Ron poured Hermione a glass of juice and shrugged. "See, it makes a big difference to a man when you actually get paid to do the work you're doing. Far better than having Mum yell at me to clean my room or Professor McGonagall giving me dirty looks whenever she went about handing out homework assignments back at school. There's a payoff here, see? And don't you go on lecturing me about education being a payoff toward my future. We're not at Hogwarts anymore, are we? No use going there." No, they weren't at Hogwarts. Even if they were back at home, there was no way that either Ron or Hermione were going anywhere near the castle. What with Dumbledore gone, Snape in charge, and Death Eaters likely running loose all over the premises? Yeah, it really wasn't the best place in the world for either Ron or Hermione. Not when they were known as the two closest mates of one Harry Potter. That didn't mean that Ron didn't miss being in school. Outside from all the homework and pain in the arse Professors', Ron had actually enjoyed being there. He'd grown up there, practically. That was where he had met Harry and Hermione - that was where he had gotten to play Quidditch for Gryffindor. There were a lot of good memories tucked away within those castle walls; memories that Ron didn't want to think about too often. It was kind of like all that time he had been here on his own. Ron didn't want to think about the things that he had left behind, if only for his own sake. He missed it all far too much. But Hermione. She was here. She was exactly what he needed to focus on, as did she the other way around. If they were going to get through this mess, they were going to get through it together. They'd been through some pretty rough spots before together in the past, right? They could do this thing. They could deal with the monsters, they could deal with the Apocalypse. Ron was more confident about this than ever, if only because of the fact that he was now here with someone he trusted more than most of the people here combined.
"Here," Ron started, pushing the glass of juice across the table for Hermione. He moved over to the counter and started setting everything he needed up to make them breakfast. As he worked, Ron glanced over his shoulder and eyed Hermione. "How are you doing? I mean, you've not been here long. Must be strange for you still." Ron wrinkled his nose. "It's still strange for me. Can't imagine you're much better off."