Sorry I took long!

Chapter 3: Why me?

"No, but I'll start on a docility potion" said Snape. He seemed to smile. McGonagall gave Snape a look as if troubled by the fact that she trusted him.

"Well, for now Harry is confined to the grounds, not to step inside at all" said McGonagall strictly. Harry put his head down and crawled with his butt waggling in the air towards Prof. McGonagall then he put a paw on her foot. Harry looked up at McGonagall with the saddest eyes he could muster.

"Don't give me those lion eyes Potter" sighed McGonagall.

"Rrrrrrr...purrrrrrrr" rumbled Harry as he stood up and rubbed up against McGonagall without knocking her over. Which proved to be quite difficult as his weight was bulky and awkward.

"Potter, off, down boy, down Potter!" said McGonagall while trying to not to laugh. Harry purred and went down. Then something started to prod Harry's large, furry backside.

Harry looked round at Snape. He growled.

"Move along Potter" said Snape. Harry sat down as a dead weight. With a wave of a wand Harry was lifted into the air again.

And thrown outside. Although not a very graceful landing.

"Potter you're bringing shame to the brilliant name of Gryffindor, how dare you" drawled Snape. Harry wanted nothing more to swallow up Snape in one crunching bite.

"Severus! Be careful with him, he's only a young boy after all" pleaded McGonagall.

"Oh come now, Professor, he a young lion! Besides,-" He looked at Harry with a piercing stare, "- aren't cats supposed to land on their feet?"

Harry knew that was coming...semi-biting comment, not exactly one of the more brilliant comments from the greasy haired man...

XXX

I love this school at night thought Snape as he walked through the moonlit corridors. Although he didn't really like the jibe from the paintings, their favorite sayings seemed to be, "Who's there?" and, "Peeves, if it's you I'll -", and last, "Are you an elephant with those footfalls? Shut up!"

"RRRROOOOOOAOAAARARRRRRRRR!"

Snape nearly pissed himself, then he remembered a certain loathsome lion scrambling about outside in the night.

"Potter, what have you gotten up to now?" asked Snape as he was reminded of a badly behaved puppy.

---

Severus opened the doors. There came another howling wail of a roar.

"Potter!" called out Severus. Severus couldn't see the creat – hold that thought – there seemed to be a sodden skinny lion down by the lake.

Severus walked over to see Harry standing and shivering in the freezing night. Severus dried off and warmed up Harry.

"Now what were you trying to do?" Severus asked the lion. The lion looked at him reproachfully and walked over to the edge of the water. Severus followed.

Potter looked in the water and Severus did the same. There were many fish in the lake.

"So...you're hungry huh?" asked Severus. The lion nodded. Severus turned to the castle and motioned for the lion to follow.

---

"Here, now eat it" ordered Snape. The two were in the Great Hall. Harry was sitting in the Headmaster's seat and he was already slobbering all over the place. There was a dead sheep on the table with it's head cut off.

Severus turned away and sat on the Gryffindor table. When he turned back ten minutes later, there was only scraps of the poor animal left.

"Full?" asked an exasperated potions master. The lion bared his teeth in, had Potter been human, must have been a smile.

Severus turned away to nearly knock Proffesor McGonagall over.

"Severus? Harry? What are you two -," she spotted the carcass, "ah, I see Professor Snape has become your caretaker"

The lion merely jumped to the ground after McGonagall vanished the carcass and lied down to roll around on the ground. His face still covered in blood.

"Minerva, you can't possibly mean that?"

"Yes, why?"

"There's Hagrid"

"Rrr" which must have meant an agreement. For Potter came and nodded at McGonagall. She got the hint and sent Potter off to Hagrid's.

Severus walked back down to his dungeons and prepared for bed.

---

knock, knock

Now what? I enjoy sleeping if you wizards didn't notice...

Severus got out of bed and slipped on a shirt to match his pajama slacks. He walked to the door through with a candle. For his clock said it was about six o'clock in the morning, thought in the dungeons, it was eternal night. He reached the door and opened it.

"Severus, have you got a minute?" asked a very exasperated-looking McGonagall.

"Yes, do come in" said Snape. He looked down and saw that he still had his pajamas on. He quickly slipped off to change.

When he came back to the living room he found McGonagall standing to his fire.

"What did you want Minerva?" asked Snape. She turned,

"Yes, well, about Harry..."

"What now? How much trouble could you come across in Hagrid's house?"

"Um...well a protective boar hound and a baby unicorn doesn't mix well with a lion"

I wonder how farther up my eyebrows will go...

"Also, he tried staying with me but to him Fawkes smells better than cake in his current from"

Seems as though my eyebrows are now taking a vacation in the jungles of my hair...

"So, I was wondering, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"You know, Harry"

"I will not take care of an overgrown house cat!"

"Excuse me!"

"Well it's true, the boy can't even catch a fish!"

"Really?"

"I know, although he adept at catching a flying ball in a storm"

"Well, -" she seemed to catch herself, "- that's besides the matter, Harry needs someone a bit more strict to keep him in check, he'll ending up havocking the whole castle"

"Not that he already hasn't, of course not, no, not Potter" muttered Snape. McGonagall smiled.

"That's settled then"

"What is?"

"Harry is staying with you"

"When did I agree to that?"

"You didn't, you accepted it"

"Get out"

"My pleasure"

McGonagall left the room and right after her, in through the door came a lumbering lion the size of a small horse.

Rauma: How was it? I love reveiws!