#3 The Perfect Plan
Pin drop silence ensued in the dorm room after Sirius related all that he had seen and heard in the Serpents' Nest. Each marauder contemplated the potentially disastrous information in silence and was trying to come to terms with the unspoken repercussions of Sirius's latest intelligence report.
"Well Thank Merlin its one more week till full moon." saidRemus quietly. "Wont Christmas come early to Snape if he could catch us sneaking out and you three transforming? At least now we can be prepared for the worst. Padfoot old friend, I'm sorry if I ever gave you a hard time about your little midnight excursions they might just keep us from getting expelled."
Sirius brushed aside Remus's apology with a wave of his hand, his face set in a mask of anger. "That stupid git has taken one step too far; I'm going to drown him in his stinking cauldron. Just see if I don't."
"Calm down Sirius. We'll assassinate Snape later. Let's plan on how to destroy the potion." James hurried to smooth the tense mood.
"Not worth the trouble. You know Snape. He'd make more. He's probably memorized the method by now." Peter nervously cracked his knuckles. As unregistered underage animagi Peter knew expulsion was the certain outcome of discovery.
"You got to hand it to him though. Snape must have gone through hell and high water to make that potion considering it took him six years to make it since finding out about the cloak in our first year and how happy Sirius claims he was to finish it." Remus said in grudging admiration.
"What else Moony? Shall I help you knit the "Snape for President" banner too? Sirius snapped testily obviously teetering on edge.
"Unless…." breathed Remus with an odd glint in his eyes choosing to ignore Sirius. "Unless we turn the potion against them"
"Huh? You mean we take the potion too? Thanks but I don't fancy seeing Snape's underpants again." Peter couldn't help giggling about the fifth year memory of Snape dangling upside down with his gray unwashed underwear for the whole world to see.
Even Sirius could not stay angry when Snape's knickers danced around in his head.
Remus tried to make himself heard above the guffaws and chuckles.
"No I mean the Slytherins obviously don't know that we know about the potion. So why don't we tempt them to do something which they would do thinking they have the upper hand, but in the end fail miserably?" Remus stopped and stared at his friends expectantly.
"Come again" said James weakly trying to make sense out of his sentence.
"Not some prank that they'll retaliate to the very next day. Not petty revenge. This has to be something masterful yet so utterly simple so that when they lose the Slytherins should know that they lost fair and square, making the potion worthless in their eyes."
"Well then How about we play Hide-and-Seek?" three sets of bemused eyes snapped on Peter's blue ones as the smallest Marauder rubbed his palms with suppressed glee.
"C'mon lets go to the common room and plan."