-Storm-

The lightning blinded curious eyes and the thunder deafened listening ears. Sirius Black, now eight, couldn't pull himself away from the pounding rain at the window. It was warm inside Number 12 Grimwald Place, but by simply touching the window he could feel the chill outside. Something about the storm intrigued him. The energy of the lightning? The power of the thunder? The persistence of the rain? The ferocity of the wind? He couldn't be sure, but he loved it.

Storms were so much more comforting when they were outside the home.

The quick patter of feet drew Sirius away from the window. He opened his door slightly; curious and hoping it wasn't Kreacher as Sirius knew he should have been asleep. Instead he watched a small six-year-old boy running down the hall with a blanket tightly wrapped around him.

"Reggie?" Sirius asked quietly, rubbing his eyes.

Regulus Black ran into his older brother's room shaking, "What's going on out there Siri?"
"It's just a storm." Sirius shrugged, closing the door, "Didn't dad explain it to you?"

Regulus nodded and clung the blanket tighter around himself, "Mum got mad that I…" The young boy's eyes began to water, "That I was still scared of storms."

The storm inside the home.

"Mum said I shouldn't be scared of silly things. She said I was being like a… like a muggle." The boy began to cry and Sirius sat down next to him, "But it's not silly, is it Siri!" Regulus looked up at Sirius as though the older boy could cure world hunger had he wanted to. Sirius opened his mouth to reply, but Regulus didn't let him speak.

"What if the… the thunder shakes the house apart!" The young boy's voice got higher and quicker as he spoke, "Or the light hits…"

"Light-NING." Sirius corrected.

"Light-NING hits the house! Or the rain breaks stuff! Or the wind blows everything away!"

Sirius began to laugh.

Regulus pulled his blanket over his head and continued crying, "You think I'm silly too!"

"The storm isn't that strong, Reggie." Sirius smiled reassuringly, though Regulus couldn't see it.

"Can't you hear it?" Regulus said in an unbelieving tone, "It’s so loud!"

"You can hear me, can't you?"

"Yes…"
"I can't do all that."

Regulus poked his head out of his blanket, "You don't think I'm silly?" His tears began to recede.

Sirius nodded, "Yeah. I think you're silly. But mum was just angry again. You're not like a muggle."

"Really?"

Sirius nodded, "Uh-huh. But!" Sirius stood up on his bed, "You're still silly! So you've still got to be in trouble!"

"No!" Regulus tried to squirm away in his blanket, but only fell over.

Sirius jumped onto his blanket-bound brother and began to tickle him ferociously. Regulus squealed in laughter. The door swung opened suddenly with an angry Kreacher leering at them. The brother suddenly collapsed on the ground in a crumpled heap, silent and pretending to be asleep. Kreacher grumbled about lying brats, closed the door and stomped off.

The two boys laid there in peaceful silence for a time before dozing off, regardless of the fact that they were tangled up in Regulus' blanket on the floor. The storm had receded a great deal. The lightning could no longer be seen, the thunder had been reduced to a low rumbled, and the rain was only lightning tapping at the window.

The storm, be it inside or out, was weathered either together.