For the Climate Control Challenge on the Ministry of Magic discord.

Sirius Black III (1959 – 1996)

Outside, the winds rage and the rain pours. Sirius, brow furrowed, watches as the trees blow from side to side and frowns. James stands next to him, looking quizzically out the window.

"Never seen weather like this in June," he remarks. But his interest is short-lived, and he soon flops down onto his bed. He lays on his back, tossing a Snitch in the air and catching it. When Sirius stays uncharacteristically silent, James throws the small ball at his back. "Oi! Are you going to stare out the window all day? Come on. Let's play some chess or something."

"Or we could go for a fly."

"Go for a…" James falters. "Go for a fly?! Are you mad?"

Sirius shrugs. "What? You afraid of a bit of rain?"

"A bit of rain?" He gestures wildly at the window. "That's what you call a bit of rain?" But James has never been one to be out done, so after a moment he shrugs. And with a huff, he collects his broomstick from under his bed and then heads to the door. "Fine. Let's go for a fly."

James' lack of enthusiasm for the flight further plummets when he realises that Sirius is not just interested in flying. No. Sirius seems to have taken this opportunity to work on a variety of tricks—swooping and diving at the ground at speeds that James hasn't ever seen him attempt before. Frankly, James is surprised that Sirius is even able to see the ground given the weather conditions. It's when Sirius moves to stand up on his broom in mid-air that James pleads for them to stop.

"Mate! You can't even do that on a good day," he says sharply. "You'll fucking kill yourself if you try in this weather!"

"So?" Sirius shouts back. "First time for everything!"

"Why are we doing this?!" James calls, an edge of desperation to his tone. "Sirius! What the fuck are you doing?!"

It's enough to make Sirius pause. And after a moment, his expression shifts from that of a mad man to one of total dejection. He flies to the ground slowly, James following behind him. They stand in silence as the rain pelts down and the wind swirls around them.

"It's Regulus' birthday," Sirius says finally. "He's supposed to…well, you know."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Sirius…" James places a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let's go inside, yeah?"

"Yeah. All right."

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

"I know." Sirius straightens and gives him a half-hearted smile. "Let's go."