Choose a day in your life which did not start off well,but then Essay

Choose a day in your life which did not start off well,but then something positive happened - Essay Example I had to go to my cousin's wake and that was about 7 pm. She was only 3 years old and my mood changed from being upset to being sentimental for she looked like an angel. I was conversing with my female cousin when she introduced me to her aunt; actually my cousin was even older than her by a few months. We went through a casual conversation which later changed into an exchange of thoughts on just about anything. I was trying hard for her not to notice my stolen stares, for she was my kind of girl, pretty, witty and with a sense of humor. I did not fall in love that instant but I knew there and then that she had to be a part of my life. We talked for almost four hours nonstop, and exchanged numbers. The very morning at the burial, I was delighted when I saw her the second time, too bad we had to part ways in the afternoon; for she and her mom had to go back home, and me too. The sight of her disappearing from my sight was sheer mix of agony and sweetness, for not once in my life had I met a girl whom I got along with very well and yet she had to go before I even saw her smile. A year and a few months had passed and our communication was somewhat of an on-and-off thing until that fateful day, 1 year, 6 months and 27 years later when we met again and up until now we are together, I feel so grateful I have her as my girl.

An Overview of Art Historical Movements and their Effect on the Movies Research Paper

An Overview of Art Historical Movements and their Effect on the Movies - Research Paper Example This is an American animation kid’s film. There is a lot of martial arts influence in the animation, which makes it different from previous films of its kind. It is however similar to some American film structures, for example, the TV Series Smallville. In this film, the main character, Clark Kent, is also sent to earth with a specific mission. In his quest to fulfil his mission, a character is developed, other characters come in, and a long TV series is formed with varying episodes. Currently, American films are so much influenced by martial arts. Samurai Jack is an American film based on a Japanese story. The presence of martial arts is, therefore, not a surprise, but it is an indication of the acceptance of martial arts, and its influence in American films. Martial art has been shown as a necessary skill in fighting evil (Schehr 102). The film is a sub-genre of animation, an animated children’s film. These sub-genres are designed for specific age demographic and the young. They usually explore the incredible world (Jenkins 7). This is exactly what Samurai Jack is all about. Jack is a superhero who travels around the world to learn different forms of combat. He is the only person with the powers to stop a shape shifting wizard. This is a world of fantasy, for all that Jack is portrayed as capable of, are exaggerated. The story, like any other animated children films, is centred on a leading role that has to fight in a scenario of good over evil (Jenkins 9). Jack has to fight the main villain, Aku, and other evil people that he comes across in his journey to fulfil his mission (Walt Cartoon). Samurai Jack Meets Wong Fei Hung episode. Almost everything is a replicate of scenes as seen in other martial arts movies. Wong Fei Hung is shown sitting down in a position similar to all other martial art teachers. The

Standardization of sodium hydroxide by ethanedioic acid solution Essay Example for Free

Standardization of sodium hydroxide by ethanedioic acid solution Essay Experiments: 1. Standardization of sodium hydroxide by ethanedioic acid solution 2. Determination of the concentration of commercial colourless vinegar Standardization of sodium hydroxide by ethanedioic acid Objective: To determine the molarity of sodium hydroxide. As the molarity of the sodium hydroxide is unknown, in order to standardize it, the concentration of the acid has to be known. Result: Titration Trial 1 2 3 4 Initial burette reading() 18. 33 8. 05 7. 52 8. 21. Final burette reading() 45. 48 36. 25 35. 79 36. 82 Volume of sodium hydroxide solution used() 27. 15(rejected) 28. 20 28. 27 28. 61 Average volume of sodium hydroxide solution used() 28. 36 Treatment for result: Molarity of the standard ethanedioic acid solution Mass of ethanedioic acid= 0. 8g Molar mass of ethanedioic acid= 2? (12+16+16+1) +2? (1+1+16) = 126 Number of mole of ethanedioic acid= 6. 35? Molarity of the ethanedioic acid= = 0. 025M Â  Molarity of the sodium hydroxide solution. Number of mole of 25. 0 ethanedioic acid= 6. 35 10 = 6. 35? Number of mole of sodium hydroxide = 6. 35 2 = 1. 27? Molarity of sodium hydroxide= 1. 27? = 0. 045M Determination of the concentration of commercial colourless vinegar Objective: The concentration of ethanoic acid in different brands of vinegar would be determined. As the compositions of vinegar in different brands are different, the highest concentration of ethanoic acid in the vinegar was said to be the best to buy. Result: Titration Trial 1 2 3 4 Initial burette reading() 5. 99 9. 28 8. 50 7. 05 Final burette reading() 20. 32 26. 22 25. 17 23. 86 Volume of sodium hydroxide solution used() 14. 33(rejected) 16. 94 16. 67 16. 80 Average volume of sodium hydroxide solution used() 16. 81 Treatment for result: * Concentration of ethanoic acid in the commercial vinegar(ShanTou) Number of mole of sodium hydroxide = 0. 045? 0. 01681 = 7. 56? ?Number of mole of ethanoic acid = 7. 56?

Net Neutrality and Freedom on the Internet

Net Neutrality and Freedom on the Internet Net Neutrality: The end of internet freedom The internet has been one of the greatest technological advances ever seen in the last 40 years. It has opened the doors to many new advances in many other fields and has changed the way the world works today. Now, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and the government have decided that they need to regulate it. In theory, the regulation they would like to put in place seems like a good idea. The regulation they are putting in place is called net neutrality and it is supposed to do three things. The three things that net neutrality aims to do is no blocking, no throttling, and no paid prioritization. These all seem like good ideas and they are, the only problem is what must be sacrificed in order for the government to ensure these regulations are enforced. Net Neutrality laws should be removed so the internet can continue to grow. The first new rule of Net Neutrality is no blocking. According to CNET, this means that the ISP (Internet Service Provider) cannot block access of any legal content, services, or applications. The key here is what does the government consider legal. People would be surprised how much of what they view online each day may not be considered legal by the government. Another problem with the government blocking access to these certain website and services is that in order for them to block someone from visiting an illegal site or service, they must be monitoring them all the time. If someone is not being monitored, they could just as easily visit that site or service as they could before. So, by making strict new rules to block any illegal content, the FCC will always be monitoring everything that everyone is doing online. This will give the government a whole new level of access to peoples’ personal lives and nothing will be completely private anymore. Another common happening to day is networks and systems being hacked (Science Alert). This requires very fast implementation of new security methods and protocols to prevent mass hacking. So, what happens when the government is going to be involved with the ISP’s? Every time an ISP needs to do a network update, it will likely need to be approved by the government first in order to make sure that it is still complying with the no blocking rules. That way, an ISP could not secretly start blocking a service without the FCC being aware of it. As can be demonstrated by how fast and efficient a post office works, the government is not very fast in what it does, this means that if a new network vulnerability is found, it is possible that in the time it takes for the government to look over and approve the update, a hacker or group of hackers could have already hacked into the network and start stealing information from millions of people. How could this be improved? The answer is no blocking, period. ISPâ€⠄¢s simply do not need to block any content of any kind unless their own system detects that it is a threat. Using this method, it would allow all content to be available to everyone just as most people are used to now. However, with an automated threat detector, it would make the internet safer as well and less vulnerable to viruses and other hacking threats. This is basically how the internet works right now. Essentially, the government does not need to fix what is not broken already. Nonetheless, the government does not want things to be that simple. The reasoning behind their no blocking policy is not to protect people from the big evil internet service providers, but rather it is so that no one is downloading or viewing anything illegal (Wired). Otherwise, the government would have little interest in the no blocking policy. This is simply a way for them to get their foot in the door to block people from doing anything they determine to be illegal on the internet. Here are some examples of illegal things that most people do every day on the internet and dont even realize its illegal. For examples, it is illegal to fake a name online, it is illegal to use ad blocking software, and it is illegal to save pictures from the internet because they are someone elses property. People view lots of illegal content on YouTube all the time and one of the more ridiculous things that is illegal to do online is to post anyone singing happy birthday because it is a copyrighted s ong. If this rule of Net Neutrality were to be kept, many of the freedoms that people are able to experience online today would be gone. No more happy birthday videos on YouTube. The next rule that Net Neutrality will enforce is no throttling. This means that ISP’s cannot slow down or speed up certain services as long as they are legal (USA Today). This comes back again to the issue of what does the government consider legal on the internet. The real point here, though, is that an ISP should not be able to slow down a certain service because they use a lot of bandwidth or if they are providing content that the ISP does not agree with. An example of this throttling happening is if someone were trying to view content on a competitor of the ISP that someone is currently subscribed to. So, if someone on Comcast’s network was trying to view a news story on a website other than NBC (Comcast owns NBC), it is possible that Comcast could throttle them because they are viewing content on a competing news network site. This is where the idea of no throttling is a very good idea, it is not right for one company to throttle data to impair access to a competi tor. However, there is one perspective of throttling that the government does not take into consideration. In some instances, throttling ensures that many people are not impeded by the usage of the few. In other words, a few people could be hogging tons of available bandwidth to access a media intensive site or service while everyone else ends up with reduced speeds and network reliability while they try and do less bandwidth intensive tasks. This has been becoming less of an issue as ISP’s continue to invest in their infrastructure and try to improve total available bandwidth so that more people can be accessing more content at the same time. An example of throttling being necessary, however, was demonstrated when an app on Android became very popular and everyone was using it to communicate, which caused a massive bandwidth problem over the T-Mobile network. In order to keep the network stable so that everyone could still use it in some capacity, T-Mobile had to throttle th e users who were using the communication app. In this case, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. It’s cases like these where throttling can be a necessity in order to maintain network integrity. Netflix has often been the victim of throttling. Almost one third of the internet traffic, today, is from people streaming Netflix (Time). Most networks now have the capability to allow for that. However, a few years ago, when Netflix was starting to become big, this was quite a strain on the current networks and in many cases people would get stuck with buffering because the ISP’s were having to throttle Netflix in order to keep the network in working order. Throttling is a self-solving problem in many ways. If people complain that a service they like is being throttled, then the ISP will have to make improvements to handle the additional traffic and this leads to network improvements and an overall better service. The part that can be an issue is when an ISP tries to throttle a competitor, which is when Net Neutrality could be good. However, this problem as well can be self-solving. If someone is trying to view something from a competitor of the ISP and they keep getting throttled, they will either complain or they will switch ISP’s. This will then force the ISP to stop throttling that site or they will lose customers. So, once again, the problem solves itself without the government needing to intervene. The third rule of Net Neutrality is no paid prioritization. This is meant to prevent any ISP from favoring some legal traffic over other legal traffic that has paid them (Wired). This is often referred to as â€Å"no fast lanes.† The best way to look at this is to think of a highway. Say there are eight lanes to this highway and the speed limit is the same for six of the lanes. However, two of the lanes have a higher speed limit and have less traffic, but they require a toll to use them. This is basically what some ISPs have been doing. They will charge certain companies to use these faster and less congested lanes so that their service is better. The idea behind this third rule of Net Neutrality is that no one gets access to fast lanes and everyone has equal access to everything. In theory, this is a great idea, but the problem here is similar to the problem with the second Net Neutrality rule. If one service is using most of the bandwidth, they should have to pay a premium t o be a drain on the network. When a massive bandwidth using company like Netflix is being used on a network, it is a huge drain on the network and it requires often expensive upgrades to be made in order to handle that new bandwidth demand. These upgrade costs are partly due to the fact that the bandwidth hog is impeding the networks performance, so they should have to pay a premium for a fast lane so that it can offset the cost of network upgrades. This also allows the network to advance and overall advance the way the internet is used. When a new company comes around and starts putting a strain on the network, this makes it so the network needs to be upgraded in order to handle it which leads to an overall better network. If there is no paid prioritization, then ISP’s may not be able to justify the costs associated with making network improvements and then that will lead to an even worse service overall. Thus, the third rule of Net neutrality is also a bad idea as it will c ause the US to fall even farther behind in average internet speeds around the globe. Those were the three main points that the government highlights about Net Neutrality and about how great it is, but what are they hiding? One key detail that they never want to mention to anyone is the fact that they will have control over how the internet is run. They are trying to stop ISP’s from regulating the internet by regulating it themselves. The government isnt exactly well known for providing great regulations, generally they are tedious and time consuming and ultimately pointless. Why should the internet have to move at the same pace as the government? It has cost taxpayers over two billion dollars so far to make the government run healthcare website work, and it still doesnt work properly. From the beginning to the very end of the enrollment period for the healthcare website, it was having tons of problems. Constantly freezing and glutting and kicking people off the server. The same people that developed this system now want to be in charge of how the internet is r egulated and run. It would be only a matter of time before the government wants to further tighten its grip on how the internet is regulated and run. Before too long, they may end up being completely in charge of how the internet works and that will lead to disaster. The internet today is by no means perfect. However, the last thing it needs is a bunch of incompetent politicians in charge of how it works. These are all things that the Net Neutrality bill will secretly allow. Therefore, it was enacted without a proper vote even being taken, it was just suddenly put into place, a bill that as over 300 pages was put into place without anyone even having time to read it. Essentially, it was put into action without anyone even knowing what it all really entailed. A huge right that will be infringed upon by Net Neutrality is everyone’s own right to privacy. Part of the Net Neutrality act allows the government to monitor internet activity. The NSA is a part of the government which allows the NSA to view every bit of activity from everyone on the internet. No one will have any privacy from the government anymore. Any time someone looks at anything on the internet, the NSA can find out about it. This is a huge infringement on a right to privacy from the government. The government knows enough about the citizens of the United States, they dont need to know what size cloths someone wears or that somebody is very interested in funny cat videos. This is just giving the government more control over what people do every day and not allowing them to feel like what they are doing is somewhat private. The argument to this is that once something is on the internet, it never goes away, and anyone can have access to it. That is true, however, with the government monitoring everyone’s activity, it makes it just that much easier for them to keep tabs on people. The other fact is that while what someone posts to the internet is no secret, what they are doing on the internet can still be unknown to many. With the government able to monitor activity through ISP’s, nothing that is done over the internet anymore is private. The government could start monitoring if someone is selling lots of their things on Craigslist and could then audit them if they did not report their profits on their taxes. Technically, profit made even from selling items can be taxed. This will simply reduce the freedom on the internet even more. It’s all just a step closer to complete government control over what everyone does everywhere. In the end, the government is ultimately enacting these new Net Neutrality rules, so they can gain more control over people on the internet. It will give them a whole new level of access and control over everything that everyone is doing. The no blocking policy allows them to control what is displayed on the internet by not blocking things that are legal, but making sure anything they consider illegal is blocked. The no throttling policy will make it so that everyone has an equal playing ground. This will make sure that things people want to be faster are not simply in order to make it equal for everyone. Lastly, not having the paid prioritization could cause the ISP’s to not get enough money to continue making important network improvements that make the internet an overall better place. The government is going to end up holding back the internet and will slow down its evolution. If the government had been in charge of the internet from the beginning, it would be nowhere near as powerful as it is today. E-Mail probably never would have come into existence because it would compete with the Post Office, making the Post Office less profitable. The way the very world today works could have been changed if the government had been in charge from the beginning. Hopefully, in the future, the Net Neutrality laws will be repealed to help the internet grow, not the government. So far, seven ISP’s have filed lawsuits against it, so it is likely that more ISP’s will join together to help ensure that the internet will not become crippled by the government. The government needs the internet, the internet does not need the government. Works Cited Babcock, Grant. Net Neutrality And Obamas Scheme for the Internet Are Lousy Ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reason.com. Reason Foundation, 12 Nov. 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Beck, Glenn. Tell The FCC To Stay Away From The Internet. Glenn Beck. MERCURY RADIO ARTS, 16 Feb. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Berkman, Fran. Net Neutrality Jargon Explained. The Daily Dot. N.p., 25 May 2014. Web.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Apr. 2015. Cobb, Kelly W. Why Net Neutrality and Open Internet Mandates Are Bad for Consumers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Americans for Tax Reforms. Braynard Group, 21 Oct. 2010. Web. Apr. 2015. Dorfman, Jeffrey. Net Neutrality Is A Bad Idea Supported By Poor Analogies. Forbes. Forbes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Magazine, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Gillula, Jeremy. The FCC Is Keeping an Eye on Interconnection, But More Clarity Is Needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF, 13 Apr. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Gross, Grant. Thousands Call on Congress to Overturn Net Neutrality Rules. PCWorld. IDG   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consumer & SMB, 31 Mar. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. May, Randolph. Why Net Neutrality Is Incompatible with Internet Freedom CNET. CNET.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CBS Interactive Inc., 03 Sept. 2012. Web. Apr. 2015. McSherry, Corynne. The FCCs Latest Net Neutrality Proposal: Pros, Cons, and Question   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marks. Electronic Frontier Foundation. EFF, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. Apr. 2015. Skorup, Brent, and Berin Szoka. Killing Net Neutrality Helps Underdogs Succeed | WIRED.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 17 Feb. 14. Web. Apr. 2015. Steimle, Joshua. Am I The Only Techie Against Net Neutrality? Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 14   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2014. Web. Apr. 2015. Walker, Bruce E. Net Neutrality Is a Bad Marriage of Government, Internet. Net Neutrality Is a Bad Marriage of Government, Internet. The Heartland Institute, n.d. Web. Apr. 2015.

The Privilege of the College Experience :: College Admissions Essays

The Privilege of the College Experience At age four, I was a firewoman, fighting to save the spirits and possessions of those faced with devastation. Twelve short months later, my occupation mutated into the daring role of a policewoman working to keep the peace. Later, still devoted to the sake of betterment, I finished my fourth year of law school and took my bar exam with F. Lee Bailey and Johnny Cochran. Nothing more notorious than a thief seemed to cross my 10-year-old mind. Unpractical but whole and with an intense fancy, I lived one hundred lives. Emitting the wonders of life into the ornate dream of childhood, I sailed though the adult world as a na†¢ve foreigner. Inevitably, the misconceptions of childhood soon turned to red, green, yellow and orange and fell frailly from the tree of life. Now a chance for an even more colorful future has arrived: college. As a young adult, dissecting and analyzing every feeling, occurrence, or loss that I experience, then writing about it, has become a way of life. Throughout my high school years, I have experienced many "firsts." These firsts embedded in me much more than book knowledge: the friendships, the new responsibilities, the leadership roles. The new experiences turned my fire fighting days into adulthood. However, the fire fighting skills were never lost; each childhood and adolescent lesson has kept me from falling in flames, and similar morals gained in college will fulfill the same role in my adult life. These writings that I look back on not only remind me of why I would love the privilege of gaining a degree in (field of study), but also paint a picture of a blooming thirst for challenge and a hunger for success. The privilege of the college experience is the privilege of eating from the tree of life. Fortunately, I learned early in "law school" that love and hate have close ties. On the tree of life, good and evil grow from the same branch, and shape the world as they fall. Education is the ultimate teacher of these principles. After years of rain or shine, my childhood images remain vivid and my feelings the same, for each leaf is sprouting from that same seed of adventure - the very seed that has been nourished with experience and showered with responsibilities, and now grows with petals thirsting for the passion of their sun: college.

A Work of Artifice and You Should Have Been a Boy Essay -- Marge Pierc

A Work of Artifice and You Should Have Been a Boy The word potential can be defined as the sum of abilities and capabilities that are possessed by, and specific to an individual being. In regards to humans we could say that it is all that a person can be and accomplish if encouraged and allowed the freedom to do so. Fulfillment of potential is curtailed in both the females in â€Å"A Work of Artifice,† by Marge Piercy and the female in â€Å"You Should Have Been a Boy,† by Elizabeth Cady Stanton; however, the manner and degree of such curtailing is quite different. In â€Å"A Work of Artifice† the growth and fulfillment of females is stunted physically, mentally, and sexually. The first evidence of this curtailment of potential we see is when the author says that the bonsai tree, which symbolically represents females, â€Å"could’ve grown to be eighty feet tall†¦but a gardener carefully pruned it.† Males, which are symbolically represented by the gardener, whittle away anything they find undesirable, thus curtailing the female’s growth and fulfillment. Example of the curtailing of the physical growth is â€Å"bound feet† by which females are unable to move around as they wish, limiting them to precisely where the males want them to be. In the words â€Å"croon[ed]† day after day by the gardener â€Å"it is your nature to be small and cozy, domestic and weak,† we see how males use these words to shape the mind of females, and they tell the females repeatedly also that they are so lucky to have men to tend to them as to inflict guilt as a safety net just in case the shaping was unsuccessful. All this careful attention works together to curtail females mentally. Lastly, the words â€Å"the hands you love to touch† imply that females... ...hese works signify the male dominance in society, and how male uses different venues and approaches to protect his dominant status, whether it is by conscious or unconscious acts. Also both works show how female acceptance of this hierarchy gives males the power and approval to continue to rule the roost, whether such acceptance comes through willing obedience or defeat. The females portrayed in â€Å"A Work of Artifice† and â€Å"You Should Have Been a Boy† developed deep and lonely voids inside their hearts because they had been conformed to the male’s wishes. They learned to ignore the pain created by the turning away from their own desires and aspirations and directed their lives on the path of living to please others. This empty existence denied what was rightfully theirs—a life full of happiness and satisfaction that occurs through the freedom of expression of self.

Chapter 15 Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

Early next morning, Harry woke with a plan fully formed in his mind, as though his sleeping brain had been working on it all night. He got up, dressed in the pale dawn light, left the dormitory without waking Ron, and went back down to the deserted common room. Here he took a piece of parchment from the table upon which his Divination homework still lay and wrote the following letter: Dear Sirius, I reckon I just imagined my scar hurting, I was half asleep when I wrote to you last time. There's no point coming back, everything's fine here. Don't worry about me, my head feels completely normal. Harry He then climbed out of the portrait hole, up through the silent castle (held up only briefly by Peeves, who tried to overturn a large vase on him halfway along the fourth-floor corridor), finally arriving at the Owlery, which was situated at the top of West Tower. The Owlery was a circular stone room, rather cold and drafty, because none of the windows had glass in them. The floor was entirely covered in straw, owl droppings, and the regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable were nestled here on perches that rose right up to the top of the tower, nearly all of them asleep, though here and there a round amber eye glared at Harry. He spotted Hedwig nestled between a barn owl and a tawny, and hurried over to her, sliding a little on the dropping-strewn floor. It took him a while to persuade her to wake up and then to look at him, as she kept shuffling around on her perch, showing him her tail. She was evidently still furious about his lack of gratitude the previous night. In the end, it was Harry suggesting she might be too tired, and that perhaps he would ask Ron to borrow Pigwidgeon, that made her stick out her leg and allow him to tie the letter to it. â€Å"Just find him, all right?† Harry said, stroking her back as he carried her on his arm to one of the holes in the wall. â€Å"Before the dementors do.† She nipped his finger, perhaps rather harder than she would ordinarily have done, but hooted softly in a reassuring sort of way all the same. Then she spread her wings and took off into the sunrise. Harry watched her fly out of sight with the familiar feeling of unease back in his stomach. He had been so sure that Sirius's reply would alleviate his worries rather than increasing them. â€Å"That was a lie, Harry,† said Hermione sharply over breakfast, when he told her and Ron what he had done. â€Å"You didn't imagine your scar hurting and you know it.† â€Å"So what?† said Harry. â€Å"He's not going back to Azkaban because of me.† â€Å"Drop it,† said Ron sharply to Hermione as she opened her mouth to argue some more, and for once, Hermione heeded him, and fell silent. Harry did his best not to worry about Sirius over the next couple of weeks. True, he could not stop himself from looking anxiously around every morning when the post owls arrived, nor, late at night before he went to sleep, prevent himself from seeing horrible visions of Sirius, cornered by dementors down some dark London street, but betweentimes he tried to keep his mind off his godfather. He wished he still had Quidditch to distract him; nothing worked so well on a troubled mind as a good, hard training session. On the other hand, their lessons were becoming more difficult and demanding than ever before, particularly Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts. To their surprise, Professor Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its power and to see whether they could resist its effects. â€Å"But – but you said it's illegal, Professor,† said Hermione uncertainly as Moody cleared away the desks with a sweep of his wand, leaving a large clear space in the middle of the room. â€Å"You said – to use it against another human was -â€Å" â€Å"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like,† said Moody, his magical eye swiveling onto Hermione and fixing her with an eerie, unblinking stare. â€Å"If you'd rather learn the hard way – when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely – fine by me. You're excused. Off you go.† He pointed one gnarled finger toward the door. Hermione went very pink and muttered something about not meaning that she wanted to leave. Harry and Ron grinned at each other. They knew Hermione would rather eat bubotuber pus than miss such an important lesson. Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Harry watched as, one by one, his classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. Not one of them seemed to be able to fight off the curse, and each of them recovered only when Moody had removed it. â€Å"Potter,† Moody growled, â€Å"you next.† Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, â€Å"Imperio!† It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him. And then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain: Jump onto the desk†¦jump onto the desk†¦ Harry bent his knees obediently, preparing to spring. Jump onto the desk†¦. Why, though? Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain. Stupid thing to do, really, said the voice. Jump onto the desk†¦. No, I don't think I will, thanks, said the other voice, a little more firmly†¦no, I don't really want to†¦. Jump! NOW! The next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to prevent himself from jumping – the result was that he'd smashed headlong into the desk knocking it over, and, by the feeling in his legs, fractured both his kneecaps. â€Å"Now, that's more like it!† growled Moody's voice, and suddenly, Harry felt the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappear. He remembered exactly what was happening, and the pain in his knees seemed to double. â€Å"Look at that, you lot†¦Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention – watch his eyes, that's where you see it – very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!† â€Å"The way he talks,† Harry muttered as he hobbled out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class an hour later (Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely), â€Å"you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second.† â€Å"Yeah, I know,† said Ron, who was skipping on every alternate step. He had had much more difficulty with the curse than Harry, though Moody assured him the effects would wear off by lunchtime. â€Å"Talk about paranoid†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder to check that Moody was definitely out of earshot and went on. â€Å"No wonder they were glad to get shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted ‘Boo' behind him on April Fools' Day? And when are we supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?† All the fourth years had noticed a definite increase in the amount of work they were required to do this term. Professor McGonagall explained why, when the class gave a particularly loud groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework she had assigned. â€Å"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!† she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously behind her square spectacles. â€Å"Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer -â€Å" â€Å"We don't take O.W.L.s till fifth year!† said Dean Thomas indignantly. â€Å"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin!† Hermione, who had turned rather pink again, seemed to be trying not to look too pleased with herself. Harry and Ron were deeply amused when Professor Trelawney told them that they had received top marks for their homework in their next Divination class. She read out large portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors in store for them – but they were less amused when she asked them to do the same thing for the month after next; both of them were running out of ideas for catastrophes. Meanwhile Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic, had them writing weekly essays on the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes. They took this one seriously, as he had hinted that he might be poisoning one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote worked. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms. Even Hagrid was adding to their workload. The Blast-Ended Skrewts were growing at a remarkable pace given that nobody had yet discovered what they ate. Hagrid was delighted, and as part of their â€Å"project,† suggested that they come down to his hut on alternate evenings to observe the skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behavior. â€Å"I will not,† said Draco Malfoy flatly when Hagrid had proposed this with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra-large toy out of his sack. â€Å"I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks.† Hagrid's smile faded off his face. â€Å"Yeh'll do wha' yer told,† he growled, â€Å"or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book†¦.I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy.† The Gryffindors roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Moody's punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him from retorting. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the castle at the end of the lesson in high spirits; seeing Hagrid put down Malfoy was particularly satisfying, especially because Malfoy had done his very best to get Hagrid sacked the previous year. When they arrived in the entrance hall, they found themselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. Ron, the tallest of the three, stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign aloud to the other two: TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY- â€Å"Brilliant!† said Harry. â€Å"It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!† STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORETHE WELCOMING FEAST. â€Å"Only a week away!† said Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff, emerging from the crowd, his eyes gleaming. â€Å"I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him†¦.† â€Å"Cedric?† said Ron blankly as Ernie hurried off. â€Å"Diggory,† said Harry. â€Å"He must be entering the tournament.† â€Å"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?† said Ron as they pushed their way through the chattering crowd toward the staircase. â€Å"He's not an idiot. You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch,† said Hermione. â€Å"I've heard he's a really good student – and he's a prefect.† She spoke as though this settled the matter. â€Å"You only like him because he's handsome,† said Ron scathingly. â€Å"Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome!† said Hermione indignantly. Ron gave a loud false cough, which sounded oddly like â€Å"Lockhart!† The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Harry went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves. Harry noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics. Other members of the staff seemed oddly tense too. â€Å"Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!† Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly difficult lesson, during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus. When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffiindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down beside Fred and George at the Gryffindor table. Once again, and most unusually, they were sitting apart from everyone else and conversing in low voices. Ron led the way over to them. â€Å"It's a bummer, all right,† George was saying gloomily to Fred. â€Å"But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand. He can't avoid us forrever.† â€Å"Who's avoiding you?† said Ron, sitting down next to them. â€Å"Wish you would,† said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption. â€Å"What's a bummer?† Ron asked George. â€Å"Having a nosy git like you for a brother,† said George. â€Å"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?† Harry asked. â€Å"Thought any more about trying to enter?† â€Å"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling,† said George bitterly. â€Å"She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon.† â€Å"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?† said Ron thoughtfully. â€Å"You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before†¦.† â€Å"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't,† said Fred. â€Å"McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks.† â€Å"Who are the judges?† Harry asked. â€Å"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel,† said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, â€Å"because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage.† She noticed them all looking at her and said, with her usual air of impatience that nobody else had read all the books she had, â€Å"It's all in Hogwarts, A History. Though, of course, that book's not entirely reliable. A Revised History of Hogwarts would be a more accurate title. Or A Highly Biased and Selective History of Hogwarts, Which Glosses Over the Nastier Aspects of the School.† â€Å"What are you on about?† said Ron, though Harry thought he knew what was coming. â€Å"House-elves!† said Hermione, her eyes flashing. â€Å"Not once, in over a thousand pages, does Hogwarts, A History mention that we are all colluding in the oppression of a hundred slaves!† Harry shook his head and applied himself to his scrambled eggs. His and Ron's lack of enthusiasm had done nothing whatsoever to curb Hermione's determination to pursue justice for house-elves. True, both of them had paid two Sickles for a S.P.E.W. badge, but they had only done it to keep her quiet. Their Sickles had been wasted, however; if anything, they seemed to have made Hermione more vociferous. She had been badgering Harry and Ron ever since, first to wear the badges, then to persuade others to do the same, and she had also taken to rattling around the Gryffindor common room every evening, cornering people and shaking the collecting tin under their noses. â€Å"You do realize that your sheets are changed, your fires lit, your classrooms cleaned, and your food cooked by a group of magical creatures who are unpaid and enslaved?† she kept saying fiercely. Some people, like Neville, had paid up just to stop Hermione from glowering at them. A few seemed mildly interested in what she had to say, but were reluctant to take a more active role in campaigning. Many regarded the whole thing as a joke. Ron now rolled his eyes at the ceiling, which was flooding them all in autumn sunlight, and Fred became extremely interested in his bacon (both twins had refused to buy a S.P.E.W. badge). George, however, leaned in toward Hermione. â€Å"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?† â€Å"No, of course not,† said Hermione curtly, â€Å"I hardly think students are supposed to -â€Å" â€Å"Well, we have,† said George, indicating Fred, â€Å"loads of times, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're happy. They think they've got the best job in the world -â€Å" â€Å"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!† Hermione began hotly, but her next few words were drowned out by the sudden whooshing noise from overhead, which announced the arrival of the post owls. Harry looked up at once, and saw Hedwig soaring toward him. Hermione stopped talking abruptly; she and Ron watched Hedwig anxiously as she fluttered down onto Harry's shoulder, folded her wings, and held out her leg wearily. Harry pulled off Sirius's reply and offered Hedwig his bacon rinds, which she ate gratefully. Then, checking that Fred and George were safely immersed in further discussions about the Triwizard Tournament, Harry read out Sirius's letter in a whisper to Ron and Hermione. Nice try, Harry. I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself Don't forget what I said about your scar. Sirius â€Å"Why d'you have to keep changing owls?† Ron asked in a low voice. â€Å"Hedwig'll attract too much attention,† said Hermione at once. â€Å"She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding†¦I mean, they're not native birds, are they?† Harry rolled up the letter and slipped it inside his robes, wondering whether he felt more or less worried than before. He supposed that Sirius managing to get back without being caught was something. He couldn't deny either that the idea that Sirius was much nearer was reassuring; at least he wouldn't have to wait so long for a response every time he wrote. â€Å"Thanks, Hedwig,† he said, stroking her. She hooted sleepily, dipped her beak briefly into his goblet of orange juice, then took off again, clearly desperate for a good long sleep in the Owlery. There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall. The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines. â€Å"Weasley, straighten your hat,† Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. â€Å"Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair.† Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait. â€Å"Follow me, please,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"First years in front†¦no pushing†¦.† They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Harry, standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front, saw Dennis Creevey positively shivering with anticipation among the other first years. â€Å"Nearly six,† said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates. â€Å"How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?† â€Å"I doubt it,† said Hermione. â€Å"How, then? Broomsticks?† Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky. â€Å"I don't think so†¦not from that far away†¦.† â€Å"A Portkey?† Ron suggested. â€Å"Or they could Apparate – maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?† â€Å"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?† said Hermione impatiently. They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quite as usual. Harry was starting to feel cold. He wished they'd hurry up†¦.Maybe the foreign students were preparing a dramatic entrance†¦.He remembered what Mr. Weasley had said back at the campsite before the Quidditch World Cup: â€Å"always the same – we can't resist showing off when we get together†¦.† And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers – â€Å"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!† â€Å"Where?† said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions. â€Å"There!† yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest. Something large, much larger than a broomstick – or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks – was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time. â€Å"It's a dragon!† shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely. â€Å"Don't be stupid†¦it's a flying house!† said Dennis Creevey. Dennis's guess was closer†¦.As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant. The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed – then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes. Harry just had time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened. A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then Harry saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage – a shoe the size of a child's sled – followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman he had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped. Harry had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid; he doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow – maybe simply because he was used to Hagrid – this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers. Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman. Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it. â€Å"My dear Madame Maxime,† he said. â€Å"Welcome to Hogwarts.† â€Å"Dumbly-dort,† said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. â€Å"I ‘ope I find you well?† â€Å"In excellent form, I thank you,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"My pupils,† said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her. Harry, whose attention had been focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what Harry could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces. â€Å"As Karkaroff arrived yet?† Madame Maxime asked. â€Å"He should be here any moment,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?† â€Å"Warm up, I think,† said Madame Maxime. â€Å"But ze ‘orses -â€Å" â€Å"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them,† said Dumbledore, â€Å"the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other – er – charges.† â€Å"Skrewts,† Ron muttered to Harry, grinning. â€Å"My steeds require – er – forceful ‘andling,† said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. â€Å"Zey are very strong†¦.† â€Å"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job,† said Dumbledore, smiling. â€Å"Very well,† said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. â€Å"Will you please inform zis ‘Agrid zat ze ‘orses drink only single-malt whiskey?† â€Å"It will be attended to,† said Dumbledore, also bowing. â€Å"Come,† said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps. â€Å"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?† Seamus Finnigan said, leaning around Lavender and Parvati to address Harry and Ron. â€Å"Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them,† said Harry. â€Å"That's if he hasn't been attacked by his skrewts. Wonder what's up with them?† â€Å"Maybe they've escaped,† said Ron hopefully. â€Å"Oh don't say that,† said Hermione with a shudder. â€Å"Imagine that lot loose on the grounds†¦.† They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then – â€Å"Can you hear something?† said Ron suddenly. Harry listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed†¦. â€Å"The lake!† yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. â€Å"Look at the lake!† From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water – except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks -and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor†¦. What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool†¦and then Harry saw the rigging†¦. â€Å"It's a mast!† he said to Ron and Hermione. Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank. People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, Harry noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle†¦but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, he saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair. â€Å"Dumbledore!† he called heartily as he walked up the slope. â€Å"How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?† â€Å"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff,† Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own. â€Å"Dear old Hogwarts,† he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and Harry noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. â€Å"How good it is to be here, how good†¦.Viktor, come along, into the warmth†¦you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, Harry caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He didn't need the punch on the arm Ron gave him, or the hiss in his ear, to recognize that profile. â€Å"Harry – it's Krum!†