The Hogwarts Welcome Feast gleamed in all its glory.
Candles floated in the air like noble fireflies, and the tables overflowed with food that sparkled, steamed, or tried to jump off the plates. All the students were seated, excited and hungry—except one.
Kronk, who had just returned from the Quidditch pitch after surviving an unsolicited Dementor attack, entered through the Great Hall's main doors covered in dust, carrying a folding stool under one arm, an empty soup thermos in the other, and wearing an expression somewhere between "exhausted" and "I need a warm towel for my face."
"Hey! Did someone save me a seat? No? No one? That's fine, I adapt," he said cheerfully as he opened his stool and sat between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, unintentionally creating a new house: Rufflepuffclaw (colors and emblem still in development).
Dumbledore stood at the dais and raised his hands for attention.
Conversations faded as if someone had cast Total Silencio.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," he began, his deep, kind voice echoing. "Before we enjoy the last of our desserts, I must share a few important announcements."
Kronk dropped his spoon just as he was about to try a legged jelly that was attempting to crawl off his plate.
"Announcements," he grimaced. "Uh-oh, that's never a good sign…"
Dumbledore continued:
"This year, for security reasons, the Ministry of Magic has stationed Azkaban Dementors to patrol the castle grounds. They must not be provoked—or even looked at too intensely. Trust your professors if you feel affected."
A nervous murmur rippled through the tables.
Kronk raised one enormous hand, as if he were back in class.
"Can someone please tell me why exactly the Dementors tried to blenderize my soul when I was just trying to park?"
Professor Sprout suddenly found the ceiling candles very interesting.
Dumbledore looked at him with a faint smile.
"It seems they interpreted your unauthorized arrival as a threat."
"And I missed the free chocolate on top of that!" Kronk grumbled.
"Free chocolate?" Ron repeated.
Kronk nodded sadly.
"Yeah… I heard someone named Lupin handed out chocolate bars on the train," he explained. "I thought it was a promo for a new flavor."
"It wasn't a promo, it was medicinal," Hermione clarified, arms crossed.
"Still missed it," Kronk said dramatically as a spoonful of jelly slid off his spoon.
At that moment, Dumbledore changed the subject.
"And I'm pleased to announce that Hagrid, our esteemed gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys, will now also serve as a professor," he said, gesturing toward the enormous half-giant who was blushing with joy at the staff table. "This year, he'll be teaching Care of Magical Creatures."
The applause was immediate.
Kronk clapped enthusiastically, accidentally making half the Hufflepuff table bounce with each slap.
"YEAH! I KNEW IT! Come on, Hagrid, you could teach a puffskein to flamenco dance if you wanted to!"
Hagrid blinked at the idea and ran a hand through his beard, thinking it might actually be fun to try…
…
That night, while everyone was heading to their common rooms, Kronk was intercepted by Professor Sprout. She was holding a potted plant and looked especially determined.
"Kronk, may I have a word?"
"Is this about the jelly that escaped? I tried to trap it in a candy cane cage, I swear!"
How was he supposed to know the jelly was ultra-acid lemon flavor and would melt through the canes and make a break for it when no one was looking?
"No, no. It's about your... schedule."
"My what?" Kronk blinked.
Oh right, he had one of those.
"I know you're officially enrolled as a student (under special admission)," Sprout said. "But you're attending every class you can, helping with maintenance, assisting me with greenhouse fertilizing alongside Longbottom, and last year you even took a week off to rebuild the east wing of the Charms classroom after that kid tried to fly a chair and ended up blowing up the entire place."
By the time Sprout found out, she had run a hand over her face and deeply regretted never telling Kronk about Reparo.
The worst part? The school year had already ended, so she couldn't even award him House Points for the effort.
Frankly, Kronk was the most Hufflepuff student she'd had in her entire teaching career.
If it weren't for the name and build, she'd half suspect he was Helga's heir.
"It was a noble experiment," Kronk murmured, smiling nostalgically.
Sprout handed him a delicate object: a necklace with a tiny, shimmering hourglass.
"This is a Time-Turner. It'll let you be in more than one place at once. You'll be able to attend more classes and continue supporting staff… without, well, breaking your spine. Just follow some precautions…" She explained the details very carefully, repeating them multiple times until she was certain he understood everything.
Kronk held it with reverent fingers.
"I'm giving it to you because I trust you, Kronk," she said, attempting to pat his shoulder but settling for tapping his elbow—she was far too short. "Just use it responsibly."
"Can I use it to make more breakfasts?"
"…Now that we're on the topic, please stop stealing work from the kitchen house-elves. They cried a lot last year."
"Oh…"
…
One week later, Hermione exited her Ancient Runes class, exhausted from overusing her own Time-Turner—she had decided to take every single subject—when she turned a corner and froze.
There was Kronk, chatting with Hagrid about magical creatures.
At the same time, a second Kronk came down the stairs in the opposite direction, hauling a sack of magical ingredients over his shoulder.
And a third Kronk was straightening a crooked painting on the wall just two meters behind the first Kronk… before heading off toward the library in the opposite direction.
Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"No way…"
Later that day, in the Great Hall, after much thinking and deducing, she approached Professor Sprout.
"Professor, does Kronk… have a Time-Turner too?"
As a professor, Sprout was of course aware that Hermione had been using a Time-Turner. After all, her sudden appearances in class were noticeable.
She would never admit it, but every time Ron Weasley screamed like a child from the jump scare, Sprout laughed a little inside.
"Yes, dear," Sprout answered serenely, slicing into her tuna pie. "I gave it to him myself."
Hermione felt her eye twitch as a terrible suspicion struck her.
"And what kind of process did he have to go through?" she asked, hoping she was wrong. "Written exam? Psychological evaluation?"
"I asked him if he could keep helping without passing out from exhaustion," Sprout said openly. "He said yes, so I gave him one."
Hermione stared, speechless.
"That's it?! That was the entire process?!"
Sprout looked at her with a wise smile.
"Trust is a powerful kind of magic too, Miss Granger."
Hermione could've sworn she heard a whip-crack sound in the background.
Just a few meters away...
George and Fred fist-bumped with barely stifled laughter as they pocketed the prank whip.