He had been sceptical at first - such a flimsy piece of wood did not look like the safest method of transportation, and it was far from the most dignified - but those thoughts were long gone. Now, with the wind stinging his eyes, he couldn't remember why he had been so hesitant.

The broom - charmed by his uncle to only fly to a certain altitude - quickly became his most prized possession. He hadn't wanted to land, instead wishing he could spend the rest of his life flying through the air, but his mother's angry screams had sent him quickly to the ground.

.oOo.

Sirius hadn't spoken to him for the rest of the day; he only glared every time Regulus tried to approach him. It wasn't until they were both in bed, Sirius with his back turned to Regulus, did he finally speak.

"Just because you can fly now doesn't make you special." Regulus could hear the anger in his tone, but didn't understand why it was there.

"But you can fly," he said, voice seeming smaller in the darkness of their room.

"Well… yeah," Sirius said, apparently a little unsure of what to say next.

"So we can play Quidditch now," Regulus said, feeling slightly better about this.

"Uh… I suppose," Sirius said, rolling over to squint at his brother in the dark.

"It'll be fun. And Cissi can-"

"No girls!" Sirius snapped. "Girls are stupid."

"Oh, okay." Regulus had already forgotten about Sirius' odd behaviour before, mind already busy thinking of plans for the coming weeks, falling asleep to images of Quaffles and Snitches.

.oOo.

It would be years before Regulus thought of that moment again. He couldn't say what had drawn the memory to the front of his mind, but it was there, clear as day.

It was only with hindsight that he realised his brother had been jealous - of what, he wasn't sure - but it hadn't changed anything. He could remember Sirius turning up to every one of his matches, even if he had always been sitting in the opposite stands. He could remember the brief flash of pride across Sirius' face whenever he had caught the Snitch.

He hoped he would make his brother proud again soon.