Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
- Machiavelli

Though less than an hour altogether, the journey back to New London was one of the longest and most tiring of Severus' life. Almost as long, perhaps, as the first trip on the Hogwarts Express without Lily after that awful incident with that word.

He longed to read Fawkes' notes in the atlas or have a few moments' peace to reflect on what he had learned from those at Spinner's End but he had already spoiled Warrick and Sara into believing him a far more social person that he truly was. Nevertheless, he did not waste the journey and instead had his three companions – even Toreth – tell him all they knew about TALAC. Only Toreth seemed a bit suspicious about his sudden interest about the Complex but those concerns were easily put to rest by playing into the para-investigator's willingness to believe the worst. Toreth readily accepted that Snape's interest was based on the discovery that there was a large portrait of himself in the Portrait Gallery.

"You know," Warrick mused aloud, "I was rather worried that tourists would recognize you in New Cardiff and we'd have a riot on our hands."

Toreth snorted. "Have a little faith in my abilities, would you? I only agreed to this because old Snape here can change his appearance with his stick, er, wand. We see him as he is, everyone else saw…who did you go as today, Snape?"

Severus was too distracted to do more than scowl distractedly at the 'old' and 'stick' comments. He waved his wand across his face revealing the face of Roman Para-Investigator Severini Sanguedolce – essentially Severus Snape but with blue eyes, fuller lips, better teeth and olive toned skin.

Sara grinned when Toreth growled at Warrick's appreciative whistle. Severus was also a little annoyed by Warrick's response to the glamour until it became obvious that the doctor's whistle was in appreciation of the spell itself.

"There would have been nothing wrong with appreciating Para Sanguedolce's looks. He's quite easy on the eyes," Sara noted, winking with playfully exaggerated flirtatiousness at Snape.

"Toreth, thank you for having trusted me with knowledge of his real appearance all of this time!" Warrick exclaimed with a sappy smile.

Snape scoffed but said nothing. He knew that Toreth's decision to introduce Snape rather than Sanguedolce to Warrick had everything to do with Snape being less attractive and nothing to do with trust. After all, Toreth, as neither a patron of the Arts nor History, hadn't expected Warrick to recognize Snape any more than he had.

Arranging a visit to TALAC turned out to be more difficult than Snape had expected. All visits were guided tours. As a solo guest, he was required to either join a pre-scheduled group tour or download a virtual SIM guide which would check him in to every room or corridor he entered.

And, in the paranoid future of The Administration, even visits to the Complex required reservations booked with ID. All citizens were required to carry ID at all times. From birth, children were given jewelry containing ID chips and which only qualified staff could remove and would only remove to replace with larger ones. Severus despised the ID system which, as he knew from his work with Toreth, tracked the every action and activity of every citizen. Fortunately, Sara willingly completed the application for him – Snape still refused to learn how to use his comm or any of the Muggle technology if he could avoid it – and promised to download the holographic simulated companion (or SIM) for him.

His suspicious wariness about using the card was quickly justified when he cornered a stalker the evening after scheduling his tour. The stalker was a government official by the name of John Sable who knew Toreth. Sable was aware of who Snape really was and it was he who had given Toreth the false history for Sanguedolce. Unknown to Toreth, Sable was not relying solely on the para to monitor Snape. Unfortunately, there was not much more that Snape could find out. For a Muggle, Sable's mind was suspiciously well occluded. Snape knew from his visits with Daedra that Muggles, during their years co-existing with Wizards, had developed drugs which mimicked Occlumency. However, he also knew that not even Toreth or the other para-investigators at I&I were aware of the existence of those drugs. Snape himself only knew because he saw Daedra's memories of it using Legilimency. John Sable was clearly a member of the Inner Circle of The Administration and consequently a very dangerous fellow.

Severus had no regrets about using the Imperius curse on Sable in order to convince him to trust Toreth's monitoring abilities absolutely. However, now that he was aware that wizards still existed and further, that The Administration was keeping close tabs on him, Severus' old spy reflexes quickly returned to him. The adults he met at Spinners End had been magically weak but Ali and Fawkes were not, nor, apparently, the Muggleborn Corporate child, Nanette. Magic was returning to the latest generation and he would take no chances that other magical children around might recognize him, even with his glamour.

Two days later, Para Sanguedolce strode arrogantly into the Portrait Gallery at TALAC, barely sparing a glance for the life size portrait of Severus Snape. Truthfully, he captured the image in his mind and fully intended to appreciate it later, in the relative privacy of his home. For now, he launched his SIM guide as Sara had taught him. The life sized, virtual companion projected from the visitor's badge pinned to his chest. It looked like a colourful version of one of Hogwarts' ghosts but behaved like a cross between a shadow and a mirror reflection.

"Welcome to The Administration's Library and Archive Complex, Para-Investigator Sanguedolce! My name is Sam and I will be your guide for today," greeted the SIM. "Please follow me. We must board the automated transport vehicle to the Portrait Gallery."

Snape snorted, wondering what the automated transport vehicle or ATV really was. For whatever reason, except for less noise and fewer emissions, Muggle transportation did not seem to have evolved much. They still had 'cars', though the modern version was driverless, wheel-less and resembled a small train car with restaurant booth-like seating and, in fancier versions like Warrick's, included a table, comm. and a small fridge. The monorails at Glorious Glamorgan were a series of long tubes with mostly standing room which, contrary to the term rail, hovered above the 'track'. The mono-rails, like the cars, had no windows. Warrick had explained that this was because travel was now so fast that the human eye couldn't see anything anyway. For his part, Snape believed it was because there was nothing worth seeing anymore.

As a mere projection, Sam was unable to walk ahead. Instead he led the way by providing directions, loudly objecting and correcting if Snape so much as turned his body the wrong way. They stopped when Sam's virtual feet touched the edge of a white glass floor on which lines periodically lit up. These lines which were apparently colour-coded to match the destinations on the signage, glowed under and just ahead of the various sized hovercrafts. Snape guessed that the lines were some sort of track, appearing just long enough to guide the ATV cars hovering over them. A tour guide with his group of above two dozen pointed his comm. upwards and Snape was surprised to see the undercarriage of several cars. The long narrow tube descended and a bright purple line – the colour for 'Archives: Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates' – appeared under it.

They were next and Sam somehow summoned a tiny car with barely room for two and invited him to enter. When Snape sat, Sam mirrored his actions and smiled cajolingly. Snape scowled in return and looked away. Warrick had warned him about these SIMs. They were not sentient beings but were programmed to read his heartbeat, guess his mood and 'cheer him up'. The Occlumens found the concept appallingly invasive.

A minute or two later they arrived at their destination which was at least an hour's walk away. It wasn't Apparation or even the Knight Bus, but at least Muggle travel really had become much faster over the centuries. Despite knowing that Sam would always be just ahead of him, Severus rushed from the car, unnerved by the constantly smiling…thing.

"Welcome to the Portrait Gallery. The Administration…"

Severus immediately tuned out the guide and its propaganda about The Administration's supposed dedication to history and culture. As advised by Fawkes' notes, he had had Sara program the SIM to take him to a section of the gallery not far from his intended destination. All he needed now was a patsy.

There were many visitors around – as Fawkes' notes had assured him there would be – but none of them were suitable. Twenty 'portraits' (actually sculptures) later, Snape was just beginning to rethink his plan when he spotted a tall woman who resembled him in height and build. After a few minutes observation, it became obvious that she was not acquainted with anyone in her group. Thanking Merlin, he quickly followed her when she lagged behind. Deliberately colliding with her, he quickly confounded her, pinned his badge to her blouse and planted his ID in her purse with few flicks of his wand. As he stepped away from her, Sam reset just as Fawkes and Para Chevril had boasted it would.

"Welcome, Para-Investigator Sanguedolce and Civilian Anna Smith. Let us continue our tour of the Three Dimensional Portrait Gallery of the late 21st Century," Sam said as he led the confounded lady away. Snape snorted – the Muggles were too dependent on technology. Apparently, as long as he remained hidden from any human guards, censors would not recognize him, simply because he wore no ID.

Severus was not sure how much time he had. Based on what he had learned from Chevril, it was likely that the SIM guide leading Smith's group would not notice that she had gone missing until the end of the tour. He could only hope, based on the still energetic and eager looks on her group members' faces, that the tour had just begun.

He hurried towards the section where the magical portrait was purported to be. Almost as soon as he entered the area, he could feel the place come to life. A light susurration around him disturbed Snape more than he would admit, especially since, despite the harsh Muggle lighting, he could not tell where the sounds came from. He heard his name among the whispers and scuffles but a few quick scans with his wand showed that no other human was nearby. He was now certain that Ariana's portrait, which was still two corridors away, was not the only Wizarding portrait in the gallery.

"Mother, mother! It's him, it's really him!" cheered a translucent child who suddenly appeared in front of him. Snape's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the girl. "Hello, Master Severus Snape! My name is Helen."

"Are you sure?" asked a woman, presumably the child's mother, who floated through the wall and into view. It was then that Snape noticed that they were not SIMs. Both were grey and very obviously dead, wooden stakes still jutting from their chests. "Why yes, dear, I think you're right! How do you do, Headmaster Snape? My name is Joan and this is my daughter, Helen."

Severus nodded to them both, and ran his hand over his face, more startled at the appearance of the ghosts than he cared to admit. For some reason he had not considered what might have happened to them. He unsheathed his wand, wary of any additional surprises.

"Don't worry," Joan reassured, "your glamour is still up. We simply see through it. We can do a lot of things now that we never could years ago when many wizards and witches still lived."

"Things such as?"

"This!" the child exclaimed and half skipped, half floated forward to hold his hand. Severus shuddered as he felt the cold, clammy fingers threaded through his. The ghost had also materialized until she was almost opaque.

Severus carefully extracted his hand. "Yes, I see. How very clever."

"It is, isn't it?" Joan smiled. "Headmaster Dippet thinks that it is because there are so few wizards and magical creatures left. He says that because the earth is now so swollen with unused magic, even we ghosts can access a bit more than usual! Turn right, Headmaster Snape. I presume you're looking for Ariana and Fawkes, aren't you?"

Severus nodded. "I was told that Miss Dumbledore's portrait was to the left?"

"Oh, it is! But she's watching over Fawkes from Headmistress Sakndenberg's portrait in the room on the right."

"What is wrong with Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, making note of all of the portraits that apparently existed still.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Helen asked, confused.

"Yes?" replied a weak voice. Severus hurried forward to the young man slouched on the floor behind a kiosk. A few quick diagnostic spells and he was cursing himself for not having thought to bring along more of his potions. Fortunately he always kept at least one dose of Pepper Up potion on hand which he now fed to Fawkes.

"Please resize my bag," Fawkes asked once the potion had given him enough strength to pull it from his pocket, nodding thanks to Severus once it was resized. Opening the bag, he first withdrew a bottle of water which he sipped, then a bar of chocolate which he nibbled on as he continued riffling through his things, finally retrieving his ID.

Snape was beginning to lose his patience and looked around urgently.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long," Fawkes apologized as he wobbled to his feet. "I have been here for a while… two, perhaps four days now and am exhausted. I was beginning to think I would die here and hardly expected anyone to come along, far less another wiz…It's you!"

Snape rolled his eyes and pulled the young man along.

"How? What? This is brilliant! I never expected…! Maybe the child…Nanette was right!"

Snape ignored the man's rambling as he kept an eye out for Sam or Anna Smith. He had to retrieve his ID and badge and get to the relative safety of his flat. He had hoped to find out information from the portraits but finding Fawkes was just as good, if not better.

Snape emptied Fawkes' bag onto his dining table and searched through the items. The young man was medicated and safely asleep in Snape's bed. Leaving TALAC had been easier than getting in. Almost too easy, Snape thought, but Fawkes' knowledge of The Administration and the Complex had helped.

"It's a good article, isn't it?" Fawkes asked, startling Snape from his reading. He scowled to cover his embarrassment and dropped the Prattler magazine special edition.

Severus Snape: The Man Who Should Have Lived? by Clement Longer was indeed an entertaining piece of fiction. Filled with speculation and laughable hypotheses, it purported to tell the story of Snape's life as a triple agent – the man who pretended to be a Death Eater pretending to be a Hogwarts professor and then Headmaster who was really a spy for the Light. The author even went so far as to speculate that Dumbledore considered Snape to be his heir to the leadership of the Light. Severus snorted.

"Dunderheaded drivel!" he declared.

"Is it?" Fawkes asked, appearing to be genuinely curious. He helped himself to one of the strange packets from Snape's food cupboard. Snape considered warning his guest that whatever had been in packet had long ago spoiled but was too annoyed by the man's presumptuousness to bother. He watched quietly as Fawkes empted the clumps of dust onto a plate and sprinkled a cup of water over it. The young wizard did not seem alarmed or disappointed by the shriveled debris and, with a hum of anticipation, stuck it in the drawer labeled Rehydrator X50. Seconds later he removed a steak and kidney pie, grabbed a fork and settled next to Snape at the table.

"Yum! Not quite the same as the real thing, I know, but it's what I grew up with. I missed this!" he exclaimed between bites. Snape did not reply, instead mentally reviewing the inventory of his kitchenette. He had hundreds of those packets of dust but had never realized what they were. He wasn't sure that he would have wanted to eat them anyway, even if the food smelled and looked appetizing.

"I – I'm sorry, I should have asked, shouldn't I?" Fawkes asked as he swallowed the last bite. I was just so hungry and I didn't think you would mind." He smiled in relief as Snape waved away his concerns. "Good. I hoped you didn't mind."

"Where have you been for the last three years?"

Fawkes blinked. "Straight to the point, aren't you?" Snape scowled and Fawkes smiled. "You're just like Hermione said you would be."

Snape blinked. Hermione? Perhaps the better question was 'when have you been for the last few years'. He glared.

"Alright, alright!" Fawkes chuckled. "Where do I begin? What do you know about me? What do you know about Wizarding Britiain? How long have you been here anyway?"

"Begin at the start. I met your parents and sister at the Spinner's End Pub where they told me about Ariana Dumbledore's portrait and your disappearance three years ago. I know there are 3 magical pubs – in Scotland, England and Wales – where the forty-odd wizards and witches socialize. There are only 10 wands in Britain. I have been here almost three months."

Fawkes nodded. "Three – forty – ten wands! What? Wait, my parents? How are they? How is Ali? I've been gone three years, did you say? She must have grown so much by now!" When Snape did not reply, Fawkes simply sighed. "Right. Begin at the start."

A/N - Hello any readers out there! This chapter has been split into two parts and I expect to post the other 'half' later today or tomorrow at the latest. The next part is Fawkes' story. It grew so large (that's why I split the chapter) and yet doesn't even contain everything I had in the outline! I'm fine tuning it - difficult finding a balance between giving all the back-story I think it needs (especially for those who have never read The Administration series) and keeping to the main plot! Ah well, if you read my profile or even possibly the beginning of this fic, you know at this point I'm just writing it for me and the few who will tolerate my rambling ;)

A/N2 - FFN just removed all of my section dividers. I don't know if they've done that to the other chapters too. My apologies, reading this fic without section dividers would be a headache!