Chapter Four

A/N: I STILL OWN NOTHING!

Simba woke up early and scurried under Harry's bed. The whole point of him being at Hogwarts with his brother was to be there for him. It wouldn't work if someone found him. Okay, so that theory was disproved by the twins…and Ron.

"Hey Simba," Harry said yawning slightly.

"Hey Harry," Simba said back with a smile. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I slept fine."

His brother was lying, but Simba really didn't want to hear about any bad dreams Harry had. Something stirred by Ron's bed.

SQUEAK!

The rest of the boys woke up as Simba pounced on the thing that was moving by Ron's bed.

"Simba, it's just Scabbers!" Harry told his brother. Simba looked down at his paws. Sure enough, it was the rat.

"Sorry," Simba smiled. The rat just squeaked.

"Blimey Harry!" a sandy-mane boy said, clutching his heart. "I think lion cubs are against the rules as pets."

"He's not a pet! He's my brother!" Harry said firmly and Ron stood by Harry's side.

"I was with him the whole train ride." Ron said simply. "He's a good lion."

Simba went up to each of the remaining boys, who tensed at his approach. The fat one almost wet himself. He just sniffed them, to try to get their scent.

"See?" Harry said with a smile.

"I guess he's okay," the sandy-mane boy said. The darker furred one knelt down next to Simba.

"Hi there," he said. "I'm Dean."

Simba turned to Harry and said, "He smells like chicken. I like him!"

All the boys chuckled at that.

"What about me?" the sandy-mane boy asked. "What do I smell like?"

Simba said, "You don't want to know."

"Seamus, you just got dissed by a lion!" Dean and Ron roared with laughter.

Seamus rolled his eyes and looked at the clock. "It's five in the morning!"

"Simba!" Ron groaned. "We humans like sleep!"

Simba wasn't listening. In fact, he scurried under the bed again just as the door opened.

"Percy?" Ron asked. "What are you doing up here?"

"It's the Prefects' job to wake the first years, so that they don't oversleep." Percy said pompously. "It seems that I don't need to do that with you five." Then he muttered something that sounded like "now I can go back to bed for a few minutes."

"Oh!" he said and turned to Harry. "Professor Dumbledore would like to talk to you."

"Me?" Harry squeaked.

"Yes and the lion cub you've got hanging around here."

All the boys felt their mouths drop to the ground. How did Dumbledore know that?

"Come on Simba," Harry said softly. Percy led the two to Dumbledore's office where he left them after saying the password.

"I don't like him," Simba said. Percy reminded him of Zazu.

"Come on!" Harry sighed and climbed the stairs. Then he knocked on the door.

"Enter!"

With a nudge from Simba, Harry entered the room. It was full of odd objects that Harry would have been interested in had it been under different circumstances.

"Hello Mr. Potter," the old man from last night said with a smile. "Lemon drop? "

"No thank you," Harry said.

Simba sniffed the old man, who he assumed to be Professor Dumbledore. He smelt…like those round objects he'd offered his brother.

"I see your lion cub has taken a liking to me," Dumbledore chuckled. "But lions are not allowed as –"

"Sir he's not a pet!" Harry protested. "I've got Hedwig as a pet! Simba is my brother!"

The headmaster's eyes grew slightly wider.

"Is that so?" he asked. "Well, that clears up some matters. But he cannot come with you to class, unfortunately. Some teachers dislike animals in their classes."

Simba flattened his ears in sadness.

"However, I have talked to Professor McGonagall and she would be happy to have a live mascot of her house while you are in classes."

Simba perked back up at that.

"Is that all professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore chuckled. "Go on, you don't want to be late."

Once they made their way to the base of the statue, the two parted ways. Simba made his way to Professor McGonagall's office. He didn't like the way the headmaster's eyes had widen when Harry called him his brother.

"Hello?" Simba called out. The headmaster had given him directions but Simba grew somewhat nervous when no one was there.

"Meow!" a cat called back. The cat then turned into the woman who had dealt with the hat. "Hello there."

"So you're Professor McGonagall?" Simba asked.

"That's correct. I teach Transfiguration." McGonagall said and Simba didn't even react when she understood him. He'd grown used to it by now.

Not wanting to ask what that was, Simba sniffed at her cloak. She smelt like the rain, fresh and warm at times. She was someone who could be trusted.

00000000000000000000000000

Simba enjoyed going to McGonagall's office, as she would change into her cat form when she didn't have class and let him chase her. But today was Friday, according to Seamus at least. It was the last class of the day, and Simba wanted to go outside.

"You can go," McGonagall said and he sped off. He figured Harry would be down at Hagrid's. He didn't know why he thought this. He just did, and sure enough he was right.

"Hey Simba!" Ron called with a smile on his face.

"Simba!" Harry grinned from ear to ear.

"How was class?" Simba asked and it was like asking them to spew their inner most thoughts. Apparently, this Snape character didn't like Harry. He was probably the one who didn't like animals in his class as well.

"Well, he's a git," Simba said firmly borrowing one of Ron's words.

"Truer words were never spoken," Ron said with a chuckle.

"Where are Timon and Pumba?" Simba asked as Harry started talking to Hagrid about other matters.

"Off looking for grubs," Ron said with a wrinkle of his nose. Simba chuckled.

"Don't knock it till you try it," Simba said. "Harry, I'm going to go look for Timon and Pumba, okay?"

"Okay!" Harry called back, still talking to Hagrid. Simba frowned a little but went off. The scent of the two neared the forest. Maybe they went in there? Walking in there, Simba followed his nose until the light and smells from Hagrid's hut could no longer be seen. Suddenly, Simba could hear hoof beats. He froze, the last time he'd heard hoof beats; it'd been the last day his father had been alive.

A figure jumped out of the woods, but it wasn't a wildebeest. It was a horse, but it had a horn on its head. Simba had never seen a more beautiful creature.

"Hello young one," the horse with a horn said with a smile.

"What are you?" Simba asked. The horse smiled.

"I am a unicorn. And what are you?"

"I'm a lion," Simba said proudly.

"Well young lion, you'd best be off and get out of these woods. They are dangerous in the best of times, and my herd grows nervous. There are dark forces moving."

"I'm brave!" Simba protested.

"This is not a question of bravery," the unicorn said. "You are just a cub. I know the ways of the forest. I will help you get back to the edge."

Along the way, they ran into Timon and Pumba.

"There you are Simba!" Timon cried with happiness. "We've got a smorgasbord of grubs!"

The unicorn chuckled. "This is where I leave you young lion. You are safe now."

"Wait!" Simba cried. The unicorn stopped. "May I know your name?"

The unicorn paused for a moment and then said "Desdemona. My name is Desdemona but the human Hagrid calls me Mary."

"It was nice to meet you Desdemona." Simba said.

"Likewise young lion," Desdemona nodded. "Likewise."

She galloped off back into the woods, and the three animals trotted out back to the hut.

"There you three are!" Harry grinned. "Simba, we've got a mystery!"

Simba mentally groaned as Harry told him all he learned at Hagrid's. That boy was meddling in things that sounded as if they weren't to be meddled in. But what did he know? He was just a lion cub.