Chapter Ten

A/N: I OWN NOTHING!

The Burrow was different than Hogwarts, but it was still magical. Once the twins got their trunks into their room, Simba hopped out.

"So what was that about?" Fred asked. Ron walked in just as he asked that.

"Hey Simba," Ron grinned. The twins sighed in relief. They didn't want to deal with explaining to their mother or Percy why they had a lion in their room.

"Where's—"

"They're in my room," Ron said, knowing Simba would ask about Timon and Pumbaa. "It's messy enough that they can hide under a pile of clothes if Mum comes up."

"Great!" Simba grinned.

They all sat down and began to ponder why Harry would go off with those animal looking people.

"He never even mentioned them at Hogwarts," Ron frowned. "I'm worried."

Fred rolled his eyes.

"Honestly Ronnie, what's the worst that could happen?" he asked. From downstairs, they could hear their mother holler down for them.

"Keep out of sight Simba," George whispered. "We'll sneak some ham for you."

Simba grinned and ducked under one of the beds. A few hours later, he smelt some meat and crawled out.

"Took you long enough," he grumbled.

"Mum was getting suspicious," George said. "We couldn't just leave the table, and we couldn't tell her that we had a lion in our room. That would have gone over nicely."

Simba chuckled and went back under the bed to sleep. That night, he suffered from the worst nightmares he ever had.

"You sleep alright?" Fred asked in the morning.

"Just peachy," Simba growled. Fred, showing some brains, decided it'd be best if he let Simba chase off the gnomes. He knew that his mother would ask him sooner or later to de-gnome the garden.

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Simba found that chasing the odd looking creatures was a blast. They kept running away from him, but he could pounce and stalk them to no end.

"Ron!" Simba grinned upon seeing the boy. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just wrote to Harry," he said. "Hope the letter gets to him alright."

Simba privately hoped that as well. He also hoped his brother would be safe. The next few weeks proved the most nerve racking for a number of reasons. The first reason was, Ginny found Simba one day when looking for something in Fred and George's room.

"Wicked!" she exclaimed upon finding him. Simba had forgotten that Ron had told Ginny last year about him. She made him the scarf. Of course, he might have praised it in way that made him sound like a fake lion.

"Okay," George said, panting as he arrived into the room. "That's one disaster averted."

Ginny turned on him.

"You think I'd tell?"

"He's Harry's," Fred said, arriving behind his brother. Ginny's eyes got wide causing her brothers to groan.

"Go drool over Harry in your room," Fred said, directing the younger girl out of their room. "Some of our material is sensitive to water."

"If you don't want me in your room, you could just say so," Ginny rolled her eyes. But she never told Mrs. Weasley or Mr. Weasley about his presence. The next nerve racking thing was the fact that Harry was not responding to Ron's letters.

"I just heard back from Hermione," Ron said the night before Harry's birthday. "She hasn't heard from him either."

Simba began to pace. That did not sound good. Maybe the hyenas found him and managed to gain a human form? He shook his head, that sounded silly.

"What do we do?" he asked. Ron pondered for a moment.

"Stay here," he whispered and snuck out of his room. A moment later, he arrived with the twins.

"What's this I hear about some rule breaking?" George asked with a grin on his face. Simba smacked himself with his paw. And they wondered why no one took them seriously?

"We're going to take the car," Ron said. "I can't drive it and keep it steady in case Harry's on the second floor."

"He'll probably have a light on," Fred said. Simba paced again, nervous to the core about this mission. What if Harry got hurt?

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The plan was implemented three days after Harry's birthday. Simba stayed up to watch Ron and the twins sneak out late at night. Then he fell asleep on Fred's bed.

"AHHH!"

Mrs. Weasley woke him up with a scream. On second thought, it might have been a better idea to sleep under the bed.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH FRED?" the woman screamed. Simba tried to explain but one look at that wand and he was out of there. Ron's door was open and he ran there without a second thought.

"YOU LEAVE MY RONNIE ALON—"

Thankfully, she saw that George's bed was empty and devoid of any blood. Honestly, you'd think he was a monster the way she was carrying on. Simba waited as she walked downstairs to welcome the three—and hopefully Harry as well. Simba sat down and closed his eyes, but the instant shouting proved to not be as restful as one would hope.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? BEDS EMPTY, NO NOTE! CAR GONE!"

Did this woman ever lose her voice? Simba thought as he heard the steps creak. He took a breath and took in Ron's scent. There was another scent as well—Harry's!

"HARRY!" Simba ran to the door and pinned his brother to the ground before he could say anything. "Why did you leave me at the station? There are crazy shouting women here!"

Harry chuckled.

"I was just explaining to Ron," he said from his spot on the ground, "that Professor Dumbledore told me about the blood wards. The rest of the stuff that happened at the station went too fast for me to understand what was happening. Aunt Petunia was crying on me for Merlin's sake!"

Simba shrugged. It seemed understandable.

"Just don't do it again," Simba growled. He turned to Ron. "How is it you're not punished?"

"You didn't fall asleep in my room," Ron said with a smirk. "Fred is now getting chewed out for having a vicious man-eating animal in his room."

"Hey, your dad knows right?" Harry asked.

"No clue," Ron shrugged. "But he will now. Mum always tells him about when the twins get into trouble."

Simba chuckled and lay down on the floor while the boys chattered. It was nice to know his brother was—"

"Bars on your window?" Simba asked, his head shot up. Harry chuckled nerviously.

"You heard that?"

"I'm a lion. My senses are better than yours," Simba scoffed. "Now, what did Ron mean by bars on your window?"

Harry sighed and launched into the entire story. By the end of it, Simba didn't know whether to make sure Harry hadn't gotten into Dumbledore's lemon drops or to go and maul the Dursleys.

"Simba, don't," Harry said. "You get caught and something bad could happen to you."

"Harry, they kept you prisoner!"

Harry growled a little and faced off with the growling lion. It was rare when they had disputes, but if they did, it was probably wise if the ground was clear.

"Hey Ron," George popped his head in, defusing the tension. "Mum wants you. Said something about not keeping the man-eating beast in the house?"

Ron and Harry groaned.

"Want to go explain to Mum why you have a lion cub?" Ron asked Harry, who ruffled a bit more of Simba's mane.

"Sure why not?" Harry chuckled.

Simba groaned once more. He never wanted to go near that crazy woman again for as long as he lived.