Business in asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Business in asia - Essay Example The researcher states that the classical growth theory argues that economic growth can negatively impact on the rising population and inadequate capitals. The classical theorists believe that short-term increase in actual GDP can result in population explosion which can ultimately reduce the actual GDP. The neoclassical theory depicts that steady economic growth can only be achieved with correct amount of labor, money and technology. It was the extension of â€Å"Harrod Domar Model† which tells that higher amount of savings and higher minimal production of capital can increase the growth rate of economy. In developing countries, labor is plentiful, but the capital is limited, which in turn reduces the amount of savings and leads to low investment and low economic growth. The endogenous growth theory depicts that economic growth is mainly the consequence of endogenous force and not due to external impact. According to this theory, investment in labor capital, invention and info rmation are the significant elements which can determine economic growth. Endogenous theory also shows that policy actions can also influence on the long-term development of economy. In this theory, the engine of growth is the labor capital because endogenous theorists believe that if labor capital accretion increases then the productivity of employees and physical resources also increase. The endogenous theory observes innovation as one of the major determinants of technological development and productivity growth. Therefore, developing countries that invest more on research and development are able to accomplish higher paybacks. The Simple AK Model which is developed by Paul Romer (1990) is the modest endogenous model. This model shows that exclusion of lessening return can result in endogenous growth (Slide 40). Question 4 Austrian Business Cycle Theory seeks to clarify the economic succession which indicates variations in production or economic movement in a country. These varia tions happen around a long-standing development tendency and usually comprise alterations over a period of time between stages of boom and burst. The Austrian Business Cycle Theory observes business cycles as the unavoidable result of extreme development in bank credit, aggravated by integrally harmful and ineffectual central bank strategies which cause lower interest rates for longer period of time. It can result in unnecessary credit formation, hypothetical economic bubble and reduced savings. According to this theory, low interest rate for a constant period of time and extreme credit formation can result in unpredictable and uneven balance between savings and investment. The increase of credit can result in higher money supply and higher money supply leads towards un-maintainable boom during which the artificially induced lending reduce the investment prospects. Thus, the Austrian Business Cycle Theory denotes that bursts can happen if the lending or credit formation becomes unma nageable. A saving induced boom is maintainable, but

Social De-alignment in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Social De-alignment in UK - Essay Example It has become popular through the recent years to view the voting patterns in the UK as less dependent on social attitudes and positions, rather than dependent on political factors. However, it is still under argument, whether social issues still play major role in defining voters' behaviours, as the present-day society has become more polarized. The electorate may be described as well-educated and informed mass of people, and it is often that its rational choice is based on the party's position, leadership, strategy and policy, not taking into account to which class the exact part of electorate belongs. This is the basis of the so called 'supermarket' model of voting, when the rational choice is based on the perceptions, which party will improve the life of the society while in Government. Thus the theory becomes active, when the leadership and personality of the candidate become increasingly significant for voters, and the political issues leave for the background. However, such th eories don't take into account the influence, which the media may make on the personality of each leader, and this influence may be both positive and negative, thus causing the electorate to make wrong choice. This work is to be concentrated on the social theories in voters' behaviour which take into account age, gender and class to which the voters belong, and assuming that these factors dictate the way the voter makes his choice. De-alignment 'Class is undoubtedly a significant factor when considering voting behaviour; traditionally two thirds of all voters chose their 'natural' class party, the working class favoring Labour and the middle class Conservative. However, since the1970s class de-alignment has begun, and the proportions of classes voting for particular parties have become more even, caused by embourgeoisement and the consequent decrease of in size of the working class'. (Curtice, 2002) This theory may be easily linked to the suggestion, that the voter's choice is becoming more tied to the place of his residence (the theories of voters' behaviour and the influence of neighbourhood will be discussed in this work), however, it is easily explained by the fact that the working class mainly occupies the northern part of the country, while the southern part belongs to the middle class. Simultaneously, it is interesting to note, that during the election campaign of the year 2001 the Conservatives lost most of their southern votes, which says there are some other factors except for class, which influence voters' choice. Another important social factor in defining voting preferences is gender. However, the proofs, which support this theory, are very inaccurate, as they don't account the gender equilibrium in the workforce and the attempts of different parties to concentrate their campaigns on childcare and health issues. It may be surprising not to note the influential role of the social factors in electorate behaviour, as Britain cannot be described as less class aligned. People still reflect their class preferences in their voting, though less attention has been paid to these factors, while they are still important and should be taken into account. To realize the importance of the social re-alignment and de-alignment in relation to the voting behaviours, it is necessary to provide the reliable argument as for the increasing social polarization in the society. According to Dorling (2006), 'housing wealth per child rose 20 times more in the best-off tenth as compared to worse-off tenth of areas in Britain 1993-2003; the majority of extra higher education places

Analysis of Air France KLM

Analysis of Air France KLM Air France-KLM is an international airline company and a member of the Skyteam airline partnership. The Group was created on May 5, 2004, following Air Frances combination with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), thereby forming the worlds largest airline group by turnover and second largest worldwide cargo operator in terms of revenue-tonne kilometers. The Group organizes its networks around two major hubs: Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Companys three main businesses are passenger transportation, cargo operations and industrial maintenance. The Group counts more than 100,000 employees throughout the world. Passenger transport is the Groups main business, with 74.8 million passengers carried (2007-08 financial year), a fleet in operation of 607 aircraft on 31 March 2008 and 258 destinations worldwide. The majority of the employees are based in France and the Netherlands. Both Air France and KLM continue to operate flights under their distinct brand names as subsidiaries of Air Fr ance-KLM. Contents CHAPTER 1 Introduction AIR FRANCE KLM AIR FRANCE KLM is the combination of two big airlines such as Air France and KLM. Since their merger in 2004, KLM works closely with Air France within the AIR FRANCE KLM holding company. In terms of financial turnover, AIR FRANCE KLM is the worlds largest airline partnership; it also transports the most passengers and is the worlds second-largest cargo transporter. Air France and KLM carry  more than 71 million passengers per year. They operate more than  594 aircraft enabling them to fly to  236 destinations worldwide with 2,500 daily flights. The two airlines world networks can be combined, forming a vast network organized around the two major hubs of Amsterdam-Schiphol and Paris-CDG. The head offices are located at Amstelveen and Paris. Alitalia In January 2009 AIR FRANCE KLM and Alitalia reached an agreement to strengthen their partnership cemented by AIR FRANCE KLM taking a minority stake in Alitalia. This agreement will give AIR FRANCE KLM greater access to the Italian market. SkyTeam Alliance Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance. SkyTeam is a global airline alliance which includes Aeroflot, Aeromà ©xico, AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines,  CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air (including Northwest Airlines), Tarom and Vietnam Airlines. Through one of the worlds most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its  384 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights to all major destinations. Income Over the fiscal year 2009-2010 the turnover of Air France-KLM was 20.9 billion euros. Together, the two airlines have over 107.000 employees. For more information on AIRFRANCE KLM Finance, please  go to www.airfranceklm-finance.com. Shares The Air France-KLM shares are listed in Amsterdam, Paris and New York. Aim Air France-KLM comprises a holding company which controls two airlines, Air France and KLM, each of which retains its own separate identity and brands. The group is the worlds largest air transport group in terms of revenue, second largest in terms of air traffic (in passenger-km) and cargo (ton freight-km), and third largest in terms of maintenance revenue. Both airlines run their own operations from their respective hubs Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. Passengers Passenger transport is the largest of the groups three core businesses, generating around 80% of its revenues (as of 31 March 2008), with 74.8 million passengers carried. Cargo Cargo was the first fully-integrated commercial activity at Air France-KLM in 2005. Client companies now have a single point of entry, and a full, simplified offering with flights departing from both hubs and benefiting from both networks. Air France-KLM Cargo ranks first worldwide among air freight carriers (excluding integrators). Maintenance The combination of Air France Industries and KLM Engineering Maintenance allows the group to offer a comprehensive range of aircraft maintenance and overhaul services with complementary areas of specialization. Maintaining the two fleets accounts for two-thirds of the groups maintenance operations, further supplemented by maintenance repair and overall (MRO) operations for 150 third-party airlines. Company Background Air France According to (KLM, 2010), the company was set up on 7 October 1933. Its history has been marked by several major milestones, including the holding acquired in the capital of UTA in January 1990 and the merger with Air Inter in 1997. In June 2000, Air France and Delta Air Lines joined forces with Aeromà ©xico and Korean Air to launch the Sky Team alliance. Air Frances main hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle is Europes number one in terms of connecting opportunities. KLM As cited in (KLM, 2010), KLM was set up on 7 October 1919 and is the oldest airline still operating under its original name. Its recent history has been characterized by the creation of a joint venture with Northwest Airlines (NWA) in 1989 and its acquisition of the holding of Kenya Airways in 1996. KLM has Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as its home base. Since May 2004, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have become the largest European airline group: one group, two airlines, and three businesses. Each airline has retained its individual identity, trade name and brand SWOT Analysis Mullins (2007) explained that, in order to evaluate the nature of the business environment and its strategic capability an organization may undertake a SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing the organization. STRENGTHS Strengths are those positive aspects or distinctive attributes or competencies which provide a significant market advantage or upon which the organization can build. Against a backdrop of increased Liberalization which serves to intensify competition, the profitable growth strategy plays to the groups strengths, the following are the air France KLM group strengths. A modern fleet the groups chief asset Guaranteeing energy and economic efficiency and greater safety levels, the groups aircraft fleet is its chief asset when it comes to meeting the challenges of sustainable development. The dual Roissy Schiphol hub and a balanced network The Air France and KLM route networks complement each other extremely well. The dual hub concept is central to group strategy and is designed to make the most of this. The benefit of dual brand strategy Air France and KLM took an original approach to the merger, choosing to retain the two brands while developing a unified strategy. Air France and KLM each enjoy strong brand identities and are extremely complementary. Enhanced competitiveness thanks to cost control To maintain its competitiveness, the group launched Challenge 10,designed to save 1.4 billion euros by 2009-10, through a 3% cut in unit costs. The plan is four-pronged: Process optimization and productivity gains; Fleet modernization, which will generate fuel and maintenance cost savings; Purchasing, and optimizing group synergies; External distribution costs. The development of high growth areas The groups ambition is to seize growth opportunities in countries driving global economic growth, mainly Brazil, Russia, India and China. In the years ahead, the Air France-KLM group plans to grow by 4.7% per year in terms of available seat-km on its long-haul network. WEAKNESSES Weaknesses are those negative aspects or deficiencies in the present competencies or resources of the organization, or its image or reputation, which limit its effectiveness and needed to be corrected to minimize their effect. International economic instability Faced with soaring oil prices, international economic instability, and signs of waning demand, air transport has entered a period of great uncertainty. Our Group can count on its strategic assets, the quality of its fuel hedging and its resolute policy of cost control to meet this challenging period of turbulence and low visibility OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities are favorable conditions and usually arise from the nature of changes in the external environment. The organization needs to be sensitive to the problems of business strategy and responsive to changes. Sustained demands In an increasingly global society, the demand for mobility is also increasing. Air transport is a key factor in a countrys economy. Over the last 20 years, air transport has grown twice as quickly as gross domestic product (GDP). In 2008, the rapid development of emerging countries is stimulating growth in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. This will compensate for the slowdown in the US economy. As for the future, IATA forecasts an increase in global capacity of around 5% per year by 2011. A key contribution to the economy Air transport carries over 2 billion passengers annually. Tons of cargo shipped by air each year represent 35% of the total value of export trade in manufactured goods. By connecting people, businesses and goods around the world, air transport makes an essential contribution to global economic activity. Both directly and as a promoter of growth in other industries. THREATS Threats are the converse of opportunities and refer to unfavorable situations that arise from external developments likely to endanger the operations and effectiveness of the organization. Air France KLM like any other organizations is faced with a number of threats, these includes Increased pressure Growth in European low-cost carriers has been strong for some years and Middle Eastern carriers are planning considerable expansion: Gulf carriers plan 20% seat growth per year for the next three years. This represents stiff competition for European airlines on traffic between Europe and Asia or Australia. Development limited by infrastructures Europe is experiencing air traffic congestion, leading to significant delays, increased costs and CO2 emissions. This is partly a result of the fragmentation of airspace and of the air traffic control process. There is considerable room for improvement. For 10 million flights a year, it is estimated that the actual route flown is 5% longer than ideal. For some routes, such as Amsterdam-Zà ¼rich, it is even 20%. The annual cost of fragmented European skies is estimated at 3.4 billion euros. A sector subject to heavier taxation Air transport is subject to strict regulation, mainly regarding security, safety and infrastructure. The sector is also subject to high charges, among them airport or navigation charges, plus dedicated fees to finance security. Moreover, air transport is the only means of transport to finance soundproofing measures, as it does in numerous European countries. Climate change awareness General awareness of the reality of climate change continued to increase in 2007. This was coupled with local environmental constraints that have always affected air transport activities. Air transport accounts for between 2 and 3% of all man-made CO2 emissions. In Europe, its relative contribution will increase due to growth in traffic and the expected reduction of emissions in other industries. In the past 40 years, the sector has made considerable progress, reducing CO2 emissions per passenger by more than 70%. Summary In spite of its merger Air France KLM is still operating under its identity and brand name with their home bases located at Amsterdam airport Schiphol for KLM and Paris-Charles de Gaulle for Air France. The main core duties of the airline are to transport passengers, cargo and engineering and maintenance. As any other organization Air France KLM has the opportunities to grow much bigger and become the first largest airline company in the world. One group, two airlines, three businesses. CHAPTER 2 Organisational structure The pattern of relationship between various positions in the organization and among members of the organization is referred as structure. Organization is essentially a group of people with a common objective or goal to archive. The structure can either be formal i.e. documented or informal i.e. unofficial. Mullins (2007) defined, Organization Structure as the division of work among members of the organization, and the co ordination of their activities so they are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organization. It is the relationships among positions in the organization and among members of the organization. It makes possible the application of process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organization can be planned, organized, directed, and controlled. It defines tasks and responsibilities, work role and relationships, and channels of communication. Essentially there are various types of organizational structures depending on the nature of organization, such as centralized, complex, stratified and formalized structures. An effective structure is the one that coordinates various parts of the organization and different work areas. Meanwhile the structure of the organization can either be tall i.e. with a long hierarchical chain of command where the freedom and responsibility of the subordinates is restricted or flat i.e. with a short chain of command, there is more effective between management and workers but employees may have more than one manager. However both of two structures above are highly affected by the number of employees who reports direct to a certain manager that is Span of Control. Hellriegel et al (1998) explained that span of control refers to the number of employees reporting directly to one manager. When the span of control is broad, relatively few levels exists between the top and bottom of the organization. Co nversely when the span of control is narrow, more levels are required for the same number of employees. Although there is no correct number of subordinates that a manager can supervise effectively, the competencies of both the manager and employees, the similarity of tasks being supervised and the extent of rules and operating standards all influence a managers span of control. Consider the Air France and KLM corporate and social responsibility (SCR) organization structure CHAPTER 3 Organisational culture According to Hellriegel et al (1998), the organization itself has an invisible quality a certain style, a character, a way of doing things that may be more powerful than the dictates of any one person or any formal system. To understand the soul of the organization requires that we travel below the charts, rule books, machines, and buildings into the underground world of corporate cultures. Indeed there are several ways in which organizational cultures are formed, maintained and changed. Meanwhile there is a very possible relationship between organizational culture and performance, the relationship between organizational culture and ethical behavior, the challenge of managing a culturally diverse work force and finally how organizations socialize individuals to their particular cultures. There are several types of organization cultures, these includes labels of baseball team, club, academy and fortress. Organizational culture represents a complex pattern of beliefs, expectations, id eas, values, attitudes and behaviors shared by the members of an organization. More specifically, organizational culture includes routine behaviors, norms, and dominant values held by organization. CHAPTER 4 -Leadership and management As Hellriegel et al (1998), leadership is the process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, i.e. is a process of creating a vision for others and having the power to translate the vision into reality. The ways in which leaders attempt to influence others depend in part of the power available to them and in part on their competencies. Leaders draw on five sources of power to influence the actions of others: legitimate, reward, coercive, referent and expert. Vision, empowerment, meaning through communication and self understanding are the competencies that help leaders become more effective. CHAPTER 5 Team working For example, after KLM and Air France merged, management decided to create teams of people from both companies to exchange information about particular topics. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢The most valuable part is the intangible part, teaming up the guy from IT with the CRM guy from marketing, with the network planning guy, who normally dont speak together, explained Groeneveld. CHAPTER 6 Resourcing Air France-KLM rates as the sector leader on human resources issues and actively addresses all of the challenges relevant to its business. The Groups reporting on social dialogue and the extent of collective bargaining illustrate a culture of interaction with trade unions on both working and employment conditions, all embedded in the Ethics and Social Rights Charter, signed with all of its European trade unions, and by a wide range of collective bargaining agreements. The group has also allocated significant means to limit the impacts of restructuring. In terms of career management, AF-KLM has put increased emphasis on developing careers for older employees. Extensive means are put in place to deal with health and safety issues, although key performance indicators are not disclosed on a group-wide basis, but separately for AF and KLM. AF-KLM is one of the few companies who show transparency on how to deal with atypical working hours. Overall, AF-KLMs performance on human resources is sues remains stable (far above average) compared to the last rating. Against the backdrop of the recent combination, tough competition and tight margins, the main labour relations issues for the group are to develop employability and staff mobility, primarily through training and proactive social dialogue. Other major issues for the group involve promoting non discrimination, diversity, and equal opportunities, and safeguarding health and safety in the workplace. CHAPTER 7 Communication skills Cook et al (1997) describes that, communication begins when one person sends a message to another with the intent of evoking a response. The effective communication occurs when the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. Effective communication is essential for the functioning of any organization. Managers need to transmit orders, and polices, build cooperation and team spirit, and identify problems and their solutions. CHAPTER 8 Performance and Motivation Armstrong M (2006) defined, a motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in certain ways. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high levels of performance through people. Giving close attention to the individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership and importantly, the work they do and the organization context within which they carry out that work. Essentially motivation can take place in two ways; such as people can motivate themselves (intrinsic motivation) by seeking, finding and carrying out work that satisfies their needs and secondly people can be motivated by management (extrinsic motivation) through such methods as pay, praise, promotion and punishments such as disciplinary action CHAPTER 9 Management systems Earlier this year, Air France-KLM introduced a new combined executive management structure on a functional basis, replacing the separate management structures in Air France and KLM. In place of the Strategic Management Committee, which had supervised the development of Air France and KLM over 2004.2007, the business is being managed from 2007 through an Executive Committee whose members has a group level responsibility and can come from either Air France or KLM while retaining their responsibilities at a company level. The historic commitments of both companies, joint ambition and specific action plans CHAPTER 10 Management of change Hellriegel et al (1998) explained, many sectors of the economy, organizations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to survive. To a certain extent all organizations exist in a changing environment and are themselves constantly changing. Increasingly organizations that emphasize bureaucratic or mechanistic system are ineffective. Organizations with rigid hierarchies, high degrees of functional specialization, narrow and limited job descriptions, inflexible rules and procedures, and impersonal management cant respond adequately to demands for change. Organizations need designs that are flexible and adaptive. They also need systems that both require and allow greater commitment and use of talent on the part of employees and managers. Organisational change can be difficult and costly. Despite the challenges, many organizations successfully make needed changes. Adaptive, flexible organizations have a competitive advantage over rigid ones. Thus managing change has become a central focus of effective organization worldwide. There are so many pressures for change, these includes global market, the spread of information technology and computer networks and changes in the nature of the workforce employed by organizations.

A New Solution to Bring Back the Smile Essay -- Customer Service McDon

A New Solution to Bring Back the Smile Robert Liney is a divorced 34-year-old lawyer with four year old, a six year old, and an eight year old. Robert lives outside of Morristown, New Jersey and commutes an hour each way to his law firm. His law firm handles corporate mergers, and on average Robert works 60 to 70 hours a week. About two years ago, Robert and his wife, Marie, got divorced because of his busy schedule. On days when Bob gets custody of the kids, he does not have a lot of time to prepare dinner. McDonald’s fits well into his budget, is conveniently located on his way home from work, provides a great atmosphere for family dining, and, to top it all off, the kids love the Happy Meals. Robert and his children visited McDonald’s five to six times a month and spent around $18 dollars each visit. However, one day Robert and his children stopped in to McDonald’s before seeing the movie, Pokemon. First, the teenage cashier made them wait while he answered his cell phone and exchanged comments with the other workers. Then the cashier did not smile and warmly greet the family. He rushed through the order, placed it incorrectly, and undercharged him. Robert was happy to notice that he was undercharged, but then was completely disappointed to notice that he was given an incorrect amount of change back to make the meal an overcharged one. Due to this poor employee service, Robert and his family never come back to McDonald’s again. Robert and his family spent around a hundred dollars each month that McDonalds will now lose. What about all the other customers that this employee dealt with? How many other customers and how much money did the franchise lose from the rudeness of employees on that ni... ...several thousand dollars per unit in which McDonald’s will regain in a short period of time. In conclusion, the quality McDonald’s customer service is dropping and a new strategy is needed to bring a smile back onto customer faces. Customers such as Robert Liney should not have to face poor customer service at such a reputable restaurant chain as McDonald’s. By using technology as the intermediate between customers and employees, this will greatly enhance customer relations and lost profits. McDonald’s is the place that loves to see you smile. Works Cited Gibson, Richard. â€Å"McDonald’s Finds Angry Customers on Its Menu.† Wall Street Journal. 16 Jul. 2001 : A14 Reh, F. John. â€Å"Good Customer Service Is No Longer Enough. †About the Human Internet. 2001. http://management.about.com/library/weekly/aa042699.html.

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!†

A Poetry Analysis on Modern Love

Modern Love George Meredith â€Å"Modern Love. † The term brings to mind the changing dynamic of today's society. This change has been present for decades and continues on to this day. In George Meredith's poem he illiterates the negative impact of this change in a case that could encompass so many couples; the pain of a loveless marriage. Through his use of diction, and metaphor Meredith show the pain and heartache of two people being so close, yet so emotionally distant. Similar essay: How to be Old Poem AnalysisThe first line of the poem begins the dark theme (By this he knew she wept with waking eyes), showing how the husband has seen his wife's suffering; as well as painting a memorable picture through the use of alteration. The alteration serves another purpose as well. It's smooth deliverance shows just how used to the situation the husband is to his wife's tears. In line 2 we see just how helpless the husband is to help, his hand â€Å"quivers† out of nervousness, and in line 3 we see the extent of the wife's sobs (Shook their common bed).The dark selection of diction continues as metaphors are employed in lines 5&6 (And strangled mute, like little gaping snakes, dreadfully venomous to him). The truly telling word in these lines is â€Å"Strangled,† this extremely active verb implies force. This describes the situation of any willfully married wife during the time the poem was written. They had little choice in not only their husb and, but also in the lifestyle handed to the by that husband, not to mention that divorce during this time period was early unheard of.The next lines hint at the wife's feeling of death, (â€Å"Stone-still†) showing her complete hopelessness at the situation imposed on her. Lines 8-12 have the same dark imagery (â€Å"Pale drug of silence†, â€Å"Sleep's heavy measure†, â€Å"move-less†, â€Å"Dead black years†), but those same images fit into another, larger image. The author uses them to describe her â€Å"Giant heart of memories and tears. † Meredith clearly shows the long lasting nature of the wife's pain, as well as the multitude of sleepless nights that all weigh against her heart.The only relief from the torture is presented in â€Å"Sleep's Heavy Measure. † The choice of the word â€Å"effigies† could possibly be the most significant of the entire work. Effigies are stone representations of a person, normally used only after death. The image of death is repeated in the 15th and 16th lines as well, (Upon their marriage-tomb, the sword between; Each wishing for the sword that severs all) these lines are used to show the reader several things. First, the emotional death of the parties involved, second the death of the marital bond, and third the longing for literal death.Meredith's choice of words and formulation of metaphors steer the reader away from the bright connotations of love and into the darker feelings that society in the Victorian era was happy to ignore. His work was very nearly satirical in nature, it challenged the social conventions of marriage at the time and began to show how both parties in a marriage were both influence by, and responsible for the health of a marriage. The true feeling and innate sadness in the poem comes from not only the lack of love and affection, but also the torture of conforming to the standers of the day.