A/N: Hey guys, I hope you all enjoy this story! Feel free to leave any suggestions! My newest fanfic 'Bent Not Broken' will be coming out soon. Basically it's a modernized Hogwarts with Hailey. So that means no magic, just Highschool drama and angst.

Severus Snape was a spy.

Which means he had to keep his nerves in tact or else his cover could be blown. For years he had done things that could make any man or woman tremble and chicken out.

Adopting a teenager? Well that was a whole different story. His nerves were an absolute mess. All Snape had done this morning was pace around his room, frantically thinking about what he should do and how he should present theses papers to Hailey Potter. He had been her guardian for well over a year now, and during that time the two of them learned to get along rather well. In fact today officially marked his second year as a guardian. He had thought long and hard about this, and Severus realized that he had come to love Hailey like a daughter. Hopefully she felt the same way about him because he didn't think he could handle the rejection. In just a few minutes time Hailey would come downstairs to make breakfast for herself and a pot of tea for him. Then they would sit down. Hailey would then ask how he slept and Severus would ask the same.

Then he presented the papers to her?

Where was Album when he needed him...

Upon hearing the sound of Hailey's feet coming down the wooden stairs, Severus quickly hid the adoption papers under his newspaper. His nerves were definitely getting the best of him.

"Morning, sir," Hailey said, yawning as she immediately set to work on making breakfast, which mainly consisted of eggs, turkey bacon and a slice of toast.

"Morning," came his reply. Short and simple, just like any other day.

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine. It seems you managed to get some sleep yourself," Severus noted with a casual smirk playing at his lips. Hailey cast him a lazy glare, not admitting she did have a rather peaceful slumber. The bags under her eyes seemed to magically disappear and her hair was a right mess. Severus, on the other hand, looked as if he had gotten two hours of sleep.

"The same could be said about you," Hailey said rather sarcastically. "No offense, but the bags under your eyes may need a luggage check."

Hardy-har-har.

"With that tone I think I might assign you a weeks worth of detention when school comes around." Hailey rolled her eyes and brushed the comment off. His threats seemed to mean less and less every time he used them. She placed his tea next to his newspaper and sat herself down with her breakfast.

"You should seriously consider taking a nap, though. What did you do all night anyway?" Before Severus could reply, Hailey gasped. "Did you have a lady friend over?" She demanded. A horrified expression quickly replaced the bored look on Snape's face. "Oh my god did you do the do? You know...sex?" Hailey whispered softly, staring at her guardian wide eyed. She was only teasing him, and his expression was absolutely worth it. "Seeeeeeev give me the details! Was she hot? Or was she a butterface? Does she have-"

"HAILEY POTTER!" Severus snapped, quickly trying to shut his ward up. Hailey grinned, sipping at her orange juice. He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep breath to cool himself down before he did anything he might regret. "You're imagination is far too wild. My love life is none of your concern."

"If you plan on adopting me, then yes it is," Hailey said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"No it- Wait what?"

How was it she possibly knew about the adoption? And how could she just sit there, talking about it so casually?

"Hailey how did you know-"

"How did I know that you planned on adopting me? You left the paper on your desk when I went to turn in some homework," she replied. "I saw my name on it."

"Ah..."

"You're bloody terrible at keeping things a secret," she teased.

No doubt about that. Did he really just leave it out in the open like that? What if someone else had saw? Specifically Draco.

"I see. And what do you think of the adoption?" The question left Severus's heart racing. This was it. Today is the day Snape either becomes the father of Hailey or remained her temporary guardian. The few moments of silence were agony. He could only hope she agreed.

Hailey felt conflicted about the situation at hand. Ever since she was little she yearned for some sort of adult figure she could look up to, and trust. Was Severus Snape going to be that guardian despite his position among the death eaters? The fact that he offered to adopt her in the middle of a war seemed risky. What if Voldemort found out? The consequences of this action just may be regretful. As much as Hailey wanted to sign those papers, she knew she couldn't. Just not yet. It was dangerous and she cared for Severus too much to put him in danger like that.

"I...I don't think it's a good idea," she then said confidently.

Did the temperature just drop, or was that Hailey just imagining things? She briefly glanced up at Snape, waiting to see his reaction. There was nothing, but his eyes said differently. Hailey felt as if she ruined everything in just a single minute. The relationship that they built, now destroyed.

"Understandable. I'm not exactly the fatherly figure, now am I?" Severus muttered, pulling out the papers with a shake of his head. Hailey watched in horror as the papers were set ablaze.

"No! Severus what are you doing!" She yelled, making a grab for the papers to put out the fire. "Idiot! What the bloody hell was that for?" Hailey demanded. She couldn't believe it!

"No point in keeping it if you clearly don't want to accept the offer," he replied rather coldly, sending shivers down Hailey's spine.

"I do want it you stupid old bat! Would just let me explain?" It was so typical of Severus not to listen. He jumped to conclusions way too fast.

"There is no need-"

"YES THERE IS!" Hailey cried out in frustration. Severus snapped his mouth shut, surprised by this sudden out burst. Hailey would never dare raise her voice like that to him in a million years. Now it seems he clearly upset his ward. Hailey quickly used the back of her sleeve to wipe away any tears that might have threatened to fall. "You're so stupid! Or course I want the adoption. More than anything in the world! But I don't know if you can tell, but Voldemort is kinda causing a war! I don't want to risk him finding out that his loyal servant adopted me!"

Severus should have known that might have been her reason. She always put others before herself, even her own relatives. The same relatives that starved her, that disowned her and treated the girl like a slave.

"Hailey you daft child…"

"Don't call me daft! You know if Voldemort finds out that he'll kill you in an instant. Even now you'd be in so much trouble." It was true, Severus had to admit that. The Dark Lord wouldn't hesitate to strike him down without so much as a second glance. "I can't let you adopt me, not yet," she said quietly. "And I don't want some stupid piece of paper to determine our relationship. The moment you took me in is the moment I realized I had someone to look up to. What's signing a paper going to do? Change my last name, yeah, but that's about it." Hailey sighed, burying her head in her arms. She had a really bad headache now. Getting all worked up was the last thing she needed to do, not with Voldemort being able to see into her mind. She felt so vulnerable.

"I need to get to class," she then declared, rising from her seat. "We can talk about this later."

"Hailey-"

See you later," The young witch said, making her escape with the papers before Snape could finish his sentence.

"It's the weekend…" He said to no one in particular.

/×/×/×/×/

So things definitely didn't go as planned. Snape had the funniest feeling it wouldn't have gone perfectly, but he didn't expect it to go this badly. In all honesty he was quite relieved that Hailey only declined because of his safety, on the other hand the child worried to much about him. Worst of all he cared all too much about her. With Voldemort in the way, the adoption is far more dangerous than Severus would care to admit. Dumbledore needed him as a spy, but Hailey needed him as a guardian.

He couldn't let Hailey down, not like her guardians did, not like the countless adults did in her life. It was his job to change that. Not because he needed to, but because Severus wanted to.

The day passed slower than expected. Hailey didn't show any sign of returning, so Severus could only assume she was either in the Gryffindor common room or wandering around the castle. He hoped the second choice wasn't the case. So being the responsible adult he was, Snape hurried off to the Gryffindor's room to check.

He had found her fast asleep on the couch. The teenager seemed to be peacefully dreaming, which was a first. More often than not Hailey would wake up crying out for Severus because of a nightmare. He remembered a time when the child would set up a silencing charm to hide the fact she constantly yelled and scream in her dreams. Now things were different. Hailey came to Severus whenever she needed the comfort.

His fingers gently brushed away the stray hairs that blocked her eyes. She seemed to visibly relax at the contact and her eyes gently fluttered open.

"Sev'rus…?"

"It's me, do not fret," he muttered. "I came to see if you were all right. I was surprised to find you fast asleep and not getting yourself into any trouble," Snape teased. Hailey chucked softly, rubbing her eyes.

"I don't need anymore detentions with Umbridge. I just stayed in the common room all day trying to catch up on homework."

Another habit of yours you've seemed to develop," Severus noted, seating himself next to his ward. The witch smirked, sitting up on the couch.

Often when the two fought, Hailey would storm off to the common room and the first thing she would do is let out all of her frustration by doing homework. She claimed it distracted her mind and calmed her down.

"Yeah….at least it's not a bad habit. Could be worse." Severus could only nod in agreement. It was much better then her nail biting habit, that's for sure. He made a mental reminder to look up charms that prevent her from putting her nails in her mouth.

"I signed the paper," Hailey said, breaking the peaceful silence. This had caught Snape's attention. "But I'm not giving it to you. Not yet."

"I see…"

"When this whole thing with Voldemort is over, we can go to the Ministry together," she continued, glancing over at him to see his reaction. "Believe me, I've wanted nothing more than to have a parent of my own. You're the only one who really understands me."

Snape, from the beginning, didn't treat her like she was some celebrity. Sure, he had been cruel, but they sorted out their differences. He was the only adult figure Hailey could truly depend on, and that's what she wanted. She never meant to push him away. Hailey only wanted to protect him.

Best of all, he wanted to protect her.