A/N: [As of 18/8/2022] I have just moved both OLT Missing Scenes into the main fic (one in chapter 26, one in chapter 43) - if you've already read them they haven't changed, but in case you haven't they are now in the main fic!!
23rd September 1978
Hermione's birthday passed by with no fanfare – the day filled with monotonous work at the Ministry and a sad Order meeting where Caradoc Dearborn's disappearance was announced.
She'd decided to have a small gathering with her friends the weekend after the actual day of her birthday as no one was in much of a mood to celebrate anyway. Alice and Frank were both busy with Auror training so everyone else gathered at Potter Manor for an evening where Lily was going to endeavour to teach them all some Muggle games. Hermione still hadn't told anyone except her family about her original heritage, so her friends just thought it was her intelligence that allowed her to pick up and understand the Muggle world so quickly.
Poker was vetoed after two hands when Sirius and James started showing each other their hands, Peter wiped the floor with everyone at Risk in a surprisingly short amount of time, Dorcas dominated when they played nuts, and to everyone's shock Lily managed to win Cluedo in just one round.
They took a break for dinner, putting lots of Muggle frozen pizzas in the oven and then relaxing in the living room while they waited for them to cook. Somehow the topic of jobs came up, even though Hermione had wanted to steer them away from any kind of serious talk.
"How's your training going?" Dorcas asked Sirius and James, leaning over Lily to grab a chunk of the garlic bread and biting into it with vigour.
"Moody is a hard fucking task master." Sirius moaned, dropping his head to the table. "This is the first day we've had off in like a fortnight." Lily ran her fingers gently through his curls, petting him. He turned his head to face her, a soft smile on his face. Hermione watched the sadness that overtook Remus' face as he watched the two.
"He's insane." James groaned, leaning into Hermione, a tired look on his face. "Our sex life is so dryyy."
Hermione scoffed in annoyance and pushed her boyfriend away. He flopped against Peter on the other side of him who pulled a face. "Well, now you're going to have no sex life, James Potter." She snapped, jabbing a sharp finger into his ribs.
"Hermione." He pouted, but she just looked back impassively, unimpressed.
She turned to Remus, who was sitting beside her, "How's the job hunt going?" She asked. She and Peter had recently started jobs at the Ministry, and Dorcas' and Lily's separate mastery training had started at the beginning of September. Remus was currently the only one of them without something to take his mind off the quickly escalating war. It wasn't for lack of searching, and he was too proud to accept help more than absolutely necessary. It had taken a lot to convince him to move in with Sirius and Lily without having to pay rent, and he only accepted in the end because he had nowhere else to go (apart from staying at other friends' places for free).
Remus sighed, accepting the subject change with grace. "Not great." He said with a sigh. "I hate capitalism. It's a rigged system that keeps us poor and it isn't fair. You shouldn't need to work three jobs to afford basic necessities." He scowled, taking a big gulp from the glass of wine sitting before him. "The amount of fucking bias from the Ministry when I'm just trying to get a job there is ridiculous." He snapped angrily, recalling the multiple times he'd been rejected over the past few months with sneers and disgusted looks after his prospective employers had discovered his 'furry little problem'. He had known the world outside of Hogwarts would be tough, but even with that, the school had lulled him into a false sense of security he kind of felt like blaming Dumbledore for.
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