Jostanos: You'll have to wait to see if there are any differences to the plot. Yes, T&P (Timon and Pumbaa) will be included in more scenes. Simba will be included and no comment about Nala.

Chapter Twelve

A/N: I OWN NOTHING!

Simba woke up early the next day, prepared for whatever the day would bring. Deciding to let Harry rest a while, Simba slunk downstairs and made a beeline for the outside.

"I'm simply telling you that this is a proper way to mend a Whomping Willow," Simba heard a male tell Professor Sprout. Growling a little, he decided to sneak up on the two. Professor Sprout let him hang out in the Greenhouses when it was raining and Professor McGonagall had class.

"Hello Simba," Sprout said with a smile.

"Hi Professor," Simba grinned back. He turned to see the male dealing with some wind and his cloak. "Who's the doofus?"

Sprout made a face. "That 'doofus' is Professor Lockhart. He's the new Defense professor."

"He looks as if he couldn't teach a fly," Simba said and Sprout chuckled.

"Run along now," she said. "I need to mend the Willow and then I need to get to class."

Simba nodded and ran to Hagrid's hut.

"Hey buddy," Timon said with a grin.

"Hey Timon," Simba said and sat down as his two friends told him all about the journey.

"The car's still in the forest," Pumbaa said with a shudder. Simba looked at the forest and pondered for a moment whether he should go in and see it for himself.

"Don't even think about it," Timon warned and Simba chuckled at his pseudo-father. The bell rang and Simba decided to watch the classes in the greenhouses. Just then, he saw Lockhart grab his brother.

"Oh that tears it," he growled and then smirked as he snuck up behind the pompous arse. Just as he was telling Harry off, Simba let out a loud roar.

"Drat!" he muttered as Lockhart jumped a mile. "Still too cubish."

"Thanks bro," Harry grinned as he gave Simba a high paw. Seeing that his brother took the chance to sneak away, Simba stretched out and laid by the lake. Before he knew it, he was woken up by the twins.

"Hey dude," Fred said with a grin. "Want that tour now?"

"Don't you have class?" Simba asked as he got up. The twins chuckled.

"Got kicked out," George told him. "It was Snape anyway. Git's gotten worse since the summer."

"Oh," Simba said and trotted after the twins as they showed him the 'real' Hogwarts. All the secret tunnels and passages, along with the kitchens.

"Hmm…suppose we were a little too early in bringing a lion to the house elves?" Fred yelled over the high-pitched screaming of the elves.

"I do believe so," George nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Leading Simba out of the room, they were met with Oliver Wood.

"Quidditch practice Saturday," the taller boy said before turning to leave. Simba blinked; that was odd. The twins chuckled.

"That's Oliver for you," Fred said. "He's all geared up for Quidditch."

They went to the Great Hall, where they met up with the Golden Trio.

"Oi Second years!" George called. "Found something of yours."

"Hey Simba," Ron grinned at the sight of the lion. "How have you been?"

"Good," Simba said. "Umm…should I hide under the table now? Don't want to freak out the first years."

"Nah," Harry said. "Rumor has it that they've already seen you when you were with the twins. What were you doing with the twins anyway?"

"Exploring," Simba said innocently. Harry shot him a look. "What? I was!"

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The week flew by and before Simba knew it, the weekend had come at last. Of course, he didn't expect to be woken up at dawn.

"What the—" he gasped as Harry nudged him awake.

"Wood," was all his brother said but Simba understood. Oliver wanted his brother. Okay, so maybe Simba hadn't warned Harry about his impending doom—I mean Quidditch practice.

"You know it's the crack of dawn right?"

"You can go back to bed," Harry shot back. Simba rolled his eyes and followed his brother's advice. Sleep was a glorious thing, but it was even better when one could rub it in their sibling's face.

"Wake up," he heard Seamus tell him four hours later.

"What is with you lot and waking me up?" Simba growled as he woke up. Seamus chuckled.

"Think about this as revenge for First Year when you woke us up at five," the Irishman said. "Have you seen Harry?"

"Quidditch practice," Simba said and Seamus left. His stomach growling, Simba decided to go to the forest to see if he could grab some grubs. Of course that meant dodging Lockhart.

"Ah whatever," he said and switched paths to McGonagall's classroom. Luckily the professor was still there.

"Hello Simba," she said with a smile. "I haven't seen you recently."

"Professor Sprout has let me watch her classes," Simba said with a smile. "The weather's been so nice that I couldn't' resist."

"Understandable," McGonagall nodded. She sat down and they swapped tales about their summers until dinner.

"I believe it's time to go," McGonagall said in surprise. "I must go tell Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley about their detentions."

"For what?" Simba asked, wondering what his brother had gotten into now.

"For flying that car," she said and Simba's eyes widen in realization. He chuckled as he peered around the corner to see McGonagall approach his brother and Ron. Their faces were priceless—Ron almost looked ill.

"Well, you did break the rules," he said with a smirk.

"Shut it you," Harry muttered but still handed him a piece of chicken. Simba growled in thanks and started to gnaw on it.

"Typical," he heard Ron muttered but ignored it. He had chicken and he had his brother. All was right with the world.

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Okay, maybe all was not right with the world as Harry had yet to come back to the common room and it was Midnight! Simba paced around the room, worried. What if Malfoy had gotten him?

"Simba?" he heard Harry whisper and Simba nodded. Harry sighed.

"Phew, thought you were a Prefect," he said. "I'll wait for Ron, unless he already went up?"

"No, he hasn't come back yet," Simba said, shaking out the semi-mane he was growing. The two brothers stayed on the couch, waiting for Ron. When the red-head came, it was to the sight of the two brothers asleep on the couch.

The next day, Harry and Ron filled Simba in about their detention and then included Hermione in the details that should probably have been told to a professor.

"You're hearing voices?" Simba raised an eyebrow. "Okay then…."

"What?" Harry snapped. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Yeah," Simba smirked. He figured that had just been an excuse for his brother to get out of detention. From what Harry had told him about Lockhart—which was way too much for Simba to ever like the man—Lockhart was an idiot.

"Should I have told someone?" Harry asked.

"Are you nuts?" Ron asked.

"Ron's right," Hermione said. "Even in the Wizarding World, hearing voices isn't a good sign."

"How the heck do you know that?" Simba asked. "You're muggle born!"

"At least you remembered," Hermione muttered.

"So what's the plan?" Ron asked, excited for there to be an adventure again. "I mean, first the platform and now a mysterious voice? There's got to be something going on!"

Simba hid his eyes with his paws. Sure he was going to help out, but only so he could make sure his brother and friends wouldn't get themselves killed.

"Can I go freak Lockhart out now?" Simba asked.

"YES!" Ron and Harry shouted. Harry looked like he was near ready to beg. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you shouldn't freak out a professor and especially not one as experienced as Professor Lockhart!"

"Experienced my arse," Simba muttered as he walked out of the Common Room. He would leave the homework doing to the humans; he had a git to find and scare.

"Hello Simba," Fred said. "Saw you on the map. What's up?"

"Going to freak out Lockhart," Simba said. "Want to help?"

Fred grinned. Simba shivered in fear but also grinned back. Lockhart would not know what hit him!