Sirius hunched over a small desk in a dimly lit corner of the Gryffindor common room. His quill scratched against the parchment as he carefully mimicked James's messy scrawl. A growing pile of discarded attempts surrounded him, each crumpled page bearing evidence of his struggle.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius muttered, striking through another mistake with an aggressive flourish. He snatched a fresh sheet of parchment and started over, muttering to himself about the endless complexities of pretending to be James Potter.

The Fat Lady swung open with a faint hum, revealing Silas slipping into the common room. Silas had long since charmed the portrait into allowing him entrance, much to the bafflement of the younger Gryffindors. The Fat Lady adored him now and welcomed him warmly every time.

Silas glanced around the room, his eyes landing on Sirius in the corner. He smirked and made his way over, careful not to draw attention from the few remaining students lounging near the fireplace.

"What are you doing, Sirius?" Silas asked, leaning over the taller boy's shoulder.

Sirius let out a startled yelp that sounded suspiciously like a bark. His quill skidded across the parchment, leaving an inky line that rendered the current draft useless.

"Silas, love," Sirius huffed, clutching his chest dramatically. "You can't sneak up on me like that. I nearly had a heart attack."

Silas arched an eyebrow, unimpressed by the theatrics. "I asked a question. What are you doing?"

Sirius glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then lowered his voice and gestured to the parchment in front of him. "I'm working on a top-secret project."

Silas straightened and crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed. "What kind of 'top-secret project' involves mimicking James's handwriting?"

"It's not mimicking, it's perfecting," Sirius shot back, pointing his quill at him like a sword. He leaned closer, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm inviting Indigo to the Potters' for Christmas. As James."

Silas blinked, his bemused expression giving way to mild confusion. "Why don't you just invite him yourself? Or let James do it?"

"Because James is hopeless," Sirius replied without hesitation. "He'd make it awkward, or worse."

Silas's lips twitched with amusement. "And you pretending to be him isn't awkward?"

Sirius ignored the jab, waving a hand dismissively. "I already wrote to Mia and Monty. They're in on it. Well, they are in on having him over, they have no idea why he's  coming. They said it's brilliant, of course. The Potters adore me."

Silas rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress his fond smile. "Of course they do. You're practically their second son."

Sirius leaned back, smirking. "Exactly. So who better to play the part of their firstborn?" He gestured to the parchment.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to convince Indigo that James is a functional human being capable of writing an invitation without tripping over his own words."

Silas sat on the arm of Sirius's chair, resting his elbow on the backrest. "You know this is going to backfire spectacularly."

Sirius grinned up at him, his grey eyes sparkling with mischief. "When has one of my plans ever backfired?"

"Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?" Silas deadpanned.

Sirius laughed, reaching up to tug playfully at Silas's tie. "You're no fun."

"I'm plenty of fun," Silas replied, leaning in closer. "But I'm also realistic. What happens when Indigo finds out it wasn't James who wrote the letter?"

"Easy," Sirius said, unfazed. "He'll be so charmed by my brilliance and the effort I put into bringing them together that he'll forgive me instantly."

Silas snorted. "Or he'll hex you."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Sirius said with mock solemnity.

Silas shook his head, watching as Sirius turned back to the parchment. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, Silas couldn't help but admire the determination on Sirius's face, the way his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to get every curve of James's handwriting just right.

Sirius glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "You're staring."

"You're entertaining," Silas replied, his tone light but warm.

Sirius smirked, his cheeks tinged faintly pink. "Well, don't distract me. This is important work."

Silas leaned down, brushing a kiss against Sirius's temple. "Good luck, then, Mr. Potter. Try not to mess it up."

Sirius froze for a moment, his quill hovering above the parchment. Then he smiled, shaking his head. "I never mess up."
Silas chuckled softly, retreating to a nearby chair to watch the chaos unfold.

As Sirius continued his "top-secret project," Silas couldn't help but feel a swell of affection for the boy's relentless enthusiasm. Sirius had a way of pouring himself into the most absurd plans, and while they almost always spiraled into chaos, his heart was always in the right place. It was one of the many things Silas loved about him.

Sirius hunched over the parchment, his tongue poking out slightly in concentration as he carefully shaped the letters. He muttered under his breath, rehearsing what James—well, "James"—would say to Indigo.

"Evans, mate, come to the Potter house for Christmas. Mum and Dad are dying to have you over. Lily can come, too, if she's free—" Sirius paused, crossing out the last part. "No, no. Can't make it about Lily. It's got to be about Indy." He looked up, his grey eyes gleaming with sudden inspiration. "Evans, you've got to come to the Potters'. Mum's insisting we need more decorations, and no one's better at that than you—"

"Sirius," Silas interrupted, his voice soft but amused.

"What?" Sirius asked, not looking up.

Silas leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You do realize you're trying to craft a letter that sounds like James but is somehow... thoughtful and charming? Those two things don't exactly scream James Potter to Indigo."

Sirius froze, the quill hovering mid-air. He blinked, then broke into a grin. "You're right. I'm going about this all wrong. It needs to sound like James, but with just enough cleverness to throw Indigo off. Just enough to make him think James has grown a brain overnight."

"That's a tall order," Silas quipped.

Sirius spun the quill between his fingers and shot Silas a cheeky grin. "Luckily, I'm brilliant."

Silas rolled his eyes but couldn't help the fond smile tugging at his lips. He leaned back in his chair, watching as Sirius poured himself back into the task, muttering phrases under his breath and occasionally tossing another ruined draft onto the growing pile.

"Why are you so determined to make this happen?" Silas finally asked, his tone more curious than critical.

Sirius stilled for a moment, his expression softening. "Because Indy deserves it," he said simply. "He works so hard to prove himself, but he shouldn't have to. And James... well, James is an idiot, but he cares. He just doesn't know how to show it without tripping over himself."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "And you think dragging Indigo to the Potters' for Christmas will fix all that?"

"Maybe not," Sirius admitted, his voice quieter now. "But it's a start. Monty and Mia are the best. They'll make him feel welcome, like family. And James... he'll have a chance to show Indigo he's more than just a Quidditch-obsessed prat. Plus," Sirius added with a sly grin, "I get to meddle, which is always fun."

Silas chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You're ridiculous."

Sirius leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms behind his head. "Ridiculously brilliant."

Silas threw a balled-up piece of parchment at him, which Sirius caught with ease.

"Seriously, though," Silas said after a moment. "If this blows up in your face, I'm not taking the blame."

"Noted," Sirius said breezily. Then he grinned, his mischievous energy returning in full force. "But it won't blow up. Trust me. By Christmas, Indigo Evans will be sitting at the Potters' table, stuffing his face with Monty's famous roast."

Silas watched him for a long moment, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in his expression. "You're lucky I love you," he murmured, just loud enough for Sirius to hear.

Sirius's hand faltered briefly, the quill smudging the edge of the parchment. He glanced up at Silas, his grey eyes softening. "Yeah, well... I'm lucky for a lot of reasons," he said, his voice quieter now.

Silas smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Flattery won't get you out of trouble when this inevitably goes wrong."

Sirius laughed, shaking his head as he turned back to the letter. "When have I ever gotten into trouble?"

Silas didn't bother answering, his grin widening as he watched Sirius dive back into his work. Whatever chaos awaited them, one thing was certain: it was never boring with Sirius Black.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Sirius leaned back in his chair, holding up the freshly written letter with an air of triumph. "Done!" he declared, grinning as if he'd just won the House Cup single-handedly.

Silas, sitting across from him with his legs crossed and an amused expression, held out his hand. "Let's see it, then. I need to make sure this masterpiece of yours won't embarrass James—or us, for that matter."

Sirius feigned offense, clutching the letter to his chest. "Embarrass? I'll have you know, this is a work of art."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure it is. Now hand it over."

With a dramatic sigh, Sirius passed the parchment to Silas, who smoothed it out and began to read it.

Silas finished reading and lowered the letter, glancing up at Sirius. "Well," he said slowly, "I'm not going to lie. That's... surprisingly good."

Sirius smirked, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Surprisingly?"

"It actually sounds like James," Silas continued, ignoring the interruption. "A little awkward, a little self-centered, but somehow still sincere. I'm impressed."

"Of course you are," Sirius said, his smirk widening. "You're dating a genius."

Silas chuckled, folding the letter neatly and handing it back. "You really think this will work?"

Sirius shrugged, though his grin didn't waver. "If it doesn't, I'll just drag Indy there myself. But I think it will. He can't resist sticky toffee pudding."

"Or your relentless meddling," Silas added dryly.

"Exactly," Sirius said, standing and dramatically stretching. "Now, all we've got to do is get this to him without him knowing I wrote it. Easy."

Silas snorted. "Right. Because nothing is ever complicated when you're involved."

Sirius winked, tucking the letter into his pocket. "You know you love it."

Silas shook his head, though his expression softened as he watched Sirius. "I do," he admitted, his voice quieter now.

Sirius paused, his confident demeanor faltering just slightly. He leaned down, brushing a quick kiss to Silas's temple. "Good. Now let's go commit some mild forgery and hope Indy doesn't hex me when he figures it out."

Silas laughed, standing to follow him. "If he does, I'm not taking the blame."

"Noted," Sirius said over his shoulder, the grin never leaving his face.