Severus looked amused. "Neither do I but his pouting is annoying at times. It's easier to keep him happy."
"The full moon night would work best," he said with a hint of distaste. "None of the werewolves linger around Upper Slaughter on the full moon and many of the vampires choose that night for some of their more elaborate entertainments. As strange as it may seem, it is one of the safer nights in Upper Slaughter."
Severus arched an eyebrow and gave Stephen a very long look. "No, but I have spent twenty-five years pandering to madmen as I spied on them and stole their secrets and evaded their minds as they searched for my secrets. A bit of petty theft is a far different matter to what we are talking about here. The Aurors would have simply arrested you then let you go with a slap on the wrist but you have had a taste of what would happen if we are caught in Upper Slaughter. If you want to know more, I can show you the memory of what was done to me." He shook his head. "We can indulge in a 'game' of tag in the Forest one night. I will play the Death Eater, you will attempt to evade me. I will even be nice and not damage you too much. I am not in the mood to be scolded by Pucey... or by Poppy for that matter."
He shrugged. "There is little reason to worry about what we will be doing until we know precisely what that is. But I can say that it is better to keep the plans as simple as possible. There is an old saying that plans never survive the first engagement with the enemy. While we won't be actually fighting, the saying holds true. I never made concrete plans when dealing with the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters. The reality was always too unpredictable and I often needed to be able to react quickly. Not being wedded to any particular plan helped with that."
Severus snorted and a dark, bitter expression crossed his face. "My father was annoyed by my very existence because I was magical and not Muggle. However he could do nothing more than hit me and he stopped even that after I learned wandless magic." His sudden smirk was malicious and cruel but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "But whatever works best. As long as it cannot be traced to the magical world."