Last chapter! An entire story posted in one day (I did finish it ahead of time, but I'm still proud of myself!).

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Shay didn't like the quiet. He was usually a loud and garrulous person, and silence scared him because unless Dad was angry, the house was always silent.

"I think he's coming around," an unfamiliar voice broke into his thoughts and Seamus cracked his eyes open to see a man in one of those long white coats with brown hair staring down at him with blue eyes. "How you feeling, kid?"

Shay was about to answer that question when he realized what was missing from the jumbled puzzle in his brain. "Where's James?"

"He's right here," the man gestured to the bed beside him and there lay a scrawny boy with shaggy brown hair and pale skin.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine, thanks to you," the doctor responded. "But I want to know how you feel. Any pain?"

Shay shook his head. All he really felt was exhaustion.

"Are you hungry? Need to use the bathroom?"

Shay shook his head, mutely.

"Well, that's good. On another note, there are two people that would like to see you, and just tell me if you don't wish to see them at this time: Amy and Dean Thomas?"

Shay nodded so quickly that he was afraid he might break his neck and the doctor smiled before nodding in the direction of a female nurse, who left the room.

A moment later, a dark skinned boy came sprinting into the room and then, Shay fond himself in an inescapable embrace.

"Shay, thank God you're alright. I thought you wouldn't be because of the fire and they said there were signs of injury and severe smoke inhalation and-"

Shay cut Dean off by covering his lips with his hand. "I'm okay, Dean. There's no need to get upset over what could've happened."

Dean looked at him, weirdly, but before he could ask his question, a woman that looked very much like Dean and very familiar to Seamus stepped into the hospital room just as the doctors stepped out.

"We have to stop meeting like this," the woman said with a sad smile.

Dean and Seamus stared at her before it clicked for Shay.

"You were that nurse," Shay realized.

The woman grinned, happily this time. "Pleasure to meet you again, Shay Finnigan."

"Wait- you two have met before?" Dean demanded, utterly confused.

Amy Thomas smiled. "I treated Seamus when he was three."

"Oh."

"Hey," Shay suddenly broke in. "Do you know what happened to my mom and dad?"

Dean and Amy exchanged uneasy glances.

"Shay," Dean took a deep breath, "your dad didn't make it out. He slipped and was knocked unconscious, then died of smoke inhalation. And your mom... she's being arrested for child neglect, abuse, endangerment, and abandonment. She won't get out for quite a few years."

Shay didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, Sean and Riley had never cared for him one bit, but did he really wish them dead or in jail for what could possibly be the rest of their lives?

"Where are James and I gonna go?" Shay whispered.

Dean grinned. "We actually wanted to talk to you about that."

Amy took over. "Shay, I spoke with social services and they agreed that if you and James want to, you can come stay with us."

Shay's jaw dropped. "Y-you really what me there? I won't be too much trouble?"

Amy and Dean shook their heads, chuckling with excitement.

Seamus, not really caring if his next action caused him pain, dove forward and hugged his best friend

"Thank you! I promise I won't be any trouble and I'll take care of James and-"

"Shay," Dean laughed. "We want you there. You don't need to do anything for us. Just be happy, Shay."

Shay shrugged. "I haven't been happy in so long that I've kind of forgotten what it feels like."

"Well," Amy chirped, "we'll be glad to teach you. "

Shay smiled at her, but then, to his astonishment, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Harry, the Weasley twins, Ginny, and Ron came racing in.

"Seamus!" Hermione cheered. "You're okay!" She hugged him, tightly, and soon afterward, he was getting gentle back slaps and embraces from his friends.

It was at that moment that Shay remembered what it was like to be truly happy.

Life started looking up from then on.

Seamus and James, in an effort to leave the past in the past completely, changed their last name to Thomas and by the time they moved out, they'd almost forgotten that they had once been Finnigans.

James never forgot his late parents; he visited their grave every weekend and on holidays and birthdays.

Shay never forgot his mum and dad either. He visited his mom in prison until she got out thirteen years after the fire, and he'd even started to forgive Sean by placing a red rose on his grave every Saturday. It was small, but it was more than Seamus ever expected to be able to do.

Those scarred little boys grew into strong men with their brother, Dean, by their side and a caring mother to watch over them.

Alas, the tragedies were not over.

Seamus joined the army when he was twenty-one and died in an explosion. James, Riley, Amy, and Dean received letters that Shay wrote and left at the camp site before he died. They were all thanked and forgiven and the death of that little pyromaniac did just what Shay wanted: it made them stronger.

Dean became a foster parent, taking in abused and abandoned kids that had no where else to go while teaching others about child abuse and the signs to watch out for. Because of these lessons, over thirty percent of abused kids at Hogwarts either came forward or were saved from abusive situations and the number climbs more and more by the day.

James started a foundation for abused kids to get them therapy and a safe environment and doctor appointments. The charity has raised over 3,000,000 dollars and more is being donated every day.

Amy worked at a hospital, treating children, mostly abused or neglected, until she retired at age sixty-three.

Riley helped immensely: donating money to the foundation James started (the Seamus Thomas Foundation); babysitting for Dean occasionally; and allowing Amy to cry on her shoulder every time they visit Shay's grave.

Because they all lived to ensure one thing.

Seamus Finnigan would not be forgotten.

just so you know, Dean looked at Shay weirdly in the hospital because Shay had just said something really wise and Shay had never been considered wise before. Just wanted to clear that up.

Goodbye! Hope you enjoyed it!