The Pieces Fall Into Place

This chapter is dedicated to Boss, my German Shepherd/Border Collie mix, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge a few days ago at 17 years old. As my oldest daughter said, "He was the goodest, most stubborn boi right to the end." We miss you, buddy. Run free. We'll see you later.

"Oh good grief, not again," Lucius mumbled as he opened his eyes. Sitting up with a groan, he put his head in his hands as everything spun for a moment and he felt weak. How long was I passed out? He rubbed his face.

"About time," a voice grumbled from off to his right. Opening one eye, he squinted against the late afternoon sunlight. An incredulous look descended on his face. "Isis? Is that you? What on earth are you doing here? Where did you even come from?"

The black cat walked over and sat on the ground in front of him. "As I said just before your rather undignified passing out, I've been looking for you for months."

As he grew more awake, Lucius became increasingly aware of the thoughts tumbling around inside his brain. "Isis…I remember it all! Everything! Lucius' memories as well as the other! What's going on?'Then his eyes widened and he took a deep breath. "The Tech! I can feel the Tech again, Isis! Wh-what-?" Lucius grasped the sides of his head. "What is happening to me, Isis? Why do I have two complete sets of memories in my head?" With another groan, he buried his face in his hands once more.

The cat sighed, and walked over to Lucius, sitting down next to him. "I'll make it simple. To be honest, I do not possess all of the facts myself. The reason you have two sets of memories is because you were two different people. Now you're one new person."

Lucius sent a glare at the cat. "That's making it simple? How can two people turn into one new person? That's not even logical, Isis!"

Isis sighed again. "I'll try and explain, but as I said, in all honesty even I'm not exactly certain of the details. Lucius Malfoy died in what most believe was a potions accident. Thomas Merton—the other 'you', so to speak-died in what most believe was an industrial accident when he were overseeing the expansion of the Colonial Militia base on Rigel Seven. However, neither were really accidents. Both of them were basically assassinated."

Lucius face froze, and he gulped. "Assassinated? Both of us? How? Why?"

Isis made a shrugging motion, which looked funny when done by a cat. "Who knows? The Higher Powers didn't see fit to share that bit of information with me either. However, they decided that neither of you should actually die. They were too late to save Lucius soul, as he had been 'dead' for several minutes before they found him. Merton's soul was not lost, as they had prior warning of his imminent demise and arrived on the scene in time.

"With their knowledge, they realized that Merton had served his destiny in his reality, but saw that Lucius Malfoy had not done so in his. So they fused Merton's soul into Lucius' body. The results being…" The cat hesitated a moment.

"The results being what?" Lucius asked after several moments of silence.

"The results being you. You have the memories of Lucius Malfoy as you inhabit his body, and you have the memories of Thomas Merton because his soul is residing within said body. However, you are neither of them. You are an entirely, wholly unique entity."

Lucius blinked at the cat. "Ummm…"

The cat sighed again. "Please don't bother asking me for specifics. Again, the higher powers did not see fit to explain their motives to me. I simply obey. So when they sent me out to find you, I went. As I said, it took me the better part of six months, but I was finally able to track you down."

Lucius frowned. "Months? I've only been here less than three months."

"As I mentioned before, Lucius Malfoy and Thomas Merton did not exist within the same reality. And as you know, or should remember from Merton's memories, crossing through different realities is rather time consuming. And unless done with absolute precision, it can be exceedingly disorientating."

"In other words, you got lost." Lucius snickered. "So much for claiming ancestry from Queen Beruthiel's cats."

The cat's fur bristled. "Interdimensional travel is much more complicated than mere cross-country travel is." The cat made a sniffing sound and raised its chin haughtily. And for a moment, Lucius was reminded of Narcissa.

Lucius snickered at the indignant cat one again, but suddenly felt his strength not only returning, but returning with a surge of fresh energy. "What's going on, Isis? I feel better than I have in years, better than I did as either Lucius Malfoy or Thomas Merton. Younger, stronger somehow. "

Isis, whose eyes held a very slight glow as she stared at Lucius, said, "It's incredible! The Tech is reacting to the magic inside your body, fusing with it. This is an excellent development. I was uncertain what would happen when your tech reactivated. I feared it might react negatively to the magic, but it's not…it bonding to it."

"That's a good thing, right? The fusing together?"

"It's a very good thing," Isis confirmed. "You will be powerful in this world, with the combination of magic and Tech!" Then Isis frowned. "I wonder what Lucius Malfoy's destiny in this world actually was? Or is, I suppose. The destiny that is now up to you to fulfill."

"Oh crap!" Lucius suddenly exclaimed. "I was going to visit Narcissa's sister today! I just found yesterday out where she and her family live, and I was going to see if she wanted to visit Narcissa. Then I found those blasted journals and got sidetracked." He fished a pocket watch out of his pocket and sighed as he looked at the time. "Well, it's too late to go today, so I guess I'll—" he broke off suddenly as the cat snickered. "What's so funny?" He asked, a small frown covering his face.

It took the cat a moment to collect herself before she could answer. "The sight of you checking a pocket watch to see what the time is…it's hilarious!" Then she went into a fit of giggles, while Lucius sighed and rolled his eyes.

"These people are abysmally primitive here," Lucius muttered, folding his arms across his chest and glancing away with a scowl.

He turned and began walking at a brisk pace back in what he hoped was the direction of the house. Stopping several yards away when he became aware that Isis was not following him, he turned and saw her sitting in the same spot, staring at him with an intense look. "Well? Aren't you coming? I want you to meet Narcissa."

Isis sighed. "If you're trying to win your wife's love back, which is definitely the right thing to do, I don't think introducing another female into the household is the proper way of going about it."

Lucius waved the statement off. "Psh, you're a cat. Narcissa won't care."

Isis rolled her eyes and sighed again. "You never have been able to figure out the feminine mind. I'm a cat at the moment, but I'm not 'a cat'."

Lucius blinked. "Oh…well, yes, yes that's true. But if you just stay in your cat form around her it will be alright. I mean, at some point I'll explain it to her, but why not just stay a cat for now? Wouldn't you rather be staying in a house instead of knocking about outside?"

The cat shook its head. "Just go. Win your wife back. I'm sure she's worried about your long absence."

Lucius stared at her a few more moments. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure. Now go! Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be around." And with that, she walked through a low place in the hedges and disappeared into the grasses beyond.

Lucius shrugged, muttering "Suit yourself," under his breath. He then turned and proceeded back to the house.

When he entered a half hour later, Narcissa appeared and grabbed him in a tight hug. "Lucius! Where have you been? You were gone for hours! I was worried sick!"

Allowing himself to be hugged for several moments, he gently disentangled himself and looked at Narcissa's face, guilt stabbing through him when he saw the genuine fear still lingering in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just went for a walk and…dozed off next to a big pond."

Narcissa studied his face as well for a moment or two before sighing and bringing him close for another hug. "Just please let me know next time where you're going. Send one of the elves to tell me."

Lucius rested his cheek against the top of her head and closed his eyes. "I will. I promise."

Narcissa sighed and leaned into him, the faint yet delightful aroma of vanilla and cinnamon wafted up to him as it always did when he was near her. And Lucius thought: This is nice. I could get used to this.

After several moments of just holding each other, Narcissa murmured, "Severus was here whilst you were out."

Jealousy flooded through him for a moment as he wondered one more if Severus and Narcissa were indeed having an affair. "Oh? What did he want?"

"He said the other schools were arriving at Hogwarts tonight for the tournament. Because it's such a momentus event, each staff member is allowed one guest, and he was wondering if perhaps you would be his guest."

"Hmm. Well, why not? It's probably a good idea for me to get out and about more."

Narcissa paused, lifting her head off Lucius' shoulder and giving him a once over. Her lip curved up ever so slightly in distaste as she took in his appearance and the condition of his clothes. "If you hurry, you'll have just enough time to…freshen up a bit."

Lucius glanced down and coughed. "Umm…yeah, yes. That's an excellent suggestion, my dear." He kissed her on the cheek and headed upstairs…missing the look of intense longing in Narcissa's eyes as she placed her hand on her cheek and her gaze followed Lucius up the stairs.

Half an hour later, a freshly showered Lucius, wearing a clean suit (which he still considered to be far too posh), descended the stairs. Narcissa's eyes lit up as he approached her. Merlin, he is every bit as stunningly handsome as he was in school!

"I confess I feel a bit guilty," Lucius replied as he stopped in front of her, fiddling with a cuff link which he couldn't quite button. "I feel bad that you'll be stuck here alone whilst I'm off gallivanting around with Severus."

Narcissa smiled and buttoned his cuff link before straightening his tie. "It's quite all right, Lucius. I've been so busy this week that a quiet night to myself is just what I need. I've been meaning to catch up on my reading."

Lucius eyed her closely. "You're certain? You don't mind me going out?"

Narcissa smiled again. "No, darling. Now run along and enjoy yourself." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I will see you when you get back."

(XXX)

"Good evening, Lucius. Albus said the other schools would be arriving during dinner," Severus informed him when Lucius stepped out of the fireplace in Snape's quarters. Lucius still distrusted traveling through flames, but he was finally getting the hang of it.

Lucius shot him a confused look. "Who?"

"The Headmaster…Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Lucius said nothing, just stared at Severus for several seconds. Then he closed his eyes and sighed, his fingers once again finding their way to the bridge of his nose. "Five names? WhatIS it with the ridiculous names around here?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Ridiculous names. Hmm…does that include mine?"

Lucius waved a hand. "No. I mean, well yeah, sort of. But not as bad as most." He shook his head and the frown returned to his face. "From now on, I'm calling that old man Brian, because it's the only normal name he has."

After a bit of firewhiseky, the two men left Severus' quarters and headed up to the Great Hall. Many students were heading there as well, chattering loudly. Severus began muttering under his breath about "infernal, noisy dunderheads"

They had nearly reached the huge doors when someone called, "Hello, Mr. Malfoy…Professor."

Both men glanced to the right to see who had addressed them. Lucius saw a girl with bushy hair, a boy with dark hair and round glasses, and a red-headed boy. The girl had a tentative smile on her face, the boy with glasses looked wary, and the red-haired boy was openly glaring at the two men.

Severus gave the girl a very cold, "Ms. Granger," before muttering something like "insufferable know-it-all" and, completely ignoring the two boys, hurried into the Great Hall.

Lucius recognized the three teenagers from the sporting event in August and gave them a smile. "Well, hello again. I'm very glad to see that the three of you made it out of that sports fiasco safely."

The red-haired boy, look of utter disdain fixed on his face, muttered something under his breath to the boy with the glasses and went in to dinner. The bushy haired girl and other boy remained a moment with Lucius.

"Thank you, sir," the girl replied. I just cannot understand why Mr. Malfoy is so different than he was before. "Are you here for the welcoming ceremony for the other schools?"

"Yes, Severus was kind enough to invite me. I—I don't really understand what's happening, but it seems to be a huge deal around here, so I thought I'd come over and see for myself what all the excitement is."

Hermione opened her mouth to reply when another voice called, "Father?!"

Lucius and the teenagers turned to see Draco approaching them. His face bore a scowl. Lucius raised his eyebrows when the saw the two hulking teens that were following Draco. In fact, there were several other students following Draco, but Lucius was pleased to note that the P girl was not one of them.

With a quick, "Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy," from the bushy haired girl, she and the boy with glasses hurried into the Great Hall.

Lucius turned to Draco. "Hello, son. It's good to see you." Lucius pasted a weak smile on his face. He had finally grown used to being in Narcissa's presence and accepting that she really was his wife, yet he was still struggling with Draco. He had nothing against the boy, and was in fact learning everything he could about him so he could relate better to him when he was home from school. But he still felt incredibly awkward thinking of Draco as his son.

Draco stopped in front of Lucius. "Father, why were you talking to that mudblood?"

"Mud-what now?" Lucius lips turned down in a confused frown.

"Mudblood. She's a mudblood, father!"

"She is?" Lucius glanced into the Great Hall and spotted Hermione sitting and laughing with her friends. "She looks healthy enough. Poor kid. I wonder if she even knows?"

Draco and his friends exchanged confused glances with each other.

"Well, if you young people will excuse me, I'd best go find my seat. Draco, if I don't see you after the dinner I'll see you when you're home for the holidays. Make sure you write to your mother. She misses you terribly." He smiled at the other teens with his son. "Invite some of your friends over during the holidays if you'd like. Anyway, I'll see you all later." He smiled again and patted Draco on the shoulder before turning and heading in to the Great Hall himself. Draco and the others followed him in, confusion written across all their faces.

Lucius saw Severus beckon to him from the front table and headed that direction, taking the empty chair on Severus's right. After perfunctory introductions, the Headmaster stood and walked to the front of the dais the table was perched on.

Lucius tuned the old man out as he began prattling on about something or other, content to carry on a whispered conversation with Severus as the old man continued speaking. But when Dumbledore (Brian, Lucius reminded himself) said, "And now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbattons Academy of Magic, and their headmistress Madame Maxine!", Lucius sat up and began paying more attention to the old man.

Lucius watched as the doors opened, and several girls almost danced in…then waltzed up the center aisle, stopping every so often to sigh and make gestures with their arms. Most of the male Hogwarts students stared open mouthed and glassy-eyed at them. Lucius scowled, and returned his attention to his dinner, muttering something that sounded like "more degenerate women", and "stupid boys".

Severus smirked. Lucius mutters nearly as much as I do.

Once the French girls and their incredibly tall Headmistress had found seats—the tall woman at the teacher's table and the girls mostly at the Ravenclaw one—Brian announced, "And now, our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons Drumstrang, and their Highmaster Igor Karakof!"

Lucius had been taking a drink, but almost chocked as he saw several teenage boys, who looked very Slavic, march into the Great Hall…including one that he recognized from the World Cup.. Slamming the glass down, he leaned closer to Severus. "From the north? I thought they were from Bulgaria? Or at least that one kid who plays the broom-riding sport is. Bulgaria's not north; it's, like, two thousand miles southeast of here! The only thing north of Scotland are the Faroe Islands!" Then he leaned closer still and lowered his voice even more. "I think that old man is getting senile or something!"

Severus chuckled, drawing the attention of McGonagall, who gave a surprised glance at the two men. Severus never chuckles!

The rest of the feast passed in relative calm, interspersed with bouts of excited applause as various students from the other schools were introduced. When the meal was over and the speeches continued with no apparent end in sight, Lucius began to grow restless. He had had a very busy day, and he was tired.

Finally, mercifully, it was over, Lucius stood and told Severus he'd meet him back in his rooms before fairly bolting from the room. He hated crowds, he hated noise, he hated being stuck in long lines of people moving toward an exit…especially when half those people would rather not move to the exit but stand and laugh and jabber.

Lucius stayed in Severus' rooms long enough to enjoy one more round of firewhisyek before flooing back home. Stepping out of the fireplace in the front sitting room of Malfoy Manor, he stopped short when he saw Narcissa curled up on the couch fast asleep, a book dangling from her hands.

Lucius face softened, and he relaxed. An affectionate smile covered his face and he sighed. Good Godfrey, she is so beautiful. I cannot believe that she stayed with me all these years, considering the kind of man I am.

Resolve surged through him then, and he straightened his back. No, the kind of man I was. That man no longer exists. I am Lucius Malfoy now. And things are going to be different! He walked over and knelt beside Narcissa, gently shaking her shoulder. "Narcissa, I'm home." His voice was soft as he said it.

Narcissa stirred, the book dropping from her hands. She gave a languid stretch and opened her eyes, a smile lighting her face up when she saw him. "How was the feast?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, it was pretty boring for the most part. Thank God Severus was there or I might have lost my mind. That old man is a strange character." He shook his head and looked into her eyes, his own softening as he did so. "How was your evening?"

She stretched again, still smiling at him. "Nice and peaceful." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

Lucius glanced at the large clock on the huge mantle. "Quarter to Midnight."

Narcissa rose from the couch, and Lucius stood with her. "I think it's time for bed," she murmured. "Another busy day ahead of us tomorrow, I fear. The Greengrasses are coming over for dinner."

Lucius nodded. "Time for bed then." He offered Narcissa her arm, and with yet another gentle smile she took it. The two headed upstairs, parting at the junction of hallways that led to their separate rooms.

"Good night, Lucius," Narcissa said and turned to head to her room. But she paused and turned back around. She leaned close and placed her lips against his for a moment. Lucius was so utterly gobsmacked he froze, his eyes growing huge and round. She—she's never kissed me on the lips before!

Narcissa grinned at the expression on his face. "I'll see you in the morning, Lucius. Sleep well." The she turned and swept down the hall to her room, leaving a smitten Lucius staring after her, still looking utterly gobsmacked…..

A/N: Okay, so I know I played rather fast and loose with the whole arrival of the other schools. I sort of combined the book and movie together and tweaked it a bit from there. But, I think it fits. Apologies for such a long time between updates. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Any questions, leave a review or PM me.