Severus Snape hates aurors. His brief stint in Azkaban awaiting his trial had seen to that. Despite his severe dislike of the wizarding police, he knows that they're far more equipped to deal with what he's just seen than himself.
Captain Atticus Appletree is a handsome man with curly black hair and a charming smile that he wears like he doesn't know its effect. He listens to Severus with the upmost seriousness and never once comments on the elephant in the room that is Severus' dark mark. Severus almost wishes he'd been the one to arrest him instead of Alastor Moody.
Appletree tells him with all sincerity and kindness that they'll handle it from here, that it was brave of him to come forward with the report. Severus scowls and stomps away trying desperately to fight the flushing of his cheeks.
…
Atticus Appletree doesn't know what to expect going into this recent mission. Severus Snape had given as much a detailed description of the girl as he could but he hadn't seen where she'd ultimately run off to. The former death eater had sworn up and down that the girl was Sunny Potter, that he would know her anywhere even covered in filth and skinny as a rail.
If Snape is telling the truth, and they find the savior of the wizarding world living in the gutter, there will be a serious inquiry as to the events following her defeat of the dark lord and who her guardian is supposed to be. Atticus already has a headache and they haven't even started out to look for her yet.
His team of aurors gather around him, most of them are newbies that other captains didn't want to deal with. It's not ideal, but they'll have to do. He gives a brief run down that they're looking for a lost child but he withholds the information that she's Sunny Potter in case Snape was wrong. If anything, at least the man's report will get one less kid off the streets and into a better home.
They all fan out across Knockturn Alley, ignoring the scattering of the regular residents as they begin their search. Demetri Mulciber is the one who ultimately finds the girl; she's tucked inside a cardboard box and looking out at them with terrified eyes. Atticus carefully approaches her, crouching down to get a good look, "Hey, bug. My name's Atticus, I'm gonna help you, okay?"
She doesn't respond, seemingly frozen in fear, so he gently pulls her out of her box. He pins her to his chest so that she doesn't accidentally hurt herself or him if she decides to flail about. Reaching up he brushes aside her matted hair and finds the telltale lightening bolt scar on her forehead, just like Snape had described.
The girl is scowling rather fiercely at him and he's gearing up to disapparate to Mungos when he feels something warm trickling down his side.
Mulciber pipes up, "Uh, sir? I think she's peeing on you."
Biting back the urge to snap at the rookie, he turns to him with a pinched expression, "Yes, Mulciber, I'm aware."
Atticus can't say he blames the little girl, she's tiny and weak and this is probably the only way she could think of to retaliate against him. It'll probably be funny later on but right now he's just exhausted.
He quickly apparates to St. Mungos and grabs the attention of a passing healer.
"She's approximately six years old and in dire need of a check up," Atticus tells the healer moving to hand her off to the other man, but the girl clams up and clings to his auror robes.
"Okay, it's okay, I'll carry you," he tells her while moving to just follow the healer instead.
Atticus has a feeling that this case is going to be one of the tougher ones for him.
…
Atticus stays with the girl long after he should have left. She's absolutely terrified and rather difficult to get to cooperate. The thing that ultimately wins her trust in Atticus, is at one point they were trying to get her to take some potions and she was just not having it. Atticus had picked her up, intending to get her to hold still long enough that they might be able to force the potions down her throat, when she'd fought back. Her little teeth had sunk into his forearm with a surprising amount of force, drawing blood and causing Atticus to tense in pain.
He doesn't shout or react, instead he just continues to rock her in his arms and tell her that it's going to be okay, that he won't let anyone hurt her. Eventually, she slowly relaxes in his hold and carefully unlatches her teeth from his arm. Ignoring the sluggishly bleeding wound on his arm, Atticus quickly grabs one of the potions and holds it up for her to drink. She does so while eyeing Atticus suspiciously, but he can only see this as a win.
Things go pretty much the same way the rest of the day. The healers have to shave her head when they realize that not only are the mattes in her hair too severe to brush out, she also has a pretty bad case of lice. But once her head is shaved and they've got her all cleaned up, she looks like a completely different kid. Still sickly and scared, but far better than she had been earlier.
Only once Sunny has fallen asleep does Atticus leave St. Mungos to return to the Ministry. The day has been long but tonight will be longer still once he turns his report in.
He briefly wonders if he should contact Severus Snape and let the man know that he'd been right and that the girl is okay.
…
The days and weeks that follow the discovery of Sunny Potter living on the streets are absolute chaos. The Ministry and the Wizengamot are outraged, how could this happen?
Upon closer inspection into her case, it's revealed that Albus Dumbledore is her magical guardian and that he had sent her to live with her muggle relatives.
"They'd never reported her missing," Dumbledore says with his face downturned in disappointment, "I had hoped they would set aside their prejudices in order to raise Miss Potter."
Atticus thinks that Dumbledore needs to be held at least somewhat accountable for what's happened, but he's only an auror and so he keeps his mouth shut.
Eventually, it's decided that Sunny Potter will be adopted into a magical home and that Albus Dumbledore will be stripped of his guardianship rights over the girl. Dumbledore looks rather peeved by this ruling, but does not argue.
Sunny needs to remain in St. Mungos for at least another week while they get her up to a more healthy weight and also to flush her system of parasites or other diseases she might have picked up while living in a box. The little girl makes her distaste for the situation known immediately and Atticus finds himself visiting the hospital every day to ensure that the girl is doing okay.
….
Severus Snape visits Sunny Potter in the hospital only once. That stupidly handsome auror is there and is letting the girl climb all over him like he's a jungle-gym. He smiles brightly up at Severus from where he's sitting and greets him cheerily with, "Hello again!"
Sunny stops her playing and immediately shrinks into the auror's side. Appletree doesn't seem to mind and just pulls her close while gesturing to the chair opposite him. Severus sits primly and crosses his arms across his chest. He glances about the room.
It's not the girl's hospital room, but rather what probably is used as a storage room or for therapy. It's open and spacious and there's a few chairs and tables scattered about the space.
Appletree catches his attention by asking, "What can I do for you?"
Severus looks at Sunny who's still tucked into the auror's side and is now squinting at Severus. The potions professor is glad she's okay even if that's not something he would ever admit out loud.
"I was just checking in to inquire about Miss Potter's health," Severus says while sticking his nose in the air as if it was some great hassle to come to St. Mungos, "But I can see she is just fine."
Appletree gives him a rather blinding smile that shows off his straight, white teeth.
"Yes! I want to thank you for reporting that you saw her. Any longer and she probably would have died from malnourishment."
The girl is very thin with her bones sticking out prominently, but it seems as if the potions that Severus has been brewing for her are working.
Severus gives a curt nod to acknowledge what Appletree has said and stands up to leave.
"Wait!" The auror calls out, standing up as well, "I hate to do this but do you think you could sit with her for a bit? I need to run to the Ministry to get some paperwork."
Pursing his lips, Severus regards the other man. Now that he's looking at him, Appletree does look rather haggard with bags under his eyes and his hair not as perfectly quaffed like the last time Severus saw him. He wonders how much of his personal time Appletree is sacrificing to visit Sunny.
Sighing, Severus agrees and retakes his seat. Appletree for his part doesn't waste time and quickly leaves towards the apparition point.
Sunny from across the table is still squinting at him, like she's trying to figure him out.
"You smell like medicine," she blurts, her words accented with a slight lisp from her half grown in front teeth.
"That's because I've been brewing your medicine," he responds succinctly. He's been waiting for her to burst into tears or run away screaming. That's usually the effect he has on kids.
However, Sunny just looks at him with surprise and then asks, "Can you make them taste better? Right now they taste like liquid chalk that someone tried to season with garlic."
Severus can't help the snort that leaves him at the girl's description. He's never heard nutrition potions described as tasting quite like that, but he supposes her assessment of the medicine is correct. They do taste quite awful.
"I supposed I could edit it to make it more palatable."
Sunny gives him a big, goofy smile, "Thanks!"
She must decide that he's just as personable as Appletree, because she climbs down from her chair and makes her way around the table to Severus. Without even asking, she climbs up on to his lap and starts chatting away to him.
Internally, Severus is panicking. He has no idea what one is supposed to do with a child. Should he shove her away? No, he's certain that'll make her cry. Gods, he hates crying kids.
Just when he's about to demand for her to return to her own seat, Appletree returns.
"Oh wow!" The auror exclaims at the sight of a supremely uncomfortable Severus with a chattering Sunny on his lap, "I've never seen her warm up to someone so quick!"
With a laugh at Severus' pinched expression, Appletree picks the girl up and takes her back to the opposite side of the table.
Not wasting a moment longer, Severus flees from the room.
…
Severus is unwillingly kept up to date on Sunny Potter's health. After about a week and half spent in the hospital, Sunny is sent to live with a foster family while the Ministry decides who should adopt her. For whatever reason, it was decided the best family to foster her is the Weasleys.
Severus hated having to take the potions for Sunny all the way to St. Mungos and he hates having to visit the Weasleys even more. Their house is always so loud. How Arthur and Molly haven't strangled their annoying kids, Severus will never know.
Sunny for her part seems to be adjusting okay to the new environment. She's not as rambunctious as the other children, but she's quite adventurous and always seems to be able to find something to occupy her. Molly and Arthur gush about how much they adore her and Arthur even tells Severus that he's going to be putting their name in the hat to adopt Sunny.
Severus sneers and quickly hands over the potions so that he can leave before said girl can realize he's here. He's taken too long, it seems, because from the living room Sunny comes dashing towards Severus. She wraps her little arms around his legs and chirps up at him, "Hi!"
"Hello," he tells her while subtly trying to pry her off.
Eventually, one of the other kids distracts her long enough for Severus to slip away. However, it's becoming something of a routine these days to be near tackled by the little girl and chatted at like they're best friends.
Severus hates kids.
….
It takes the Ministry nearly 3 weeks to deliberate on who should be allowed to adopt Sunny Potter. A handful of very wealthy and politically prominent families have been selected and there remains to be a final vote.
Atticus Appletree is the one to suggest that they let the girl choose her new family and his words are well considered as he is the only one, apart from Severus, who the girl willing interacts with.
So, all the families and Ministry officials crowd into the court room to see the final verdict.
Appletree leads a scared and uncertain Sunny Potter into the room and stands her in the center. The three families that have made the cut are spaced out around Sunny and they all try to smile invitingly at the girl.
From his seat, Severus rolls his eyes at the whole event. He'd not even wanted to come to this but Dumbledore had insisted as he should learn which family she'll go to so that he may continue to brew her potions.
"Okay, bug," Appletree says to the girl softly, "Go ahead and pick which family you want to go with."
Sunny looks like she's moments away from bursting into tears and she looks at the families and onlookers with wide eyes.
Somehow, spotting Severus in the crowd, Sunny makes a mad dash towards him. She pushes her way past legs and climbs the risers to get to Severus who is sputtering and trying to get her to return to the center of the room.
All eyes are on them as Severus hisses for Sunny to go back to where she was standing. Appletree, the smug bastard, pipes up, "Well, I think Miss Potter has chosen!"
The room erupts into arguments and shouting as Fudge tries to get everyone to calm down. Sunny has ignored Severus' words and has climbed up onto his lap and is burying her face into his shoulder.
The blood drains from Severus' face. He can't adopt a child— children hate him. And this is Lily's daughter! He can't be the one to take her!
Eventually the room settles down enough that Fudge can be heard, "We will take Miss Potter's actions into consideration. We will take a brief recess to assess the situation and will return in an hour to give the final decision."
Fudge doesn't flee from the room, but it's a close thing.
Severus is left sitting there, dumbstruck, with Sunny still sitting on his lap. All eyes turn towards him, nearly all of them glares. Appletree pushes through the crowd and climbs the risers to get to Severus and Sunny.
The auror smiles down at him, "You're the one Sunny likes best."
Severus snarls at those words, "If we're going to decide where Miss Potter should go based on those parameters, then she should go with you!"
Appletree laughs and shakes his head, "Nah, you're the one she's always talking about."
Severus pauses at those words. She does?
As if reading his mind, Appletree nods, "You're the one she looks forward to seeing the most."
While that does soften Severus' heart a bit to hear, he still knows that he'd be the worst person to adopt a child.
When the meeting reconvenes, Severus is practically on the edge of his seat. They'd tried to remove Sunny from his lap, but the girl had had a burst of accidental magic that had lit the ministry official who'd tried to grab her on fire. They'd backed down immediately after that and decided to just continue the meeting as is.
"Er, well," Fudge stutters while dabbing his sweating forehead with a handkerchief, "It seems that indeed Miss Potter has chosen her new guardian."
The room once more erupts into chaos as many try to shout that the verdict isn't fair, but Fudge silences them all with a wave of his hand, "Severus Snape is Sunflower Potter's guardian."
It feels as if the floor has just fallen out from under him as Severus sits there dumbstruck. Appletree claps him on the shoulder and says, "Congrats!"
Severus wonders if throwing himself into traffic will overturn the decision.
…
Severus takes a long moment to just collect himself before he does this. Surprisingly, the monotony of this bland suburban neighborhood doesn't settle his nerves any. He runs a hand carefully over his suit jacket and then through his hair to make sure everything is in order. (Being friends with Narcissa pays off especially in instances where he needs to look better richer than he is.)
Taking a deep breath he heads up the walk towards Number 4 of the cookie cutter houses and knocks firmly on the door. There's a moment where he can hear the occupants of the home moving about, one of them making their way to answer the door.
Severus takes great pleasure in the look of horror on Petunia's face as she answers the door. He's sure his sneer is something to behold in that moment.
"Y-you!" She sputters out, her hands clutching the door in a white knuckled grip. She tries to slam the door closed but a well placed foot from Severus stops it from closing. It's a bit sad how little strength it takes him to force the door back open and push his way into the house. Petunia stumbles back and lets out a choked scream that Severus is quick to silence with a spell.
"Calm down you insufferable wench," Severus bites out with a huff, then holding up the paperwork in his hands he says, "I am here in regards to young Miss Potter."
Petunia's face pinches up at the mention of her wayward ward. Releasing the silencing spell, Severus allows her to reply.
"That little brat ran away months ago," She says snidely, "We don't know where she is."
"Of that, I am aware," Severus replies, "She was found about a month ago."
"Well we are not taking her back!" Petunia screeches, her face taking on a rather unattractive flush of outrage, "We gave that freak more than she ever deserved and look at how she repays us!"
Severus looks rather pointedly at the door to the cupboard under the stairs that features a lock and a small slot to allow the passage of food into the room. Placed innocuously in the middle of this seemingly normal home makes its existence all the more horrifying.
"You will not be receiving guardianship of Miss Potter again," he says and then slaps the paperwork into Petunia's hands, "I am here to collect your signature so that she may be placed in a new home with a new family."
Petunia looks stunned at his words and then shakily starts rifling through the papers in her hands. She opens her mouth to say something but clicks it closed before she can get any words out. She does this a few more times before she quietly asks, "Is she going to be with one of your kind?"
Severus sneers at the question as he doubts that Petunia of all people actually gives a damn, "Not that it's any of your concern, but yes, Miss Potter is going to be adopted by a magic user."
Petunia nods and then ushers Severus further into the house to the kitchen where she sets the papers on the table and goes in search of a pen. He doesn't take a seat and instead looms threateningly in the corner where he can watch her sign from a distance.
It takes her maybe 10 minutes to get all the relevant paperwork signed and when she's finished, she stands up to hand it to him.
He takes it roughly from her hands and before he departs he tells her, "Don't worry, you won't ever be seeing Sunflower Potter ever again."
…
Severus wouldn't ever admit to being anxious about something, he finds emotions like that to be so uncouth. His palms are a bit sweaty though as he apparates to the Burrow to pick up his newly adopted child. And Gods does that feel weird to think—that he'll be entirely responsible for the care of a child. He thinks he might have fantasized once upon a time about having a child with Lily, back when they were still friends, before he'd realized that he hated himself kids too much to start a family.
There's no going back now, though, and all he can do is try to make sure he's a better man than his father ever was.
Hearing the crack of his apparating causes Sunny to come running out of the house towards him. She's got a bit of dirt on her cheek and she didn't bother putting on shoes before going outside. He bends down to scoop her up and gently chides her for not putting shoes on, "You could get a cut on your foot."
Arthur peeks his head out the front door, "Come in! We're just getting lunch on the table!"
Severus reluctantly does so, depositing Sunny into the first available chair he finds and taking the seat next to her. The house is pure chaos as usual with children aplenty and adults trying to move about without tripping over one. Molly comes bustling out of the kitchen, her warm welcome to Severus interspersed with unholy screeching at those demonic twins of hers. How her and Arthur have energy to do literally anything else is a wonder, just having lunch with that family is enough to make Severus want to take a several hours long nap.
….
When they arrive at Hogwarts, Severus has to keep a firm grip on Sunny's hand. The girl is practically vibrating at his side with excitement and he knows the moment he turns his back she'll run off to go explore the castle. Those big green eyes of hers are wide with wonder as they walk in and her head swivels about to take every detail in.
Thankfully the school year hasn't started yet so it'll give both her and her new guardian time to adjust.
Severus' personal quarters are in the dungeons next to the Slytherin dormitories and he makes quick work of leading Sunny there. Despite being in the dungeons, his apartment is very cozy with soft couches, a little kitchenette, and two bedrooms with stunning stained glass windows that look out into the green waters of the lake. Sunny loves it.
Her new room is sparsely decorated with only a bed and a desk but Severus assures her that they'll go shopping tomorrow for furniture, clothes, and decorations.
At dinner that night while they sit at the counter in Severus' little kitchen, Sunny asks, "Are you my dad now?"
She times it just right so that he ends up choking on his food and has to spend several minutes hacking and coughing before he can answer.
His face is flushed and he looks like he's grinding his teeth as he contemplates the question. Eventually he bites out, "I suppose so, yes."
She gives him a shy smile in reply and goes back to eating her food. She'll have to look for a good moment to call him "dad" later on. Maybe when he's drinking tea, she thinks.
It's surprisingly easy to fall asleep that night. Sunny thought for sure she'd be tossing and turning with both excitement and nerves but she's falls right asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.
Sev— Dad wakes her up the next morning and tells her to get ready so that they can go shopping. She's still sporting the Weasley's hand-me-downs and her dad sighs at the sight of them. Sunny supposes clothes shopping will be their first priority.
Surprisingly enough, he takes her shopping in both Diagon Alley and in muggle London. While in London, they pass a muggle toy store and wide longing eyes are all that's needed to convince her dad to let her go in and explore. She makes towards the toys she's always wanted since waking up in this new life, Carebears. These ones are the original releases and she grabs one of each excitedly. Her dad looks at the stuffed bears with a furrowed, dubious expression.
"What are they?" He asks her while taking Grumpy Bear out of her arms to examine it.
"Carebears!" She tells him, "They fight evil with the patterns on their stomachs!"
He looks no closer to understanding than he did before he asked the question, but he buys them for her anyways and only makes one comment about how many different kinds there are.
When they go shopping for clothes, Sunny is initially excited to be trying on the pretty, colorful dresses in the store but when she looks at her buzzed hair in the mirror that excitement fades. She knows they had no choice but to shave her head, but it still makes her a bit sad.
Her dad takes one look at her expression, his eyes darting up momentarily to look at her short hair, before he steps away. He returns moments later with some cute ribbons and hair clips. Her hair isn't long enough yet that they can put the little clips in, but he can tie the ribbon around her head like a headband that he ties expertly into a bow on the top of her head. She wears her new look out of the store with a wide smile.
With the muggle portion of their shopping out of the way, her dad takes her to Diagon Alley next. He only makes her get a few robes to wear occasionally because he can already tell that the extra fabric will be a tripping hazard to the adventurous little girl.
The stores there are just as magical and amazing as Sunny had imagined they'd be.
Her dad must put some sort of concealment charm on her because nobody stops her to shake her hand or to tell her how much they adore her.
Overall, it's a good first day with her new dad.
