he mumbled as he stepped into the kitchen. "Something's wrong."

"I'll say, " his mom agreed. "You're sweating more than I did on evaluation day," she chuckled, slightly nervously.

"Mom, something's wrong with him," the words slipped out before he even knew what they meant.

"Wrong with who, honey?"

"Something's wrong with Seamus," he muttered. "Really, really wrong."

"Tell you what. We'll drive by his house and then, when we get back, you are getting right in bed, Mister. Understood?"

Dean nodded before springing out the door and into the car, fatigue and dizziness washing over him in waves.

His mom hopped in and then, they were off.

Shay lived close to Dean- about half an hour away- and when they got there, Dean's heart stopped dead in his chest.

The house of his best mate was up in flames and smoke curled through the air, choking Dean.

Fire trucks blinked and screamed in the street and police cars and an ambulance were nearby while firemen sprayed the house with a hose.

"My kids are in there!" A woman was screaming. She looked a lot like Seamus with hair only a shade darker than the boy's and she was wearing a garish red dress and glittering high heels. The female woman looked drunk, stumbling around and her words slurred but apparently she was sober enough to recognize the gravity of this situation.

"Shay, James!" Dean screamed in distress and he would've run right into the burning building if not for his mom's hands on his shoulders, restraining him.

Then, a fireman finally yanked open the door and two boys tumbled out, covered in soot and a few burns and bruises. Their clothes were singed and the younger was unconscious, the elder not far behind.

Seamus fell into the arms of the firefighter and another fireman came to take the younger boy to the ambulance. The firefighter lifted Shay into his arms and walked in the direction of the ambulance, where the wizard was laid down on a stretcher and rolled into the vehicle.

Dean and Ms. Thomas didn't need to think. They leapt into their car and followed the screeching ambulance.

a few notes.

1) I know the scene is slightly different from Shay's dream a few chapters ago, but I tried to make it more realistic in this chapter than in the dream.

2) the italicized parts of the scene are Shay's memories of the fire he was in when he was three

3) Dean does have a kind of emotional connection with Seamus as it is demonstrated in this chapter and in the Hospital Wing chapter. I never really explain it, so you can come up with your own reason for why they have just from their magic to their friendship. I don't care, just know that it's there.

Thank you!