How to Find a Literary Agent

How to Find a Literary Agent How to Find a Literary Agent How to Find a Literary Agent By Mark Nichol You do know, don’t you, that if you hope to have just about any trade publisher consider your book manuscript, you’ll need a literary agent? Good. But how do you go about finding one? Here’s my advice: If you know a published writer or are a member of a writing group that has one or more published writers, ask the author for a recommendation. Peruse magazines geared toward writers, and other literary-themed publications, for profiles or other references to agents. Attend writing conferences and attend presentations by agents. At smaller events, you might even have an opportunity to meet one. Enter writing competitions that offer consultations with agents as part of their award packages. Research and evaluate agents at online directories. If you choose only one of these options, opt for the last one: Go to the Web site of the Association of Authors’ Representatives or to AgentQuery. AAR members abide by a reassuring code of conduct, and AgentQuery stands by the agents listed in its database, many of whom decline to join the AAR for one reason or another or have not yet qualified for AAR membership but are just as reliable. (There’s also Preditors and Editors, which evaluates literary agents and other publishing professionals.) Never pay an agent up-front to review your manuscript or represent you, and never pay for editorial services an agent offers or recommends. No reputable agent will request money up-front (other than, possibly, a copying and postage fee; see below) or refer you to an editor who charges you for their assistance. (They may, however, suggest several such services without recommending one in particular.) Professional agents will represent you if they think your manuscript is ready to be published or may offer you some advice if they think it shows promise; rarely, they’ll actually offer to polish your novel a bit free before sending it out. Increasingly, legitimate literary agents are inserting a clause into contracts specifying an expense-reimbursement fee of up to $500. However, their contracts generally also state that no additional fees can be charged without your written consent, and they will not offer to edit your manuscript or outsource that service if you put out some more funds. Furthermore, agents often don’t accept the expense payment if they don’t get you a publishing contract. Most reputable agents, however, refrain from charging you up-front at all. How, then, do agents make a living? If an agent agrees to represent you, they are gambling on the chance that your manuscript will sell, and they will collect a 10-20% commission on sales for their services. If they suggest some revisions, invite you to resubmit the revised manuscript, and take you on, they’ll hope to recoup their expenses, and more, the same way. If they reject your manuscript outright, that means they do not feel that representing you is a good investment, and they will not charge you for turning you down. If several agents reject your manuscript, they’re telling you something and it’s not that you should pay someone else to represent you. They’re telling you that your manuscript isn’t ready for prime time, so get back to work on it, set it aside and get started on another project, or seek help in a writing group, class, or program. Before too long, it will be time to seek an agent again and perhaps the next time, you’ll get lucky. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Possessive of Proper Names Ending in S10 Types of TransitionsWhat Is a Doctor?

Interesting College Courses Inspired by Films

Interesting College Courses Inspired by Films Interesting College Courses Inspired by Films At universities across America (and the globe), students are learning about philosophy, anthropology, and politics through the most popular books, movies, and television series of our time. From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, professors everywhere are utilizing pop culture to teach students complex concepts and ideas that simultaneously encourage students to learn and explore a variety of subject matter through their favorite characters and film series. Hogwarts University For many college students, Harry Potter is the emblem of their childhood: nights spent reading under the covers well past their bedtimes, watching the movies on a rainy weekend afternoon, or visiting Harry Potter World on family vacations to Florida. Well now students can put all of their Harry Potter knowledge towards college course credit! At Oregon State University, freshmen can take an orientation class entitled â€Å"Finding your Patronus†, which teaches students about developmental phases faced by many college students and the real-life applications of the sociology of J.K. Rowling’s imagined wizardry world. Another Harry Potter course, entitled â€Å"The Science of Harry Potter†, is now offered at Frostburg State University in Maryland. Students on the course are able to analyze magical concepts using physics, biology, engineering, and chemistry. Is time travel actually possible? How does Bernie Bott get every flavor into his jelly beans? These questions and more will be answered if you register for this course! What Would Spock Do? Philosophy through Star Trek While Star Trek fans have long advocated that their beloved television show is much more than entertainment, university professors are now in agreement. Georgetown University in Washington, DC has started teaching a course that appeals to Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike: â€Å"Philosophy and Star Trek†. The course itself is an introduction to metaphysics and epistemology philosophy, and students examine these complex ideas through the adventures of the characters as they travel to lands ‘where no man has gone before’. In addition to watching episodes of the popular television series, students also read traditional philosophical texts. Another Star Trek-based course has popped up at Indiana University, entitled â€Å"Star Trek and Religion†. This course studies the show’s religious themes through both watching episodes of the television series and also reading spiritual and religious writings. So whichever course you choose, be prepared to check out both DVDs and books from the library! Worst Exam Ever? Learning to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse Zombies are incredibly popular in today’s culture. From award-winning television shows to themed walks, the undead are everywhere – and now they’re coming to a college classroom near you! Columbia College in Chicago and the University of Baltimore in Maryland both offer courses on zombies in the media and pop culture (entitled â€Å"Zombies in Popular Media† and â€Å"Media Genres: Zombies†, respectively) that focus on the history of zombies in literature, film, and television. Michigan State University now offers an online course entitled â€Å"Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse: Disasters, Catastrophes, and Human Behavior† that examines the logistics of survival and the real-life implications of zombie apocalypse scenarios on disaster preparedness and planning. Though conducted online, students also have to complete tasks in their survival groups – hopefully everyone makes it to the final exam!

Motivation Theory Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Motivation Theory - Dissertation Example Bearing the aforementioned in mind, the extent to which motivation techniques and schemes positively impact upon both individual employee behaviour and teamwork is an important area of study, especially as markets become more and more competitive. Indeed, as markets become increasingly competitive, successful employers are paying more attention to their human resource management by developing incentive programs in an attempt to keep their employees motivated and thus maximise their work productivity. The factors which incite employee motivation, and the extent to which bonus and various other incentive schemes do so, especially within the context of work teams are the focus of this dissertation. As was briefly touched upon in the preceding, a motivated workforce is the backbone of a successful organisation; an organisation which is both able to satisfy its strategic objectives and pose as a strong market competitor in an ever-increasingly competitive global market space. It has tradi tionally been assumed that bonus schemes motivate employees on both individual and team levels but empirical evidence suggests that bonus schemes are not as powerful or as strong a motivator as has been suggested. It is within the context of the stated that the rationale of the study may be found: the determination of the factors which incite both individual and team employee motivation towards greater productivity, commitment and dedication. Needless to say, the identification of these factors has far-reaching consequences for both organisations and the economy as a whole.

Benefits of immigration in canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benefits of immigration in canada - Essay Example We can call it a safe country. One feels comfortable in any part of the country without the threat of terrorism or violence. People are guaranteed protection even in bigger cities like Ottawa and Toronto. They do not feel as if they are being neglected because they are not in their own homeland. There is Canadian social help system which does not make you feel unaccompanied when you are facing difficulties settling down. There are a lot of government sponsored programs and courses that support you in your hard times. For example, if you lose your job, you will be supported through a government funded program to back up your finances until you find a new job. Canada is one of the developed countries whose economical infrastructure is very strong. One can be sure to find a suitable paying job in this country. Most of the jobs are well rewarding making one feel comfortable with one’s life in Canada. Even if one’s family is not living in Canada, one can fully support them through the Canadian job income. Moreover, there are loving and caring communities in Canada which make your life even more pleasant. Canadian people welcome the immigrants with open arms and make them feel at home. They do not discriminate the immigrants on the basis of language, color, creed and caste. So, the new comers feel secure and protected. â€Å"Canada has long sought immigrants to populate the world’s second largest land mass†, write DeParle (2010). Immigration to Canada is relatively easier than immigration to any other country. You do not have to seek help from Canadian immigration lawyer and place application in case of simple immigration. â€Å"Being an immigrant is also no barrier to being a proper Canadian; in parliamentary elections earlier this month, 11% of the people elected were not native† (E.G., 2011). As for the country, the immigrants occupy different occupations thus enhancing the already stable economic system

Affirmative Action Racism And Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Affirmative Action Racism And Discrimination Essay America is called â€Å"the land of opportunity† however, most of the countries citizens are not able to enjoy the benefits that the title provides. Being able to accomplish scholastic goals, attend a four-year college, and to have an influential career, are not obtainable for many, even though they work hard. Our nation has long been plagued by an ugly occurrence. An occurrence that finds its origins at the very core of our society. It is a problem familiar in some ways to all of us regardless of which side of the argument we find ourselves, and yet it remains unsolved. To verify that a problem exists, as Beverly, Tatum explains, we must first understand, racism as a system of advantage based on race, and white privilege as unjust enrichment through racial oppression,(Tatum,pg 10, 115). Next we must look at the steps taken to level the playing field of advanced racial groups. In America racism and discrimination is a cruel reality. For centuries now, local, state, and federal governments have been proactive in protecting or expanding the system of racial discrimination. White government officials and programs have often favored the racial and political-economic interests of white Americans. Government programs historically provided much access to homesteading land and numerous other valuable resources exclusively to white Americans (Feagin, 2010, p. 143). In an affords toward concern for equality, Affirmative action was created. It was designed to counteract the effect that discriminatory practices have embedded in the American culture. Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin into consideration in order to benefit an under represented group in areas of employment, education, and business, usually justified as countering the effects of a history of discriminatio n. The term affirmative action was first used in the United States in Executive Order 10925 and was signed by President John F. Kennedy on 6 March 1961; it was used to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted Executive Order 11246 which required government employers to take affirmative action to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. In 1968, gender was added to the anti-discrimination list. A lively debate with sparks flying within racial group exists over the importance of the Affirmative action process. Some would argue that affirmative action undeservingly rewards minorities, and takes away from whites in effect causing reverse discrimination. Not long ago, Senator Bob Dole, a Republican presidential candidate, spoke in a television interview of â€Å"displaced† white men who compete with black workers because of affirmative action. He said that he was not sure that â€Å"people in America† (he meant â€Å"whites†) should be paying a price for discrimination that occurred â€Å"before they were born†. (Feagin, 2010, p. 15). Taking this evidence into consideration, should this influence the direction taken regarding affirmative action? University of California Regent Ward Connerly believes that affirmative action is used as a crutch that is ruining the relationship between blacks and whites. If this were true, would this be a good reason to halt government involvement in affirmative action programs? Would people identify these issues and take steps to make changes? Historically this has not been the case. Affirmative action programs have been successful in making social change. Minorities that have previously been excluded from opportunities have been afforded opportunities to achieve through affirmative action programs. Initially, affirmative action was a policy primarily aimed at correcting institutional discrimination where decisions, policies and procedures that are not necessarily explicitly discriminatory have had a negative impact on people of color. Affirmative action policies address and redress systematic economic and political discrimination against any group of people that are underrepresented or have a history of being discriminated against in particular institutions. Beneficiaries of these programs have included white men and women, people with disabilities, and poor working class people, but their primary emphasis has been on addressing racial discrimination (Kivel, P) If our goal is to eradicate discriminatory practices, then our government must continue to mandate legislation, and fund programs to address these issues. Following this conclusion it is clear to see that all evidence supports the benefits of affirmative action. What we have before us is a society with the possibility to make great strides in regards to changing the system of inequality. It is important that government lead in the direction that supports affirmative action programs. Government needs to see this as the biggest problem on their social agenda, and it will take a significant effort to mandate change, but the benefit for everyone will be extraordinary. References Feagin, J. (2010). Racist America Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations New York: Routledge Press. Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2003). †Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? New York: Basic Books. Executive Order 11246. (2012, July 2). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:23, October 30, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Executive_Order_11246oldid=500344831 Montgomery, A. (2000, march 27). A â€Å"poison† divides us, salon.com, Kivel, P. (1997, November,17) Affirmative Action Works! Motion Magazine

AIDS and Heterosexuals in the Australian Essay -- homosexual, health,

Study Overview The study entitled From complacency to panic: AIDS and heterosexuals in the Australian press, July 1986 to June 1988 (Lupton, 1992) reports on the preliminary findings from a content analysis of AIDS news coverage in Australian press from June 1986 to July 1988. When revealing the preliminary varying ideologies in press, Lupton stresses the importance of evaluating how the popular media selects and presents news according to societal interests. Lupton (1992) seeks to point out the common situation in Australia that most people lies on information reported by the media rather than by health professionals. She continues to use this study to illustrate if media reporting has a significant impact on shaping public attitudes and behaviour. Her study expresses a concern that the popular press has increasingly resorted to publishing false and sensational stories related to human health without factual evidence that often results in provoking panic within audiences. In order to create AIDS i nto a media sensation for the audiences, newspapers have long inclined to entertain and misinform readers by putting its blame on promiscuous heterosexuals, homosexual men, and intravenous drug users. The view of Lupton (1992) is in accord with this idea and she further seeks to explore if it applies to the Australian press in this study. The study undertakes a content analysis with all articles mentioning AIDS in Australian newspapers published between 1986 and 1988. The research demonstrates that the press generally helps the amplification to reporting AIDS as a spread to heterosexual population by supporting the first public health information campaign called the ‘Grim Reaper’ campaign (Ibid). The ‘Grim Reaper’ campaign used horrible... ...er concern towards heterosexuals in press reporting and failure of increased level of hostile treatment are worth being applied to Lupton’s study in particular (Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994). Bibliography Hansen, A., Cottle, S, Negrine, R., Newbold, C. (1998) Mass Communication Research Methods. Basingstoke and London: Macmillan Press Ltd Goode, Erich and Nachman Ben-Yehuda (1994) Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Lupton, D. (1992) From complacenct to panic: AIDS and heterosexuals in the Australian press, July 1986 to June 1988 in Helath Education Research Theory and Practice. 7(1): pp9-20. Lupton, D. (1994) Moral Threats and Dangerous Desires: AIDS in the News Media. New York: Taylor & Francis Ltd. Summer, C. (1979) Reading ideologies: an investigation into the Marxist theory of ideology and law. London: Academic Press.

Chapter 10 The Marauder’s Map

Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends. He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang shrilly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sort of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at night. But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better, because they knew only half of what was troubling him. He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron and Hermione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the Grim going to haunt him until he actually died? Was he going to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for the beast? And then there were the Dementors. Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them. Everyone said the Dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents. Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the Dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her†¦Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake to dwell again on his mother's voice. It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom. Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing Dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor. â€Å"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off,† said Ron as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch. â€Å"Check who's in there, Hermione.† Hermione peered around the classroom door. â€Å"It's okay!† Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst at once into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill. â€Å"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?† â€Å"We don't know anything about werewolves –â€Å" â€Å"– two rolls of parchment!† â€Å"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?† Lupin asked, frowning slightly. The babble broke out again. â€Å"Yes, but he said we were really behind –â€Å" â€Å"– he wouldn't listen –â€Å" â€Å"– two rolls of parchment!† Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face. â€Å"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay.† â€Å"Oh no,† said Hermione, looking very disappointed. â€Å"I've already finished it!† They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a Hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking. â€Å"Lures travelers into bogs,† said Professor Lupin as they took notes. â€Å"You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead — people follow the light — then –â€Å" The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass. When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but — â€Å"Wait a moment, Harry,† Lupin called. â€Å"I'd like a word.† Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the Hinkypunk's box with a cloth. â€Å"I heard about the match,† said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, â€Å"and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"The tree smashed it to bits.† Lupin sighed. â€Å"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance.† â€Å"Did you hear about the Dementors too?† said Harry with difficulty. Lupin looked at him quickly. â€Å"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time†¦furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds†¦I suppose they were the reason you fell?† â€Å"Yes,† said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. â€Å"Why? Why do they affect me like that? Am I just –?† â€Å"It has nothing to do with weakness,† said Professor Lupin sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind. â€Å"The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have.† A ray of wintry sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face. â€Å"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of.† â€Å"When they get near me –† Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. â€Å"I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum.† Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was a moment's silence, then — â€Å"Why did they have to come to the match?† said Harry bitterly. â€Å"They're getting hungry,† said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. â€Å"Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up†¦I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement†¦emotions running high†¦it was their idea of a feast.† â€Å"Azkaban must be terrible,† Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly. â€Å"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.† â€Å"But Sirius Black escaped from them,† Harry said slowly. â€Å"He got away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it. â€Å"Yes,† he said, straightening up, â€Å"Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible†¦Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You made that Dementor on the train back off,† said Harry suddenly. â€Å"There are — certain defenses one can use,† said Lupin. â€Å"But there was only one Dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist.† â€Å"What defenses?† said Harry at once. â€Å"Can you teach me?† â€Å"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry — quite the contrary†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them –â€Å" Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, â€Å"Well†¦all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill.† ****** What with the promise of anti-Dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November, Harry's mood took a definite upturn. Gryffindor were not out of the running after all, although they could not afford to lose another match. Wood became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. Harry saw no hint of a Dementor within the grounds. Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances. Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn't fooled; they were doing it to keep him company, and he was very grateful. To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term. â€Å"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!† said Hermione. â€Å"Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!† Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind again, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been riding one of the school brooms at team practice, an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and jerky; he definitely needed a new broom of his own. On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid good-bye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet. â€Å"Psst — Harry!† He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch. â€Å"What are you doing?† said Harry curiously. â€Å"How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?† â€Å"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go,† said Fred, with a mysterious wink. â€Å"Come in here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry. â€Å"Early Christmas present for you, Harry,† he said. Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it. â€Å"What's that supposed to be?† â€Å"This, Harry, is the secret of our success,† said George, patting the parchment fondly. â€Å"It's a wrench, giving it to you,† said Fred, â€Å"but we decided last night, your need's greater than ours.† â€Å"Anyway, we know it by heart,† said George. â€Å"We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore.† â€Å"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?† said Harry. â€Å"A bit of old parchment!† said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. â€Å"Explain, George.† â€Å"Well†¦when we were in our first year, Harry — young, carefree, and innocent –â€Å" Harry snorted. He doubted whether Fred and George had ever been innocent. â€Å"?C well, more innocent than we are now — we got into a spot of bother with Filch.† â€Å"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason –â€Å" â€Å"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual –â€Å" â€Å"– detention –â€Å" â€Å"– disembowelment –â€Å" â€Å"– and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.† â€Å"Don't tell me –† said Harry, starting to grin. â€Å"Well, what would you've done?† said Fred. â€Å"George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed — this.† â€Å"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know,† said George. â€Å"We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it.† â€Å"And you know how to work it?† â€Å"Oh yes,† said Fred, smirking. â€Å"This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school.† â€Å"You're winding me up,† said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment. â€Å"Oh, are we?† said George. He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, â€Å"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.† And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present THE MARAUDER'S MAP It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Harry bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Harry's eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, he noticed something else. This map showed a set of passages he had never entered. And many of them seemed to lead — â€Å"Right into Hogsmeade,† said Fred, tracing one of them with his finger. â€Å"There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four† — he pointed them out — â€Å"but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in — completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump.† â€Å"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,† sighed George, patting the heading of the map. â€Å"We owe them so much.† â€Å"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers,† said Fred solemnly. â€Å"Right,† said George briskly. â€Å"Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it –â€Å" â€Å"– or anyone can read it,† Fred said warningly. â€Å"Just tap it again and say, â€Å"Mischief managed!† And it'll go blank.† â€Å"So, young Harry,† said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, â€Å"mind you behave yourself.† â€Å"See you in Honeydukes,† said George, winking. They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way. Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know†¦he wouldn't have to pass the Dementors at all†¦. But even as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something Harry had once heard Mr. Weasley say came floating out of his memory. Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain. This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr. Weasley had been warning against†¦Aids for Magical Mischief Makers†¦but then, Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though he wanted to steal anything or attack anyone†¦and Fred and George had been using it for years without anything horrible happening†¦ Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger. Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. What did he have to do? He pulled out the map again and saw to his astonishment, that a new ink figure had appeared upon it, labeled ‘Harry Potter'. This figure was standing exactly where the real Harry was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor. Harry watched carefully. His little Ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, ‘Dissendium.' â€Å"Dissendium!† Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again. At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward. He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. He held up his wand, muttered, â€Å"Lumos!† and saw that he was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it with the tip of his wand, and muttered, â€Å"Mischief managed!† The map went blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, then, heart beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, he set off. The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front of him. It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold. Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet†¦then, without warning, his head hit something hard. It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him. Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge. He was in a cellar, which was full of wooden crates and boxes. Harry climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it — it blended so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there. Harry crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. Now he could definitely hear voices, not to mention the tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door. Wondering what he ought to do, he suddenly heard a door open much closer at hand; somebody was about to come downstairs. â€Å"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out –† said a woman's voice. A pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Harry leapt behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. He heard the man shifting boxes against the opposite wall. He might not get another chance — Quickly and silently, Harry dodged out from his hiding place and climbed the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous backside and shiny bald head, buried in a box. Harry reached the door at the top of the stairs, slipped through it, and found himself behind the counter of Honeydukes — he ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up. Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one looked twice at Harry. He edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now. There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were ‘Special Effects' — sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps (‘breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice (‘hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads (‘hop realistically in the stomach!'), fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons. Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them. â€Å"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect,† Hermione was saying. â€Å"How about these?† said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose. â€Å"Definitely not,† said Harry. Ron nearly dropped the jar. â€Å"Harry!† squealed Hermione. â€Å"What are you doing here? How — how did you –?† â€Å"Wow!† said Ron, looking very impressed, â€Å"you've learned to Apparate!† â€Å"‘Course I haven't,† said Harry. He dropped his voice so that none of the sixth years could hear him and told them all about the Marauder's Map. â€Å"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!† said Ron, outraged. â€Å"I'm their brother!† â€Å"But Harry isn't going to keep it!† said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. â€Å"He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?† â€Å"No, I'm not!† said Harry. â€Å"Are you mad?† said Ron, goggling at Hermione. â€Å"Hand in something that good?† â€Å"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!† â€Å"But what about Sirius Black?† Hermione hissed. â€Å"He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!† â€Å"He can't be getting in through a passage,† said Harry quickly. â€Å"There are seven secret tunnels on the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three — one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through — well — it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar — so unless he knew it was there –â€Å" Harry hesitated. What if Black did know the passage was there? Ron, however, cleared his throat significantly, and pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door. BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC Customers are reminded that until further notice, Dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall. Merry Christmas! â€Å"See?† said Ron quietly. â€Å"I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with Dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!† â€Å"Yes, but — but –† Heroine seemed to be struggling to find another problem. â€Å"Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet — what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?† â€Å"He'd have a job spotting Harry in this,† said Ron, nodding through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow. â€Å"Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas. Harry deserves a break.† Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried. â€Å"Are you going to report me?† Harry asked her, grinning. â€Å"Oh — of course not — but honestly, Harry –â€Å" â€Å"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?† said Ron, grabbing him and leading him over to their barrel. â€Å"And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven — it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick.† Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box. â€Å"Reckon Fred'd take a bite of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?† When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside. Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he didn't have his cloak. They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron and Hermione shouting through their scarves. â€Å"That's the post office –â€Å" â€Å"Zonko's is up there –â€Å" â€Å"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack –â€Å" â€Å"Tell you what,† said Ron, his teeth chattering, â€Å"shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?† Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn. It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar. â€Å"That's Madam Rosmerta,† said Ron. â€Å"I'll get the drinks, shall I?† he added, going slightly red. Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer. â€Å"Merry Christmas!† he said happily, raising his tankard. Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside. A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak — Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him. Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, â€Å"Mobiliarbus!† The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view. Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs of the teachers and minister as they sat down. Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice. â€Å"A small gillywater –â€Å" â€Å"Mine,† said Professor McGonagall's voice. â€Å"Four pints of mulled mead –â€Å" â€Å"Ta, Rosmerta,† said Hagrid. â€Å"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella –â€Å" â€Å"Mmm!† said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips. â€Å"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister.† â€Å"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear,† said Fudge's voice. â€Å"Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well, thank you very much, Minister.† Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight †¦ Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him. â€Å"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?† came Madam Rosmerta's voice. Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet voice, â€Å"What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?† â€Å"I did hear a rumor,† admitted Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?† said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly. â€Å"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"I'm sure of it,† said Fudge shortly. â€Å"You know that the Dementors have searched the whole village twice?† said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. â€Å"Scared all my customers away†¦It's very bad for business, Minister.† â€Å"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do,† said Fudge uncomfortably. â€Å"Necessary precaution†¦ unfortunate, but there you are†¦I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore — he won't let them inside the castle grounds.† â€Å"I should think not,† said Professor McGonagall sharply. â€Å"How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?† â€Å"Hear, hear!† squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground. â€Å"All the same,† demurred Fudge, â€Å"they are here to protect you all from something much worse†¦We all know what Black's capable of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it,† said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. â€Å"Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought†¦I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead.† â€Å"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta,† said Fudge gruffly. â€Å"The worst he did isn't widely known.† â€Å"The worst?† said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. â€Å"Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?† â€Å"I certainly do,† said Fudge. â€Å"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?† â€Å"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta,† murmured Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Do you remember who his best friend was?† â€Å"Naturally,† said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. â€Å"Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here — ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!† Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him. â€Å"Precisely,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course — exceptionally bright, in fact — but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers –â€Å" â€Å"I dunno,† chuckled Hagrid. â€Å"Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money.† â€Å"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!† chimed in Professor Flitwick. â€Å"Inseparable!† â€Å"Of course they were,† said Fudge. â€Å"Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him.† â€Å"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Worse even than that, m'dear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. â€Å"Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm.† â€Å"How does that work?† said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. â€Å"An immensely complex spell,† he said squeakily, â€Å"involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find — unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!† â€Å"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?† whispered Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Naturally,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself†¦and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself.† â€Å"He suspected Black?† gasped Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,† said Professor McGonagall darkly. â€Å"Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who.† â€Å"But James Potter insisted on using Black?† â€Å"He did,† said Fudge heavily. â€Å"And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed –â€Å" â€Å"Black betrayed them?† breathed Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it –â€Å" â€Å"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!† Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet. â€Å"Shh!† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"I met him!† growled Hagrid. â€Å"I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead†¦an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!† Hagrid roared. â€Å"Hagrid, please!† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Keep your voice down!† â€Å"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, â€Å"Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him –† Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. â€Å"I won't need it anymore,† he says. â€Å"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him. â€Å"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, â€Å"But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!† â€Å"Alas, if only we had,† said Fudge bitterly. â€Å"It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew — another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself.† â€Å"Pettigrew†¦that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?† said Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I — how I regret that now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold. â€Å"There, now, Minerva,† said Fudge kindly, â€Å"Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses — Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later — told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, ‘Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens†¦.† Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, â€Å"Stupid boy†¦foolish boy†¦he was always hopeless at dueling†¦should have left it to the Ministry †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands — I'd ‘ve ripped him limb — from — limb,† Hagrid growled. â€Å"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid,† said Fudge sharply. â€Å"Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I — I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him†¦a heap of bloodstained robes and a few — a few fragments –â€Å" Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown. â€Å"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta,† said Fudge thickly. â€Å"Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since.† Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh. â€Å"Is it true he's mad, Minister?† â€Å"I wish I could say that he was,† said Fudge slowly. â€Å"I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man — cruel†¦ pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them†¦but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored — asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having on him — and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night.† â€Å"But what do you think he's broken out to do?† said Madam Rosmerta. â€Å"Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?† â€Å"I daresay that is his — er — eventual plan,† said Fudge evasively. â€Å"But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing†¦but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass. â€Å"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle,† said Professor McGonagall. One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared. â€Å"Harry?† Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring at him, lost for words.

The stylistic features of cyber language

With the development and popularization of the Internet, more and more people are added to the Internet communicative activities. Online chat is one of these increasingly popular forms. Since it is open and compatible, it draws the attention of people from all over the world and from every circle. Therefore, the study of cyber language has become a focus of attention. In this paper, under the theory of modern stylistics, the stylistic features of cyber language and its causes were discussed from vocabulary and grammatical levels. The author has demonstrated some lexical features of cyber language with a number of examples.Then, in the second part, the grammatical features have been discussed. And the third part is about the causes of these stylistic features. 1. 1 Background of the Present Study From 1990s, the Internet has gradually spread around the world and a networked, digital information revolution has penetrated into all areas of society. According to the data of U. S. researc h firm (Pew Internet and American Life Project [PIALP], 1999) the number of Chinese net citizens has reached 137 million and would be expected to surpass the United States in 2009, the world's biggest Internet market.Although he history of Network development is not long, it is sweeping across the world with incredible speed and unstoppable trend, and is gradually changing people's concept of survival, status, and mode. With the popularization of network technology, online exchange has become an important part of daily communication. Therefore, a new media has been produced during this process-cyber language. To a large extent, the great influence of social development has contributed a lot to this phenomenon.Many scholars no matter home or abroad have stepped into this area and suggested their own opinions from various aspects. This paper has analyzed the features of cyber language from the stylistic point of view. 1. 2 Purpose of the Present Study Cyber language is an open system of signs. Because of some political and economical factors, more and more English words will come into the field of Internet and play some necessary functions. To some extent, we may say that those English words serve as a complement and development of Chinese characters.As a main informational carrier of Internet media, cyber English reflects the impacts of lexical contact and spread on Chinese characters as well as the cultural influences from English-speaking countries in Informational Era. Research of cyber language has pushed the development of verbal and cross-cultural communication and has practical meaning in aspects of Language Standard, language teaching, the compile of new dictionary as well as the sound development of cyber language and so on. Therefore, it deserves the attention of language workers. . 1 Definition and Explanation 2. 1. 1 Explanation of Online Communication added to the Internet communicative activities. People type letters on keyboard and receive words on screen. Their communication breaks up the boundary of time and space. It is different from the face -to -face communication in general sense. Kiesler, Siegel, and Timothy (1984) think that such computer-mediated exchange activity has two interesting features: 1) lack of social contextual information; 2) lack of widely accepted principle of usage.The first feature prevents the participants from relying on hand gestures, body potential language, facial expressions and other non- linguistic information to explain the text and assist the exchange. The lack of rules makes the traditional communicative rituals broken and gradually a number of Internet specifications which were widely approved have been formed. But as a real- time communicative activity, it is very close to the daily face-to-face oral communication. In real-time communication, the communicator can both receive information and send a message.Receiving and transmitting information is a continuous, uninterrupted process. T his allows the two communicators to exchange feedback in time, adjust and revise the direction and content of the next exchange. Obviously, cyber language has the features of both spoken and written language and it obscures the traditional distinction between oral and written language, forming its own unique style. 2. 1. Definition of Stylistic Tags This paper analyses the stylistic features of cyber language from two perspectives: description and context of language.In the language description, we use the system of stylistic tags to classify the language feature. According to Enkvist and Spenser (1964), stylistic tag is a prominent stylistic feature. Any language project with stylistic meanings can be regarded as a style tag which is the same as the concept of â€Å"salient†in functional stylistics. In his work, Zhang (1998) states: Halliday, founder of Systemic-functional Linguistics thinks that salient is a collective discourse for those rotruding language features in some form of context.Then he classifies those features into two types: one is against the conventional prominent, negative; the other is consistent with conventional prominent, positive. (pp. 21-22) In stylistics, language features are generally divided into four levels: phonology, word position, vocabulary, syntax / grammar. When chat in the net, visual text or punctuation is the only carrier to transmit information, so phonological style tags do not have stylistic sense. We only analyze the word, vocabulary, syntax / grammar style tags.

Lab Report for n-Butyl Bromide Preparation Essay Example

Lab Report for n Lab Report for n-Butyl Bromide Preparation Paper Lab Report for n-Butyl Bromide Preparation Paper Add drop of water to aqueous solution that you plan to discard. Make SUre water dissolves then discard. Add ml MM HOSTS to remaining solution and shake. Again, remove the aqueous layer on bottom and discard. Add ml of water to solution and shake. Organic layer on bottom, transfer bottom layer to clean ml vial. Add saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate a little at a time while stirring. Shake and allow layers to separate. Transfer lower alkyl halide layer in ml conical vial using pipette. Dry solution over anhydrous sodium sulfate. Distill dry solution using Hickman still. When distillation complete, weigh the vial and calculate percent yield. Determine the infrared spectrum of product using salt plate. Day 1: First I weighed an empty ml flask with lid = 15. Egg. Then I added the n-butyl alcohol into the flask and weighed that weight = 17. Egg. I can subtract the two values to determine the exact weight of n-butyl alcohol added 17. Egg-15. Egg = 1. Egg n-butyl alcohol. I then added 2. Ml of water and about 2. Egg of sodium bromide to the flask and put it in an ice bath. I slowly added sulfuric acid drop by drop to the solution. Then I removed the flask from the ice bath and placed it in the assembled reflux apparatus and began the heating process for 60 min. After the heating process was complete, I observed that the organic layer of the mixture turned bright red. I extracted the organic layer by removing and discarding the aqueous bottom layer using a pipette. To make sure I had no organic solution in the aqueous extract, I added a drop of water and it dissolved proving that my aqueous extract was just aqueous. I put the remaining solution in a clean ml vial and put it in the freezer. Day 2: After freezing the solution overnight, the organic layer turned a copper/brown color. I added ml of HOSTS to the vial and the two layers formed with the organic layer on top. Removed and discarded the aqueous solution using a pipette. I then added ml of H2O and two layers formed with the organic layer on the bottom. Using a pipette I transferred the bottom layer too clean ml vial. Then added ml of sodium bicarbonate a little at a time, shaking and venting frequently. After the layers separated I transferred the lower alkyl halide layer to dry ml vial and dried this solution with granular anhydrous sodium sulfate. Id not have enough alkyl halide layer left to distill, so I weighed it and then performed the IR spectrum with it. Mechanism of Product Synthesis: Results: As previously stated, I did not have enough ending product to perform the distillation so this is the mass of my product without distillation involved. Mass of final product: Mass of product + vial = 21. Egg Mass o f vial only = 20. Egg Mass of product, alkyl layer = 21. Egg-20. Egg The appearance of my product was clear Percent Yield = actual/theoretical x 100 Conclusion: = 0. Egg During this experiment, there were many chances for mistakes. With every extraction of one layer from another, product could have easily been left behind and discarded in the aqueous solution. The opposite could have occurred too. Some of the aqueous solution could have ended up in the ending product, which would have prevented accuracy in the weights. Both of these errors could explain why my percent yield is so low. Every time you transfer the product into another container you risk losing some of it behind in the process.

Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950

Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950 On April 27, 1950, the Group Areas Act No. 41 was passed by the apartheid government of South Africa. As a system, apartheid used long-established race classifications to maintain the dominance of the colonial occupation of the country. The primary purpose of apartheid laws was to promote the superiority of whites and to establish and elevate the minority white regime. A suite of legislative laws was passed to accomplish this, including Group Areas Act No. 41, as well as the Land Act of 1913, the Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 and the Immorality Amendment Act of 1950: all of these were created to separate the races and subjugate nonwhite people. South African race categories were set up within a few decades after the discovery of diamonds and gold in the country during the mid-19th century: native-born Africans (Blacks, but also called kaffirs or Bantu), Europeans or European-descended (Whites or Boers), Asians (Indians) and mixed raced (Coloured). The 1960 South African census showed that 68.3% of the population were African, 19.3% were White, 9.4% Coloured, and 3.0% Indian. Restrictions of the Group Areas Act No. 41 The Group Areas Act No 41 forced physical separation and segregation between races by creating different residential areas for each race. Implementation started in 1954 when people were first forcibly removed from living in wrong areas, leading to the destruction of communities. The Act also restricted ownership and the occupation of land to groups as permitted, meaning that Africans could neither own nor occupy land in European areas. The law was also supposed to apply in reverse, but the result was that land under black ownership was taken by the government for use by whites only. The government set aside ten homelands for relocated non-white residents, mostly scattered bits of unwanted territories, based on ethnicity among the black communities. These homelands were granted independence with limited self-rule, the main purpose of which was to delete the homeland residents as citizens of South Africa, and cut back on the governments responsibility for providing housing, hospitals, schools, electricity, and water supplies. Implications However, the Africans were a significant economic source in South Africa, in particular as a labor force in the cities. Pass Laws were established to require non-whites to carry passbooks, and later reference books (similar to passports) to be eligible to enter the white parts of the country. Workers hostels were established to accommodate temporary workers, but between 1967 and 1976, the South African government simply stopped building homes for Africans at all, leading to severe housing shortages. The Group Areas Act allowed for the infamous destruction of Sophiatown, a suburb of Johannesburg. In February 1955, 2,000 policemen began removing Sophiatown residents to Meadowlands, Soweto and established the suburb as an area for whites only, newly called Triomf (Victory). In some cases, the nonwhites were loaded onto trucks and dumped into the bush to fend for themselves.   There were serious consequences for people who didnt comply with the Group Areas Act. People found in violation could receive a fine of up to two hundred pounds, prison for up to two years, or both. If they didnt comply with forced eviction, they could be fined sixty pounds or face six months in prison. Effects of the Group Areas Act Citizens tried to use the courts to overturn the Group Areas Act, though they were unsuccessful each time. Others decided to stage protests and engage in civil disobedience, such as sit-ins at restaurants, which took place across South Africa during the early 1960s. The Act hugely affected communities and citizens across South Africa. By 1983, more than 600,000 people had been removed from their homes and relocated. Colored people suffered significantly because housing for them was often postponed because plans for zoning were primarily focused on races, not mixed races. The Group Areas Act also hit Indian South Africans especially hard because many of them resided in other ethnic communities as landlords and traders. In 1963, approximately a quarter of Indian men and women in the country were employed as traders. The National Government turned a deaf ear to the protests of the Indian citizens: in 1977, the Minister of Community Development said that he wasnt aware of any cases instances in which Indian traders who were resettled that didnt like their new homes. Repeal and Legacy The Group Areas Act was repealed by President Frederick Willem de Klerk on April 9, 1990. After apartheid ended in 1994, the new African National Congress (ANC) government headed by Nelson Mandela was faced with an enormous housing backlog. More than 1.5 million homes and apartments in the urban areas were located in informal settlements without property titles. Millions of people in rural areas lived in terrible conditions, and urban blacks resided in hostels and shacks. The ANC government promised to build one million homes within five years, but most of them were of necessity located in developments on the outskirts of cities, which have tended to sustain existing spatial segregation and inequality. Great strides have been undertaken in the decades since apartheid ended, and today South Africa is a modern country, with an advanced highway system and modern homes and apartment buildings in the cities available to all residents. While nearly half of the population was without formal housing in 1996, by 2011, 80 percent of the population had a home. But the scars of inequality remain.   Sources Bickford-Smith, Vivian. Urban History in the New South Africa: Continuity and Innovation since the End of Apartheid. Urban History 35.2 (2008): 288–315. Print.Christopher, A.J.  Apartheid Planning in South Africa: The Case of Port Elizabeth. The Geographical Journal 153.2 (1987): 195–204. Print.-. Urban Segregation in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Urban Studies 38.3 (2001): 449–66. Print.Clark, Nancy L., and William H. Worger. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2016. Print.Maharaj, Brij. Apartheid, Urban Segregation, and the Local State: Durban and the Group Areas Act in South Africa. Urban Geography 18.2 (1997): 135–54. Print.-. The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa. Urban Forum 5.2 (1994): 1–25. Print.Newton, Caroline, and Nick Schuermans. More Than Twenty Years after the Repeal of the Group Areas Act: Housing, Spatial Planning and Urban Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Jour nal of Housing and the Built Environment 28.4 (2013): 579–87. Print.

Keats La Belle Dame Sans Merci Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Keats La Belle Dame Sans Merci - Essay Example It is a poem filled with puzzles and, therefore, is prone to innumerable elucidations. Keat’s sonnet depicts the situation of an anonymous knight who has come across a mystifying lady described as the ‘fairy’s child’. It begins with a depiction of the knight in a desolate land. He explicates to the reader how he encountered a strange woman with extraordinarily wild eyes. The lady is portrayed as a reasonable woman who told the knight that she truly cherished him. The knight takes her to her ‘elfin grot’, but on reaching there, she bawled and moaned full sore. The knight is left baffled, and before he comprehends, the inexplicable maiden sets him to sleep. While sleeping, the knight has dreams of pale emperors and princes who sob, ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci ’. He awakes to see himself on the chilly hill’s side. He persists to linger while palely lurking. The following discourse confers the repercussions of love as Keats expres ses them in his sonnet (Symons, p. 89). The premise of the sonnet is lucid since it explains how the knight suffers the spasms of humiliation while allowing himself to be overtaken by his fondness towards the enthralling woman. This depicts a situation of unrequited affection. As illustrated, the knight’s love was superior to that of the mysterious maiden. As explicated in the sonnet, he supposed that the fairy lady is smitten and; consequently, he falls intensely for the maiden too. The sonnet depicts the knight falling for an extremely attractive lady, who he met in the meads. At the beginning of the poem, the knight is portrayed to be in a desolate condition. He progresses to recount what transpired when he encountered the ‘fairy lady’ who disappeared in the night. His desolation and humiliation is described by the utilization of the sedge that has shrunken from the lake, and the absence of birds playing. As elucidated, the lady’s disappearance is a har sh upshot of unreciprocated love. The knight is left in torment since his affection for the ‘fairy child’ unreturned. The shrunken sedge and the milieu of no birds chirping depict how heart-broken he is and how empty he feels within. Love is believed to be a two way phenomenon. The portrayal of the strange maiden disappearing without a sign illustrate how love can turn out when one adores someone who is not smitten as much as they are (William, p.68). Moreover, the knight’s anguish for his deep affection for the ‘fairy child’ is seen where he is unaccompanied and palely lurking. It describes the situation he is in after the maiden heartlessly left him on the chilly hill side. His distress is illustrated by how he palely lurks alone on the hill side speculating what to do. His misery is also portrayed by ‘nature fading’ around him leaving him void. This somehow leaves the knight lifeless. The beauty of the fairy woman lures the knight to her, and this same loveliness destroys him. Another upshot of ‘fake love’ is the knight being robbed of his heart. He is attracted by her magnificence not knowing that she is a mystical being. The knight’s misery after his mystical encounter is elucidated by a contrast of his paleness to the vanishing rose. It elucidates that his despair could result in his demise. In addition, the ‘fairy maiden’ destroys the knight’s life as portrayed in the poem. This is explained by knight’s vision of influential rulers, combatants and princes whose lives were also devastated by the

Case study for the value chain analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For the value chain analysis - Case Study Example It has helped reducing transport costs, which has made it the process cost less than before. CMG operations are superior to Taco Bell and Qdoba. It is more organized and authentic. All CMG restaurants belong to the mother company. They are found at the end of retail lines, in line with other retail shops and free standing places. These locations attract a high number of people who can visit CMG. Taco Bell and Qdoba restaurants use the same methods to locate their restaurants. CMG has focused on opening its restaurants without the use of franchise. It is a move that has given CMG an edge over Taco Bell, which is the most influential competitor. However, the emphasis to open its restaurants has limited the ability of CMG to reach many people. Taco Bell that has embraced franchising has over 5,000 restaurants spread all over the United States. Consumers have a chance to serve food on their own like in a dinner party. The method makes CMG superior to its competitors. Taco Bell has used t he same concept in Cantina Bell. The use of in-house advertising strategies helped CMG to cut its marketing costs, which means an increase in the revenue earned. The company emerged superior to its competitors who were using traditional promotion methods like TV commercials. The methods used by CMG appealed to many consumers who viewed as being unique and cool. The company gained popularity using relatively new strategies. CMG is superior in offering services because employees have perfected the art of customer service. In addition, they provide quality service at all times. It is better compared to Taco Bell, which seem to have run out of ideas on quality service. CMG’s push for sustainable sourcing is the foundation of its Food with Integrity strategy. Chipotle Mexican Grill is focused on getting the best ingredients without compromising the quality of the environment, animals and the respecting the farmers. CMG recognizes the importance of