Disclaimer and Words of Appreciation: I do not own HP or CN. Thank you all who clicked on the title. Thank you to all those who actually read the story. Double Thanks to the latter group.
The fact was, the weather was not the only delayer of the Edmund's arrival. Even before he got to the Great Plain, Edmund was a day or two late due to his frequent visits to the nearby towns. As the Just King, he felt it as his duty to check up on his people, how they were ruled under the appointed authority, if their lives were generally happy.
When he and his faithful servants finally arrived at the Great Plain, Edmund was about three days behind the schedule (he was supposed to be at Hogwarts two days later). Rain was getting bearable at that moment, and Edmund decided to send a messenger first since it was rude to leave the host hanging with a grand preparation readied for him. He called Pattertwig forward.
"I believe you could cross the Great Plain and the Black Woods in a day, is that right?" Though he knew the answer, Edmund, trying to plant some sense of pride that will speed up the talking animal's journey, asked.
"That is most certainly true, Your Majesty." Pattertwig answered with a knightly bow, a manner he learned from Glenstorm, the great centaur.
"Then do hurry, and go ahead to Hogwarts on your own. Once you're there, convey this message: King Edmund, due to an uncooperative weather, has been delayed. It will take about three days and maybe an afternoon to get to Hogwarts from where he stands. Remember, Pattertwig, talk no more than just this message." Edmund commanded.
Pattertwig with an enthusiastic nod shoot across the tall grass that lay throughout the Great Plain. In a second, not even a rustle of his movement was seen. Edmund, sighing, ordered the centaurs (now he knew them as Blacway and Stonpreek, the two best sons of Glenstorm) to move ahead of him—being the scholars of celestial movement, they knew the directions better. One small part of him was excited because it had been a while since Edmund was allowed to ride Demetri in an unlimited speed. If comparable, his anticipation rivaled that of a teenager who was just given a permission to drive his sports car as fast as he could across an empty land.
The banquet hall of Hogwarts bustled with the energy emitted from the student excitedly feasting. The soft, muffled conversations among the teachers and the ghosts peacefully hovering above seemed normal as always. The peace, however, was quickly broken when Filch hurriedly stumbled forward. His face was pale, and he was gasping loudly. Dumbledore immediately stood from his seat.
"Professor! Professor! There's a talking—"
His sentence was cut short by an abrupt appearance of an abnormally large squirrel. In a dash, it arrived in front of Professor Dumbledore before Filch could. Then it spoke.
"Are you, by any chance, Professor Albus Dumbledore, in charge of Hogwarts School of Witch and Wizardry?" It indeed spoke with acute pronunciation and mannered gestures.
There were numerous sounds of surprised and frightened gasps from the four houses of Hogwarts, but Professor himself seemed not to mind the talking beast at all.
"Yes, it seems so. Perhaps, you could introduce yourself as well? And also express the purpose of this visit?" He calmly answered and questioned the small beast.
"My apologies, Professor, I've lost my decorum due to haste. I am Pattertwig, a messenger from His Majesty, King Edmund the Just. I'm here to convey His Majesty's message." Pattertwig bowed politely. Now there were less frightened whispers around the hall that went like: "Oh Merlin, he is so cute!" "Poor thing, it's all wet!"
"Well, Sir Pattertwig, what is this message that His Majesty sends?"
"King Edmund, due to an uncooperative weather, has been delayed. It will take about three days and maybe an afternoon to get to Hogwarts from where he stands. Or where he stood. Since it took me a day to arrive at Hogwarts, His Majesty must be only two days away." Pattertwig smartly announced.
Dumbledore stroke his long, graceful beard. "Then His Majesty would be here a day later the promised date, which, considering the weather, is absolutely understandable."
Pattertwig, grimly nodding his head, thoughtlessly remarked.
"Also, His Majesty's love for his people made him stop on every little town we've passed—"
Then he abruptly stopped himself, just remembering Edmund's command not to say any other words about the delay. He stole a glance at Dumbledore who met his glance with a kind and amused smile.
"Please forget what I just said, I beg you. His Majesty will not be pleased if he finds out I talked without his permission, rather, against his order, which certainly won't end well for—"
His nervous and rattled gibberish was paused by Professor's gentle hand.
"Have no fear, my little friend. Your loyal heart cannot lie of the great deeds your king has done and is proud to share the tale at any time. There is no fault. And I won't speak of your words so do not worry." He generously spoke to the fidgeting squirrel.
Pattertwig noticeably relaxed at his words and bowed again. "Your words are the most comforting. I thank you for your kindness, Professor. Now I have to return to His Majesty and accompany him 'till the end."
"Be safe, my friend."
With Dumbledore's last words, the squirrel, once again, dashed away, disappearing through the large door through which he entered the banquet hall.
"Is that a squirrel talking?" Ron whispered to his friends in disbelief. His eyes were opened to its greatest extent in surprise.
"Yes, you apeth! Probably from Narnia." Hermione quickly filled in.
Harry just looked at the animal and said nothing. Once again, Ron spoke up. Among the three, he was the closest to the talking squirrel.
"It seems that the king will be a day or so late." He said "king" with a slight sense of mockery. When Pattertwig began his gibberish, Ron stopped listening and turned back toward his friends with a disdainful scoff. "He probably did that on purpose."
"Did what?" Now suddenly curious, Hermione asked.
"The only message that this squirrel was supposed to convey was that the king was going to be late because of bad weather, but that squirrel just accidentally blurted out that the king is late because he is being the good king he is and is looking over the towns as he is passing them by, as if he wanted to keep that a secret from us." He once again scoffed, not hiding his sarcasm.
"You know, it could be true. What the squirrel said, I mean." Harry quietly commented as he meaninglessly poked his food with a fork.
"Sure, Harry, whatever." Ron muttered.
Hermione kept her silence this time. She briefly pondered about the matter and soon concluded that maybe this monarch was not too bad after all. She could tell that the squirrel was not acting (can squirrel act?) and that Ron was just a bit jealous. She did not particularly look forward to the day of the king's arrival, but now she did not particularly dreaded the day of his arrival.