It was a quiet morning, even for Kronk.
The sun was just beginning to stretch behind the English hills, casting warm rays over the empty road. The food truck glided smoothly along a rural highway, moving with an elegant, majestic grace—almost as if it knew it carried the best lamb lasagna in all of the United Kingdom.
Kronk was whistling a tune as he stirred a pan with one hand and steered the wheel with the other.
"Scrambled eggs: perfect... croissants: hand-puffed… and the orange juice didn't explode this time."
He'd decided to return to Hogwarts in his own vehicle, saving money on the train and taking the opportunity to test new recipes along the way. Besides, the food truck had magical navigation, an automatic sauce dispenser, and an experimental flight mode.
Although, as he'd told Professor McGonagall, that last feature was "half-baked and utterly insane to even consider."
Then, something stirred in the sky.
Kronk looked up.
"What the heck is that?" he squinted, trying to focus on the object.
It was a wobbly blue car, flying low and making noises that not even Fluffy with indigestion would produce.
Inside the Weasleys' flying Ford Anglia, Harry and Ron were struggling to stay in control. From below, Kronk could only make out two panicked figures and a suitcase bouncing around through an open window.
The food truck slowed to a gentle stop at the roadside just as the car dipped dangerously low. It wobbled, sneezed a mechanical sneeze, and slowly rose again.
"Are they… showing off their flying junk heap?" Kronk muttered, not entirely sure.
And that's when his little devil appeared.
With a burst of red smoke and the smell of spicy chili, mini devil Kronk materialized on the dashboard, arms crossed and smirking.
"Hey! Did you see that? They're challenging you! Look at that swerve! Look how they're drifting closer! That was a magical wink! They want a race!"
"What? No, I was just—"
"EXACTLY! And now they want to humiliate you, Kronk. In front of all the skies of England. Are you going to let that happen?"
"I'm not sure that's what's going on..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT SURE?! They're literally in a speed duel with you and don't even know you've got hidden TurboChef mode!"
Angel Kronk appeared, floating on a cloud.
"Kronk, ignore them," he advised. "You promised not to activate flight mode unsupervised. Remember what happened with the steam fryer."
But the devil was already yelling: "THIS! IS! FOR! HONOR!"
"Hmm… you're right." Kronk grinned and slipped on his flight safety goggles. "No one challenges our food truck like that."
He pressed the red button marked with a white wing.
A shudder ran through the truck. Its external lights blinked off… then flared back on in an electric-blue glow. The sides opened like metallic petals, revealing two retractable wings plated with floating enchanted panels. The wheels rotated and disappeared, replaced by anti-gravity mechanisms. A hum rose from the inner boilers as the rear reactor emerged, powered by a compressed will-o'-the-wisp core.
From the ceiling, a pilot's helmet descended, surrounded by floating navigation runes. Kronk adjusted it with a grin and spoke in a deep voice: "Activate Flight Mode: Alpha K-5000 Culinary Interceptor."
The entire cabin reconfigured. The dashboard projected magical maps into the air, navigation crystals spun like dancers, and kitchen utensils snapped magnetically to the walls with high-power seals.
Had Arthur Weasley been present, he would've fainted from sheer emotional overload.
A screen flashed: WARNING: Your vehicle has entered violation of the Statute of Secrecy. Suggested response: GO FASTER!
"Sounds reasonable."
With a mechanical roar and a burst of croissant-scented smoke, the food truck launched vertically, as if it had been born to fly.
Harry looked back from the flying car.
"Ron... did that food truck just take off?"
"WHAT?!"
It appeared at their left, flying right alongside them. On one side, an enchanted sign projected flaming letters Ghost Rider–style: 1,000 recipes. 1 vehicle. 0 defeats.
From his cockpit, Kronk winked at them through a hexagonal porthole.
"Come on, boys! First one to Hogwarts gets free breakfast!"
Ron and Harry screamed in unison: "WHAT?!"
Ron thought he'd misheard.
Did he say free breakfast?
"HARRY, THIS ISN'T A RACE!" he tried to reason.
Also, the Great Hall's food was already free!
But it was too late.
Kronk activated brilliant stealth mode—the food truck vanished from view, leaving only a trail of golden sparks and the smell of scrambled eggs.
"Ron, we shouldn't—" Harry tried to say.
Ron floored the gas.
Harry prayed to Merlin.
Kronk whistled as the food truck glided smoothly, wings extended, lightly vibrating with every air current. The runes on the rear reactor flickered like fireflies.
With a cookie between his teeth, he checked the navigation panel.
"Auto-landing in 3… 2… 1..."
With a maneuver that would make any professional broom pilot weep with joy, the food truck spiraled down and landed with a gentle pom on the Quidditch pitch lawn.
At once, the wheels returned with a stylish spin, the wings folded like magical origami, and the rear reactor tucked itself behind a hatch.
Kronk stepped out whistling, a basket of warm rolls in hand. He'd even had time to make a quick stop along the way.
"Nothing like arriving on time… and with breakfast."
Meanwhile, not far away…
"RON, HOLD ON!"
The Ford Anglia carrying Harry and Ron did not have the same grace. The car bucked violently, as if it knew what was coming. Despite their shouts and tugs, it refused to listen.
They burst through the clouds just as Hogwarts rose before them… and directly to the left: the Whomping Willow awaited.
WHAM.
BAM.
THWACK!
The car was pummeled, whipped, and slapped around by the furious tree's branches like a bag of puffed rice. At last, the vehicle spat out the two boys in a final shudder of indignation and limped off toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Kronk, over on the field, didn't even notice. He had set up a folding table next to the food truck and was serving rolls to a couple of curious house-elves who had come sniffing around.
"Is this… caramelized basil?" one of them asked with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Exactly!" Kronk said, serving with flair.
Meanwhile, at the castle entrance…
Professor McGonagall looked up at the sky and watched two staggering figures (Harry and Ron), covered in dirt, twigs, and shattered dignity, dragging their trunks up the steps.
"And where's Kronk?" she asked, frowning.
From the Quidditch field came a burst of golden light and cheerful music. A magical banner waved: WELCOME TO HOGWARTS – TRY OUR SEASONAL MENU
McGonagall put a hand to her forehead.
"Merlin help us… he actually came back."