Before dawn, the darkness hung thick across the sky like a nearly dried-up blot of ink, even seeping into the sea and dyeing the water the same color.
Waiting was always a long and dull process, let alone waiting out on the vast open sea. Listening to the repetitive, grating sound of the waves made it all too easy for thoughts filled with negative emotion to grow.
The employees of the French Ministry of Magic were in exactly that state now.
They hovered above the sea on Flying Broomsticks, weary of the pitch-black night, impatient with the dull wait, and worried about the approaching "Calamity of Paris."
One French Ministry of Magic employee frowned tightly and still could not help asking, "Director, will a Thunderbird really come? What if it's too late?"
The other French Ministry of Magic employees were thinking the same thing and could not help agreeing. "That's right! Director, if we keep waiting like this, we'll be able to see the sunrise!"
One French Ministry of Magic employee noticed something and pointed in one direction. "Look over there! The sun's really rising!"
Where water met sky, an extremely dazzling golden thread emerged from the surface, like an incomparably sharp golden blade brutally slicing sea and sky apart.
In the blink of an eye, a sphere like molten iron broke free of its restraints and leaped above the sea level with unquestionable majesty.
Ten thousand rays of golden light shot out like arrows, completely piercing and shattering the night, setting the entire sky ablaze in a sheet of glittering gold.
Like those French Ministry of Magic employees, Charlotte Bonacourt's attention had actually been drawn away as well.
Only he did not see the glittering golden sunrise. He saw an equally glittering golden Thunderbird.
Under the radiance of the