Chapter 31

A/N: I only own the plot to this story. All characters are either owned by JK Rowling or Disney.

Merlin, I am so sorry about how long it's been since I've updated. The cliff notes version is: got a job, lost said job, got a new job, that job ended, and am currently in a full time job that takes up most of my free time.

Thanks to all of you who have voted so far in the poll. That's still open if you want to cast your vote for stories for me to update. You can pick up to five of the choices.

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please feel free to review!

The problem with trying illicit potions in Hogwarts, Simba found, was that there wasn't a suitable place for it. Since Harry now had the map, they were up a creek without a paddle.

"So where are we doing this?" Simba asked after five minutes of needlessly walking up and down stairs. Then, as if realizing where they were, he stopped. He knew this place. It was hard not to after being frozen solid for an entire school year.

Great, and I just got the nightmares under control. Remind me to prank the twins later.

"Got the idea from Ron of course," George said after looking around to make sure the coast was clear. "We wanted to know more about his adventure down in the chamber last year and he told us everything."

"Figured we wouldn't squeal to Percy," Fred added on, walking straight into the girl's bathroom. Looking over his shoulder, Fred frowned as he realized Simba was still outside. "Aren't you coming?"

Simba shook his head and took a deep breath. He was being ridiculous. The monster was dead, as was Riddle. There was no way he could be re-petrified.

"Coming," Simba nodded and followed them inside. The bathroom was, in a word, disgusting. The house elves must actively avoid this one, Simba thought, looking at the warped stalls and the stained mirrors.

"Watch your step," George told him, pulling out his wand to push the shards of glass that were by the sink off to the side. "Ron could have told us about that."

"Well, turning into Crabbe would have pushed those minor details out of anyone's mind," Fred responded and began pulling things out of his robes. "Simba, are you okay going first? We'll take it a few seconds after you."

Simba looked at the vial in Fred's hand and nodded. They'd come too far to give up now just because Simba was getting cold paws. Laying down on the towels George had laid down on the floor so they wouldn't have to actually lay on the grime covered floor, Simba opened his mouth as if he was getting one of his dreamless sleep vials.

It tasted about the same as well, only instead of falling asleep gradually Simba found the floor coming to great him at a pace faster than he was used to. It was almost as if he was in some sort of trance. Mentally he was fine, but physically he was frozen solid. Just like his petrifaction last year.

Fog surrounded Simba as he tried to stem a mini freak out, something he was somewhat used to with the Dementors changing the weather whenever they came closer to the school. Still, there was an almost creepy atmosphere that he would definitely be talking to the twins about.

After a few minutes of sitting around and nothing appearing, Simba decided it might be better if he searched for his human form. It sure beat just sitting there, even if Simba didn't know exactly where to go. As he wandered, Simba realized that the fog was clearing somewhat to reveal that he was in some section of Hogwarts.

Scratch that, he knew exactly where he was. This was the place where he found that Merlin-forsaken mirror in First Year. The one that started his run of nightmares in the first place. But what was he doing here? He had no need for that mirror anymore. He certainly didn't need any more nightmares.

But as Simba turned the corner, he could see that mirror standing right in front of him. Shaking his head and deciding to get it over with, Simba plodded over to the mirror and sat down—not exactly eager to see the image of his dead father once more.

However, to his shock, that was not what he saw as he looked in the mirror. Instead, he saw a boy around Ron's height with Dean's skin color staring back at him. As Simba tilted his head in confusion and batting away the bit of mane that fell into his eyes, Simba noticed that the boy did the same thing.

The eyes—they were the exact same shade of brown as Simba's were, the lion realized with a start. The boy's hair was the exact same shade as his mane as well. Could it be?

"Simba?" the faint call of George's voice called out but Simba wanted to stay there. He wanted to study more of this human that would become his second form.

"Simba!"

George's voice grew louder and louder until finally Simba couldn't fight it anymore. Groaning, he woke up and shakily got to his feet.

"You're way too perky for someone who took that potion," Simba told George, who shrugged as he shook his twin out of the same trance like state Simba had been in.

"The potion's different for different people," George told him and smirked as Fred woke up. "Hello Sleeping Beauty."

"Shut it," Fred groaned as he pushed himself up off the ground. "How did you get a different reaction than I did? We're twins!"

George shrugged. "We're still separate people. Wouldn't it make sense that we'd have separate reactions?"

"Okay," Simba groaned, rubbing his head with his paw, "it is too soon after that potion for you to make sense."

George smirked as Fred rolled his eyes but got up, using one of the sinks to prop himself up. Simba also got to his feet, a little unsteady though as the potion seemed to have a strange affect on him. Maybe it was just the Dreamless Sleep that was still in his system from the night before, but Simba was pretty sure that the room was spinning.

Taking a step forward, Simba had to brace himself as he went sideways. Apparently, the room was in fact was spinning.

"So, what animal did you see?" he asked, sitting back down on the towel. George looked up from the bag he was packing back up.

"Some sort of red squirrel," he said and Simba smirked. "Not necessarily the best option for an animagus form but you know what, at least it's not a snake."

Fred chuckled. "Yeah, that would be horrible. Imagine, being able to turn into the same animal as the Slytherin mascot. Though Snape would probably have a heart attack of a Gryffindor being a snake animagus."

Simba smirked and nodded in agreement. "The only thing that would be worse for him would be if Harry turned into the snake."

"The lion has a point," George snorted.

"What's your animal Fred?" Simba asked, turning to the older Weasley twin. To his surprise, Fred rubbed the back of his neck; almost as if the older boy was embarrassed of his form.

"Some sort of dog like creature. It was grey but with an oddly orange tinged mane," Fred told him. "I don't really know what it was. When I saw it though, it let out some sort of laugh like it was enjoying some sort of joke."

"Strange," George almost seemed impressed. "Bet Hermione would know."

"Yes, let's tell the rule loving student who has the ear of McGonagall that we illegally started the process of becoming Animagi," Fred rolled his eyes.

"Fair point," George smirked. "What do you think Simba? Simba?"

The boys looked around in confusion but Simba had slunk off while the twins were having the conversation; the spinning having subsided while he was sitting. Simba didn't know what he was going to do, all he knew was that he had to get far away from the twins.

The one thing the two menaces were good for, other than pranking, was being able to tell when something was bothering him. The last thing Simba needed was Fred finding out that lions and hyenas were the animal equivalent of Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Oh, and hyenas tried to kill him as a cub.

Oh, it's a Dreamless Sleep night isn't it? Simba thought as he stepped through the Fat Lady's portrait. The common room was empty—probably because everyone dove for cover when he left with the twins. Only Harry, Ron and Hermione were there along with Crookshanks.

"So what part of the castle did you lot demolish?" Ron asked upon seeing Simba walking toward them. Hermione looked up from the book she was reading in curiosity and Harry smirked.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Simba muttered, only half listening. He didn't notice Ron exchange looks with Harry and Hermione. Though to be fair, it would probably seems strange to him if Harry went off somewhere with Ron and Hermione happy as could be and then came back, alone with a complete 180 in terms of attitude.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked just as Simba was about to bound up the stairs.

"Nothing," Simba said, trying not to turn around in fear that it would evident on his face. He could hear Harry sigh in frustration but this was a lot different than his sleep issue. He had never told Harry about the hyenas so he wouldn't understand. None of them would.

"Are you going to turn into Mr. Sourpuss again?" Harry asked.

"No," Simba shook his head, still looking at the stairs. He was answering automatically, not even hearing Harry call him Sourpuss.

"Are you going to traumatize the first and second years?"

"Not intentionally."

"Are you going to try and avoid all of Gryffindor House again?"

"Just a few members."

Harry sighed once more and Simba frowned as he realized just how frequently this had occurred this year. Merlin, did Harry's third year need to speed up and get itself over with.

"Is this interrogation over?" Simba asked, looking over his shoulder. "Cause I'm knackered and like to go to bed."

"Go on," Harry smirked and shook his head as Simba bounded up the stairs. "Five galleons state that he's not actually going to sleep."

"Not even taking that bet mate," Ron chuckled.

"YOU KNOW I CAN HEAR YOU!" Simba shouted from the stairs causing Harry and Ron to burst out laughing while Hermione shook her head in amusement as she turned back to her book. Simba ran up the stairs and crawled under Harry's bed. The last time he'd been under here was back in first year when he was afraid of being caught by someone for being at Hogwarts.

Fred was a hyena. His animagus form was that of a hyena. How was Simba supposed to react to that? How could he look Fred in the eye and say that it was fine? What was Simba supposed to do, just pretend that three hyenas didn't try to kill him multiple times when he was younger?

Curling up into a small ball, Simba rested his head on the ground and felt his eyes grow heavy. Sighing, he fell into a very uneasy sleep.

0000

For the next several days, Simba tried to avoid Fred whenever possible. That was easier than Simba had originally thought, seeing as the final match for the Quidditch Cup was pulling ever nearer and Wood had developed some of his old manic obsession with the sport.

Honestly, Simba was ready to let it go. It made avoiding Fred that much easier and since he usually didn't go down to the pitch when the team was practicing, no one asked any questions either.

It was quite an unusual sight for many Gryffindors to see the normally grouchy lion relaxing by the lake or curled up on one of the chairs in the Common Room. Simba though was trying desperately to avoid slipping back into that persona despite the fact that he could fee the old nightmares returning. If he returned to that persona, then people would try to confront him on it. People he'd rather avoid.

He'd upped his dosage of Dreamless Sleep from one vial a week to two. Any more and he'd risk running out. Running out meant telling someone so he could get more—and that was the last thing he wanted. Telling someone would risk the news getting back to Harry who would then feel free to pester Simba through the rest of the school year.

Harry though was also run ragged by the upcoming Quidditch cup that he was often just as sleep deprived as Simba was at times. Even Hermione seemed close to cracking as exam season was also upon them, and she was taking on the extra work of Buckbeak's appeal as well since the Ministry had ruled in favor of Malfoy's father.

Though nothing could prepare him for what occurred about three days before the Quidditch Cup Final. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Harry had later confirmed it, Simba would have assumed that he dreamt the whole thing.

"Did you hear?" Simba overheard a sixth year Gryffindor ask his friend one day as Simba curled up on one of the sofas. "Granger smacked the crap out of Malfoy!"

"Wait? Rule lover Granger?" the friend asked and Simba popped his head up.

"Do you know another Granger in Hogwarts?!"

"It's a big school! There could be!"

The sixth year sighed in irritation at his friend's apparent stupidity but continued on. "Apparently, Malfoy and his goons were making fun of Hagrid and Granger lost it. Full on, open palm smack across the face. I just wish I'd been there to see it."

"Think Weasley would sell us the memory?" the friend asked. " I'd love to see Granger smack some sense into that pompous prince of a pureblood."

"Doubt it," the sixth year sighed. "They're all too busy with exams, plus Weasley's helping Granger with some big project and Potter's got the Quidditch Final."

"Merlin, I'd love it if we beat Slytherin. We'd finally win the Cup—feels like it's been ages," the friend sighed and Simba slunk out of the room, having grown bored with their prattle. He didn't know where exactly he was going but all he knew was that he wasn't getting any new information out of them. Honestly, they had to have sniffed some Potions fumes or something—they were almost as dumb as Crabbe and Goyle.

Almost.

"Simba!" a familiar voice called out to him and Simba cursed as he realized he had wandered all the way to the Quidditch Pitch without realizing it. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was coming out of the locker room at that very moment and Fred was trying to get his attention. Simba didn't know what to do. He could see the whole team looking right at him, Fred waving like a maniac to make sure Simba saw him and Harry raising an eyebrow in interest.

Simba only knew that he did not want to talk to Fred. Hell, he didn't want to talk to anyone. So he turned on his heel and started walking toward the lake. Unfortunately, he could hear Fred chasing after him, if the clattering of a broom in the background was any indication. Thankfully there were no other students by the lake so no one would be able to hear them. Not that that would stop the Hogwarts Gossip chain but it was the thought that counted.

"Oi!" Fred finally caught up to Simba and whirled him around. No small feat seeing as Simba was in fact a lion. "Did I do something to piss you off?"

"Gee, what makes you think that?" Simba rolled his eyes.

"Well, it couldn't possibly be because of the fact that this is the first time you've spoken a word to me since we took that potion," Fred snapped back. "I mean, you've been avoiding George and Lee as well. Since Lee wasn't with us, I can only assume it's either me or George and you at least talk to George when he's not with me."

"Careful Fred. I think your ego's hitting Lockhart levels," Simba snarked.

"Merlin, just tell me what's going on!" Fred gripped, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

Simba froze. He was sorry? Sorry didn't cut the mustard when it came to this. Fred could turn into a Hyena or at least he would once the animagus transformation was complete. How many times had he been told that hyenas were nothing but slobbering, mangy stupid poachers? Oh, and let's not forget the fact that Simba had to temporarily relive the night he lost all movement in his body and was stuck in the Hospital Wing for a whole year!

"Sorry?" Simba shot back, his voice quiet. "I don't think sorry cuts it here Fred. You want to know what you did wrong? How about not warning me that the potion would cause freaking paralysis?! Gee, you'd think someone who'd been petrified might want to know that!"

Fred paled and his eyes got wide in realization. "Oh man, Simba. I didn't know! George was the one that made the potion."

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" Simba roared and he could hear the rest of the team running up, probably hearing the yelling he was doing from the pitch. "You have eyes! You can read can't you? How hard could it have been to look up the effects of the potion? Oh, and how about not having us drink the potion in the bathroom right outside the freaking spot I was petrified?!"

"What's going on?" Harry's voice called out and Simba looked to see his brother, Ron, Hermione and George standing there. The rest of the team were off to the side a bit, far enough that they couldn't hear anything but close enough that they could be there if needed.

"Nothing. Fred was just leaving," Simba said, his voice taking on a cool tone. Fred winced.

"Didn't sound like nothing," George commented. The last time he remembered seeing Simba this upset was during the intervention they had, back when he wasn't sleeping. "Is everything alright Simba?"

"George, I'll tell you later. We messed up royally but I'll tell you later," Fred said quickly before Simba could say anything. Simba, though, was relieved. If they thought he was upset because of the paralysis in the potion and the spot where they did the run through, then they wouldn't focus on any thing else.

"You're sure you're okay Simba?" Harry asked, still looking between the two of them in confusion. Simba could, in some way, understand his brother's confusion. Fred was becoming one of his closest friends and now Simba was biting the older boy's head off.

"I'm fine Harry," Simba nodded, trying to smile a bit to ease any doubt Harry might have. "Promise."

"Okay," Harry said, still looking way too skeptical for Simba's liking. Needless to say, he was thankful when Oliver began shepherding them all back to the Common Room. All but Simba, of course. Simba sat down by the bank of the lake and sighed. How was he going to turn into his human form if he was busy avoiding Fred as well as trying to protect Harry?

He still hadn't forgotten about Pettigrew still being out there. Despite his best efforts, Simba had been unable to locate the rat—though being forced by his brother and friends to drink Dreamless Sleep to regulate a sleep schedule might be one of the reasons.

Wait, Pettigrew was an animagus. Who else did he know who was an animagus? Popping up, Simba raced into the Forbidden Forest. By the time he reached the clearing, Simba had gathered so much speed that unfortunately, he did not have enough space to stop thereby knocking over the very man he needed help from.

"Why is it every time I see you, you end up knocking me over?" Sirius grunted.

"Sorry," Simba grinned sheepishly and backed off. Sirius hopped up, brushing some wayward dirt off his robes.

"No harm done," Sirius said, grinning back at the lion. "Now, what's the disaster and how can I help?"

"I need your help to master the reverse animagus transformation."