The evening air over the Hogwarts grounds was thick with sweet smoke and spices. From the food truck parked beside the greenhouses came a tempting aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and the unmistakable perfume of freshly baked bread.
Kronk, wearing an apron that read "Supreme Chef of the Mystical and Pastry Arts," carefully pulled trays of pumpkin muffins from the oven with reverence.
Each muffin gleamed with a golden glaze of egg and butter that could make anyone's mouth water.
"All right, team, great job!" he told the pumpkins lined up in a crate, as if they were kitchen apprentices. Each one, round and shiny, seemed to reflect back the proud image of a chef at work.
Hagrid, a few hours earlier, had once again handed him a heap of massive pumpkins from his garden, with the request to whip up something tasty for the creatures he cared for.
And Kronk, ever eager, had spent the whole afternoon baking, slicing, and experimenting. When at last he was done, he noticed there was one pumpkin left over.
A huge, perfectly round, perfectly orange pumpkin, resting on the workbench as if daring him.
Kronk crossed his arms, thoughtful.
"Hmm… what do I do with you? I've already used your cousins for pie, soup, muffins, and even an experimental smoothie."
He leaned down, chin in hand, regarding it with the seriousness of an alchemist before a dangerous potion.
"I could carve you into a lantern, but… it's not Halloween yet. I could turn you into purée, but… I don't have enough jars. I could… hmm…"
The silence was broken by a distant sound: powerful wingbeats, accompanied by a gust of wind that made his hair stand on end. Kronk looked up just in time to see a silhouette against the twilight sky.
It was a hippogriff.
And riding atop it, hair whipped by the wind, was Sirius Black.
Kronk narrowed his eyes, jaw tightening. He immediately remembered what Harry had explained days earlier: that the "black dog" sneaking around the castle wasn't just any dog…
it was Sirius Black!
Kronk put two and two together in seconds.
"So you're the one who's been stealing my food!"
His gaze hardened with determination.
"All right, buddy… time to settle accounts."
He turned to the spare pumpkin and lifted it with both hands.
It weighed as if it were filled with stones, but Kronk was Kronk: his muscles didn't know the meaning of "heavy."
"You've been chosen for a noble mission, little pumpkin," he said with solemnity, as if truly recruiting it for a crusade. "Not every day do you get the chance to fight for justice… and for all the ingredients devoured without proper financial compensation."
He drew a deep breath, squared his shoulders like a professional baseball pitcher, and aimed toward the sky.
The hippogriff was still climbing higher, majestic, Sirius Black holding fast to its back.
From below, it was a dramatic, almost heroic sight.
"Let justice begin!" Kronk whispered, and with superhuman motion hurled the pumpkin with all the strength of his arms, veins bulging like dragons as he summoned the necessary force.
The vegetable flew like a medieval projectile, slicing the air with a deep whistle despite its rounded shape.
Sirius, absorbed in keeping his balance and filled with excitement for his new stage of life, never saw it coming.
Suddenly—wham!
The pumpkin struck the back of his head with a resounding blow, exploding into a slow-motion spray of seeds and pulp.
"What the bloody hell?!" Sirius shouted, reeling dangerously atop the hippogriff, which flapped its wings in shock.
The scene was so absurd that even the hippogriff let out an indignant sort of neigh, as if to say, hey, who throws vegetables mid-flight?
Sirius nearly tumbled off into the void, clutching the creature's neck feathers while cursing under his breath.
From below, Kronk lifted his chin in satisfaction.
"Take that, food thief!"
The victorious projectile shattered across the grass, leaving a trail of pulp gleaming in the last light of sunset.
Kronk wiped his hands, convinced he had delivered justice in the most logical way possible: with a pumpkin projectile.
"The term is almost over… where should I go this summer?" he mused. "A quiet place sounds nice, last time was crazy!"