occurremus iterum

After some convincing to allow Zinnia to take an international portkey back to New York City without her wand, she and George were finally back in America. 

George apparted them to her penthouse from the Magical Congress. 

“Merlin, it feels good to not travel like a Muggle anymore. Transportation in NYC is a nightmare” George said. 

“Agreed.” Zinnia said back firmly. “I once saw a man take a shit on the subway. It was 2 pm on a Thursday.” 

“Horrifying. Let’s get your wand so you never have to ride that bloody train again.” 

George helped her reopen the door to her mother’s old bedroom. His eyes widened at the sight of the amount of things she had hidden away in there. Stacks of newspapers, piles of clothes, boxes overflowing with letters and packages.

“Here it is!” She proclaimed, pulling her wand out of the inside of a tall boot. “I was using it to keep this boot’s shape.” 

She started to head out the door, George stopped her. 

“Love, I think you know I can’t let you close the door on this, literally.” He told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. 

“Let’s get something to eat first then I will go through it I swear.” She said, making her best puppy dog eyes at him. 

“Fine.” He agreed and kissed her forehead. 

Zinnia wondered if it would be better to wave her wand and vanish the entire room completely, or seal it back up again. 

“You know what? I’ll call and get us some lunch delivered. I am not leaving until this whole mess is sorted through. I have to face it, I am done burying the past.” She told him before she could make the wrong decision. 

“Perfect.” 

They went through the endless newspapers, deciding those were ok to trash and then started on the letters. 

“Wow, I didn’t realize you were so obsessed with me.” She held up the 400 letters in her hands that George had sent her. 

“Don’t lie, you know how obsessed I am with you. And don’t act like you don’t love it.” He teased her back. 

“Ok, I will go through these all later. It’s looking a lot better in here.” 

“Are you going to open the package from your dad?” George asked her, eyeing the small box to her left. 

“I guess so.” She tore it open without hesitation, she knew it had to be ripped off like a bandaid. “It’s a key?” 

“That looks like a Gringotts key, probably to his old vault. Did it come with a letter?” 

“Yeah, here.” She opened the letter and read aloud.

My Dearest Daughter, 

I haven't met you yet and if you are reading this, I am already gone. I mourn the fact that I will never have the chance to see your smile or hear your voice. I know that you will have your mother’s beauty and that she will take care of you and raise you into an extraordinary witch. You are so loved, and you are not even born yet. I am gifting you this key to my secret vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London. You are now of age and have full access to the Black Family assets. My vault was not included in the Black Family as I had kept it hidden, away from my parents and even your mother. My wish is that you will need for nothing. That light will have beaten the dark and harmony has been restored. Everything I do, I do for you and Ophelia. Please take care of your mother now that I am gone. She is the strongest witch I know and I hate that I have left her alone in this world. She saw the best in me when most others only saw my name. 

Inside the vault you will find many treasures, family heirlooms and tons and tons of books. I hope that you will find the items useful. I hope that you are happy, that you have love in your life, and that you are putting more love out into the world. 

We will meet again, 

Your Father xx

“Yup, a key to Gringotts.” Zinnia stated, wiping the tears that had fallen as she read the letter. She added the letter to the pile.

DING

“That must be lunch, ready to take a break?” She asked George. 

“Sure, I’ll go get it. We should go eat in the kitchen, take a breather.” George got up off the floor where he was sorting out her Hogwarts trunk. 

They ate their lunch from their favorite New York Deli mainly in silence. 

“I don’t know if I can go back in there today.” She told him plainly. 

“You went through a lot already. We can pick up another time, ok?” George said. 

Zinnia looked at him, really looked at him for the first time in the last few days. His aura was off, she noticed. 

“How are you feeling my love? You seem off, what’s going through your head?” She asked. 

She had cleaned up their lunch from the kitchen island with her wand, grateful that she had her magic running through her body again more fluidly. 

“I’m ok, I am just a little tired, that's all.” He smiled at her 

“Liar, what’s up?” She moved around the island, placing herself between his thighs as he sat on the barstool. 

He wrapped his hands around her waist, with him seated on the stool, they were eye level. She rubbed his shoulders.

“Zinnia, I am ok. Really, this is a lot to unpack is all. I am just happy you are ok and that the whole ritual didn’t make you brain dead. It was a long time coming to get you back and now that you are I am just relieved. I feel like if I relax I might lose you again? I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense.”

“Sounds like you are just having anxiety.” She said rubbing his shoulders and now his upper arms, massaging his biceps. 

He pulled her in for a kiss, deep and slow. Her hands trailed up to his hair, her fingernails scratching his scalp. He moaned softly and kissed her jaw then her neck. 

“Maybe you’re just embarrassed about all the obsessive letters you wrote to me” She teased him. 

“That was meant to be a romantic gesture.” He chuckled, now biting her earlobe. 

“It is romantic, I promise I will read them all George.” She cupped his face and looked into his sleepy eyes. “We should go to sleep now though.”

“It’s 1:30,” He objected, glancing at the clock on the wall. 

“Well I am going to bed if you care to join me.” She told him with a wink. 

“I guess it has been a long couple of days.” George agreed. 

They both passed out for a long nap, waking around 7 pm. Zinnia rolled over into George’s body, wrapping her arms around his neck and peppering kisses on his face. He slowly blinked open his eyes, grabbing her around her bum and pulling her even closer, connecting his lips to hers. She moaned into his mouth and could feel his erection through his boxers. 

She moved her hand down, sliding it underneath his boxers, palming his cock. 

“I need a bath, care to join me?” She whispered.

George was out of bed and in the bathroom in a heartbeat, running the water. He was now completely naked and used his wand to light the candles she had all around the tub. 

“You better get your skinny bum in here before the water gets cold!” George shouted at her. 

She giggled, entering the bathroom in her pale pink silk robe and a bottle of cold champagne she found in her otherwise empty fridge. 

“Oh, now we're talking!” George took the bottle from her and popped it, the champagne overflowing some into the tub. 

She sweep up her golden locks into a hair clip, some pieces falling out around her face. George took a sip from the bottle, never taking his eyes off of her. She slowly removed her robe, letting it fall at her feet. 

Her bathtub was huge for NYC standards, it could easily fit four people. She stepped into the warm bubbly water and stayed opposite of George, just tangling their legs. He passed her the bottle. She took a small sip and then another larger one. Grabbing the sponge and body gel, she lathered it up and crawled closer to him, so she was straddling his lap. 

“Have I ever told you how insanely sexy you are?” George asked her in a low voice. 

She was cleaning his arms and shoulders, the suds covering her breasts. 

“Tell me again.” She moved to his other arm, squeezing the sponge so the suds dripped down his chest. Her center was pulsing, ready to take him then. 

“You are the most beautiful,” He began, his hands wandering all over her wet soapy body. “Most brilliant, sexy angel. I don’t deserve you.” He now busied himself with sucking on her neck, trailing down to her chest, cupping her breasts in each hand and squeezing gently. 

She couldn't stop her body from reacting, grinding on his cock and eventually dropping the damn sponge so she could guide him inside of her. She rode him with her hands on his shoulders, her fingernails digging into the skin there. Her breath shortened and she saw the champagne in the corner of her eye. She grabbed the bottle to take a sip while she took advantage of her position, slowing down the pace to drink. 

This seemed to excite George even more and he grabbed her hips roughly and pulled her down on him faster, making her spill the drink on her chest. He lapped it off of her skin so she poured more, he continued to lick it off. He had quickened the pace to the point that her walls were rippling, and her stomach in knots, ready to release. She was gripping his shoulder so tight, she drew blood and the champagne bottle slipped out of her hand, shattering on the bathroom floor as she came undone on top of him. The hand that was holding the bottle moved to grip the side of the tub as she rode him through her ecstasy. She felt him softening inside of her after his release and pulled off of him, sitting back on the other side of the tub again.

“Wow.” He huffed, his head back and chest heaving. 

“We made a real mess in here.” She said, using the sponge to clean the sticky champagne off of her chest. 

The champagne bottle was in glass shards, scattered over the floor, the tub water was lower, so much had sloshed over the tub edges during their activities, several candles had tipped over the wax dripping and harding on the ledge around the tub. 

“Thank Merlin for this.” She said, grabbing her wand from the ledge and cleaning up in a sweeping motion. 

“Not to be weird but I think I need to shower, I don't really feel that clean after that.” George said.

She agreed and they hopped in a lukewarm shower together, cleaning up and sharing a few sweet kisses. George massaged the shampoo into Zinnia’s long blonde hair and she swore it almost made her orgasm again. 

***

The next morning, George woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon, he noticed his witch was missing from the bed. 

When he joined her in the kitchen, she was wearing a black silky negligee and her hair and makeup were perfectly done. Very much like the old Zinnia. 

“You made breakfast?” George asked, holding her from behind watching as she poured them both a cup of coffee. 

“Yes, darling. I had my pilates class this morning, I took the 6 AM one, and then stopped at the grocery shop to pick up some things.” 

“Thank you, love.” He said as he took his coffee mug. 

“So I’m thinking I am going to stop in at the studio today, check in on the new line. Then I am going to go to the Magical Congress office either today or tomorrow, see what I can do about setting up the floo system and what I have to do to get international allowance. At least to Grimmauld I think that would be fair. Did you know they mastered international floo travel now? We don’t have to schedule a portkey - and they allow certain residences to have their own. I think Harry would be willing to allow me to connect, considering it is the Black residence and all.”

George listened to all her ramblings as he scarfed down his breakfast, he was starving. 

“How about you eat before you take on the world today.” He told her, pointing at her hardly touched plate. 

“I will George, I just have so much on my mind. I was also thinking about your most recent project with the partner notebooks? What if they worked for anyone with the notebook? That way you could write to more people. I think I could figure it out if you show me more of the mechanics, or at least I can help with design, it could use a modern touch.”

“Eat.” He said, putting the fork in her hand. 

She obliged and ate her plate without another word. 

“Good girl. Now, you can do what you like, however I really think the first plan of attack is to finish going through the room.” He nodded to her mother’s old bedroom. 

“Fuck, you’re right.” She said softly, her fingers starting to pick themselves again.

He cleared the kitchen and scourgify the workspaces. Then took both of her hands in his, rubbing the tops of her hands with his thumbs. 

“There is not too much left, I’ll be right there beside you. I think you will feel better once everything is cleared up.”

They got to work in the room again, this time it only took an hour to finish. Zinnia put away the pile of clothes with a spell, quickly sorting through what she was wanting to keep or donate. Hanging the rest in hers or her mothers closet respectively. 

“Now what are you going to do with this rubbish?” George asked her, holding up a crumpled Weasley Wizard Wheezes snack box, half empty. 

They laughed as they looked through the old box, remembering all the memories with Fred, staying up late in the Gryffindor common room making prototypes. Testing the snacks on unsuspecting first years and Zinnia drawing up wrapper graphics and logos. 

“These still are the best selling items. Can you believe that?” George said, still chuckling.  

“Of course I can believe that. I helped make those! And it’s ingenious. You are brilliant.” She told him, twirling a sweet wrapper in her fingers. 

“It feels like a lifetime ago, I haven’t come up with anything new until the notebook idea, I just ripped that off from muggle cell phones. And it barely even works.” George had lost his smile, but laughed it off nonetheless. 

“Well that’s because you haven’t had me around, I’m your muse. Obviously.” She joked, trying to lighten his mood. 

“Is that what it is? You’ve always been a good luck charm even for Quidditch matches.” He smiled again, giving her a cheeky wink. 

She crawled over to him, sitting on the soft rug in between his thighs to go through the rest of her old school trunk. It was the last thing she needed to sort through. She hadn’t touched it in almost three years. Some old school texts, her Slytherin knitted scarf and robes, broken quills and dried up ink pots were all that was left. 

“I’m no good luck charm Georgie. You are just brilliant. And funny, and kind, and wickedly handsome.” She leaned against his torso, stroking his forearms where he had his hands on her thighs. 

“Tell me more.” He whispered into her ear. 

“And a big dicked, generous lover.” She added. 

“Hmmm,” He moaned back, “I like that part. Cheeky as ever.” He moved her hair off her neck and placed several soft kisses there. 

“So this is the last of it?” She asked, looking around the now organized room. 

“This is it. I’m proud of you darling, really I know it was a lot to cope with and you did so gracefully.” 

“Thank you, love.” 

They stayed there on the floor, George holding her in his arms for a few more long nostalgic moments. Then Zinnia tapped his arm to get them up. 

“Alright, no time to waste, I am going to the studio. Do you care to join?” She said standing up and reaching her hands down to help George off the floor. 

“I actually have some things I need to take care of today. I’ll meet you for dinner?”

“Sounds like a plan. 7?”

“Deal.”

***

Zinnia entered her mother’s design studio to find Hugo, all alone working. She felt her heart surge as she remembered all the times he had been there for her, protecting her, and trying to trigger her memories of the past. 

“Happy New Year, H.” She said, his face lit up at the sight of her, in a red leather mini skirt, black over the knee boots and a handmade black sweater with a large red Z on the front. 

“Happy New Year! That’s a beautiful jumper, Zinnia. I’m guessing it is one of Molly’s own designs?” 

“It is, I remember George always wearing his after Christmas break on the train back to Hogwarts, and now I’ve got my very own.” 

Hugo’s grin turned to a giant smile and tears pooled in his eyes. 

“Z! Does this mean? I mean Hogwarts? You remember?” 

“Of course I do! How could I forget?” Zinnia said as she went to hug Hugo tightly. 

They caught up on all the details of her adventure in London, the ritual and then Hugo told her more about what exactly had happened to her mother. 

“I need to know what happened. Please Hugo.” Zinnia said, asking him to recount everything he could about her mother’s death and why it happened.

“Well Zinnia, it’s a complicated situation. I just know she was undercover for The Order, with Snape.”

“Professor Snape? What do you mean? He was in The Order?” Zinnia asked, not sure what all had happened leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts. 

“Yes, Snape was loyal to Dumbledore. Did George tell you any of this in your sixth and seventh years?” Hugo asked.

“Not that! He told me about how he and his family were working with The Order of the Phoenix and that my uncle Sirius was wrongfully accused and hiding in a safe house in London. That The Order was making plans to defeat Voldemort because the ministry was still in denial that He was back. But that was really all, I mean the details of every member was not shared, I guess I never thought to ask. I also never thought there would be a war. I never thought Fred would die. Mom would die. Anyone really. I knew Igor ran and that is when things got more real, but I never thought it was going to lead to a real war.” Zinnia said, she was mad at herself for being so naive but also mad at her friends and family for not including her in the details.

“That is all true, remember your mum had Snape keeping a closer eye on you? And Igor during the Triwizard Tournament?” He asked.

“Yes but I thought that was just because Snape was head of my house and Igor because of the Dark Mark at the World Tournament that summer. Why wasn’t I included in the meetings like Fred and George? I could have stayed! I could have helped! Maybe they wouldn’t have died if I had been there, I could have fought too.” Zinnia was angry, the memories of that summer before seventh year were bubbling to the surface and she had lost her ability to occlude them away. 

“Your mother didn’t want you involved. She didn’t even want you to go back to Hogwarts at all seventh year -” Hugo had started.

“But that’s not fair! I - Draco said I was privileged. I lost my mom! He was able to stay and protect his family! Be with them. I would have rather died next to mom than be here without her!” Zinnia was out of control of her emotions, crying and shaking with rage. 

“Zinnia, no you know you don’t mean that. Be reasonable.” Hugo whispered, trying to calm her. 

“I can’t be reasonable! My occluding is gone! All my emotions are happening all at once. I want to forget again, I can’t deal with this all.” She was sat on the floor of her mother’s old office, her face in her hands as Hugo sat down next to her. 

“You want to forget George? Again?”

“Yes, he lied to me. He hid it all from me, at least the important stuff. I’m so angry with him and with you! Did you hide his letters from me? In the beginning? And he said he called, and you told him I wanted space?!” Zinnia said, she was so upset, lashing her anger out on everyone. 

“Zinnia, yes but you don’t understand what the cost was. All of it was to protect you, I promise I was never trying to hurt you!”

“Why is everyone trying to protect me? I can take care of myself, I didn’t even get a choice, you and George just agreed with mom to lock me away?”

“George didn’t have a choice either! He thought you would be back for school the next semester, I had to lie to him and you and I am sorry about that.”

“Mom needed protection too and you left her there alone to die.”

“I couldn’t tell your mother what to do, ever you know that. When she married Igor she ignored my warnings”

“So it’s her fault who she fell in love with? She loved Igor, you are just mad she didn’t love you.”

“It’s not that Zinnia, she knew his past and she made a statement by being with him. People were talking and when he ran, she was in danger, if anyone left her alone to die it was him!” Hugo now was angry. “I’m sorry to yell. I just, Ophelia wanted you safe and as far away as possible. She didn’t even want you here in New York. She wanted you farther, she wanted you on the bloody moon. I came back when she got married. I knew the moment she announced that we would all need a safe place and put up wards on the penthouse. The building manager, he thinks the penthouse is attic storage now I erased all memories, blueprints and even postal records of this place.

“We had plans to move as many of the other students and kids under 17 to the penthouse but the ministry was infiltrated much faster than we had imagined. Ophelia moved in with the Malfoys to gain their trust and was leaking information to The Order. Then Igor was captured and his occluency was nowhere near as strong as hers. The Dark Lord looked into his mind and saw how Ophelia was loyal always to The Order, how she told him what Regulus had done to destroy a horcrux. Voldemort made an example out of them both and burned them alive at the front gates at Malfoy manor. To show everyone what happened to moles.” 

Hugo finished his retelling. Unable to look Zinnia in the eyes. 

“Right. Well I just wish you would have told me. I could have helped.”

“There is nothing you could have done, Zinnia. You can’t keep blaming me and George and everyone else for not telling you what all was happening. Once Igor was found, it would have been all three of you burned. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself from that.”

Zinnia’s stomach turned, imagining the image of her mother burned at the stake, her very own great grandmother had avoided the very same fate in Salem. The irony was not lost on her.

“Thank you Hugo, for protecting me. Thank you. I am sorry I took it for granted. I can’t change what happened. I just, thank you for telling me. I don’t think George had the heart to tell me. In his defense I didn’t ask him.” Zinnia had picked off the skin around her nails so much that they were bleeding now. 

“Zin, you have no idea how happy I am that I got you out when I did. And after your accident, in your coma, I thought it may have been for nothing. Thank Merlin for your friends to help bring your memories back. I missed you so much.” Hugo said, softly placing his hands over hers to stop her from picking. 

They went over the new line, talking about what new plans they had for the business. Zinnia very happy to change the subject. 

“So I do think we are ready to shake things up. For Autumn/Winter next year, an all black line.”

“What do you mean?” Hugo asked. 

“All black. No white weddings.”

“Zinnia I get you are in mourning but other people want to wear white on their wedding days. It’s tradition.”

“Fuck tradition, if they want a basic white dress they can go to literally any other place. Trust me, there is a market for this. Can we try it please?”

“If it fails, we do have enough cushion for next seasons production, just mass producing so many dresses in that color it’s a huge risk.” 

“No more mass production. We’re raising prices and taking on couture only. Like mom had in the beginning. And we can afford the best materials and designers now, the prices of each gown will triple. We’re leveling up. We can continue cheaper versions of our more popular designs but our main focus is couture. And if a bride likes a black design but insists she wants it in white, we can negotiate a price.”

Zinnia showed Hugo the notebook full of sketches that she had stayed up all last night doing. She even went into accessories and creating crystal bouquets. 

“Zinnia, these are incredible, I have never seen your sketches like this. Did you get any sleep last night?”

“Thanks, H. No, I couldn’t sleep until it was all out of my head.”

The sketches seemed to get Hugo on board with her risky plan and they spent the next six hours shopping for fabric and trimmings. Zinnia was beginning to feel whole again.