Asian American And Pacific Islanders - 2310 Words

Introduction Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are one of the fastest growing minorities in the United States. Despite their mainstream success academically and financially, hence the model minority myth that has been associated with AAPIs, they continue to face many challenges in seeking mental health services in their communities. Although the exact number of AAPI youth with mental illness is not known, research suggests that Asian American youth are at high risk. †¢ Asian American adolescent boys are twice as likely as Non-Hispanic whites to be physically abused. †¢ AAPI females have the highest rates of suicidal ideation of any ethnic group between the ages of 15-24 †¢ 30 percent of Asian American females in 5th through 12th†¦show more content†¦Since parents are not likely to identify mental health symptoms in their children, teachers and staff members at schools may be more likely to identify symptoms and refer children to mental health treatment. Therefore, the research question that is being examined is whether school-based mental health (SBMH) services are effective for treating depression and anxiety in Asian American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Evaluation of Evidence Most of the articles were found under the social services abstract from ProQuest Databases. Some keywords that were used in the search bar included a variation of Asian American mental health, mental health treatment, Asian American adolescents, school based mental health intervention, SBMH, and depression. Articles worth reading needed to be relevant to the research question, peer-reviewed, and published within the last 10 years. Articles that were meta-analytic reviews were excluded. Author(s) Sample Size Intervention Outcome Findings Anyon, Ong, Whitaker 8,466 SBMH a)Asian students report significantly lower risk factors for poor mental health compared to other racial minority adolescents, with the exception of depressive symptoms. Self-reports of depressive symptoms did not associate with higher service use for Asian students. Asian students underutilize SBMH

Antibiotics Free Essays

After suffering a lot of devastating epidemic attacks and mass deaths, humanity invented antibiotics and started applying them against known bacterial diseases. Using antibiotics for the last 6 decades, we are now facing the results of the process caused by genetic changes and mutations in bacteria. This can be explained by one of the basic principles of evolution: natural selection, which suggests that the fittest and the strongest survive, and the weakest disappear. We will write a custom essay sample on Antibiotics or any similar topic only for you Order Now Bacteria are one-celled organisms, which are very vulnerable to mutations. It is known that the most of the mutations affect the organisms. But certainly, there are some chances of positive outcomes of mutations as well. Mitosis of bacteria is a very fast process, which brings to rapid growth of the population. Having such huge number of bacteria, the chances of positive mutation are higher, therefore, more and more bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics treatment. Nowadays, different types of pathogen bacteria can already survive the existing antibiotics, and using an excessive amount of antibiotics we dramatically fastened the process of natural selection in bacteria evolution. This situation threatens the effectiveness of traditional treatment methods to bacterial diseases. That is why world scientists are facing the necessity of searching for new antibiotics, either modifying the known ones or looking for something absolutely different. According to the research of the Harvard School of Public Health, in 2005 â€Å"..more than 40% of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains in the United States could resist both penicillin and erythromycin† (Powledge, 2004). The other researches, based on mathematical modeling, show that in the nearest future more and more species of bacteria will be able to resist old antibiotics. Therefore, if no new antibiotics are available, we’ll become totally unprotected against hard diseases, like tuberculosis, etc. Bibliography: Powledge, T. M. (2004, February 17). New Antibiotics—Resistance Is Futile. PLoS Biol 2(2): e53 How to cite Antibiotics, Essay examples

Health and Social Care Case Study

Question: Case Study 1: Sally is a 42-year-old female who presents to her GP with complaints of tingling and numbness in her left foot, 18 months later she also complained of double vision. Consultation with a neurologist at that time results in a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. She is placed on disease-modulating medication and educated about lifestyle changes to avoid fatigue, which manages her double vision, with the exception of long workdays. The GP refers her to a vision specialist for management of the impairment of double vision that interferes with activities and participation in her job as an account executive. The GP has also requested the assistive technology specialist to provide information and education about other assistive devices that are available should she develop additional impairments. A vision specialist recommends an eye patch for use when warranted and suggests she stay in touch with the assistive technology specialist should other problems arise. Two years later, Sally returns to her GP with complaints of weakness and numbness in her right side (upper and lower body). These new impairments interfere with her ability to drive to and from work and chauffeur her children to soccer and other after-school activities. Her function at work has been greatly compromised as well. She is experiencing difficulty with typing, maneuvering around the building, holding her lunch tray, and performing other activities of daily living. She is referred to the Occupation Therapist for an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) for the right foot and a cane to improve her mobility, and she is also referred to the Assistive Technology Specialist for consideration of alternate input methods for the keyboard. A keyboard was chosen that covered a larger surface with large black letters surrounded by a yellow background. Both specialists worked together to identify other aids to facilitate additional activities, such as Sally's personal care activities using a dressing stick and toothbrush handles; cooking using kitchen aids, including jar openers, recipe card holders, and large-handled pots and pans; and gardening using adapted gardening tools. The GP refers her to a driver's trainer specialist to adapt her vehicle with a spinner knob and left foot accelerator and to train her in this new way of driving. At this time, the GP also referred her to a social worker for support and counseling regarding her finances, work, and personal life decisions. Throughout the previous 4 years, Sally's family has noticed changes in her memory function. After the psychologist completes a cognitive evaluation and identifies strengths and weaknesses, Sally is provided a hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA), called the "PocketCoach," to aid in her memory skills. This device enables her to push a single button to remember "what to do next." It assists her to remember to complete task activities and to manage important aspects of her healthcare, such as taking medications and nutritional supplements. Task 3: Mini Report Case Study 2: Maggie is a 62 year old lady who has early onset dementia. She recently lost her husband. She is an extremely active lady who goes out on a number of occasions each day. She is disorientated to the day and time. Her family has significant concerns that Maggie is leaving her home at night and reports from her neighbour confirm this. A fortnight ago her daughter, Lisa paid her a visit and she found water flowing out of her door. When she pressed the door bell there was no answer because Maggie was not home. On occasions homecare arrive early in the morning and Maggie is already out which means she can miss taking her medication and is skipping meals. A risk assessment highlighted an unknown prevalence of Maggie leaving her home. 1.1 Explain how technology can be used to support users of health and social care services in living independently. To answer this question: Define independent living (reference properly) Explain who the users of health and social care services are Explain the meaning of assistive technology in health and social care Describe the assistive technologies provided to Sally to live independently ( Case study 1) and the support they provided 1.2 Analyse barriers to the use of technology to support users of health and social care services in living independently. To answer this question: Mention and explain barriers of assistive technologies in supporting independent living in Health and Social Care practice Explain the challenges Sally (Case study 1) is likely to face in using the assistive technology she was provided with Explain how barriers to the use of assistive technology in supporting independent living can be limited 1.3 Explain the benefits of these technologies to health and social care organisations and their users. To answer this question: Explain the benefits of assistive technology to users of health and social care and their carers (family, friends) Explain how Sally (case study 1) benefited from the assistive technology she was provided with Explain the advantages of assistive technologies to health and social care organisations (example, care homes, hospital, schools) Task 2 - Essay 2.1 Explain health and safety considerations in the use of technologies in health and social care.To answer this question: Explain Health and Safety legislation 1974 Explain what should be considered when using assistive technologies in health and social care practice (example hospitals, care homes, clients homes, schools) according to the Health and safety legislation Describe the health and safety considerations in supporting Sally (case study 1) with assistive technology2.2 Discuss ethical considerations in the use of assistive technologiesTo answer this question: Define ethics Explain ethical considerations in the use of assistive technologies in health and social care Explain the benefits of following ethical guidelines in supporting users of health and social care with assistive technologies Explain the implications (disadvantages) of not following ethical guidelines in using assistive technologies in health and social care practice Recommend ways compliance to ethics in the use of assistive technologies can be promoted2.3 Explain the impact of recent and emerging technological developments on health and social care services, organisations and care workers To answer this question: Describe emerging assistive technologies used to support users of health and social care Explain the positive and negative impacts of emerging assistive technologies to: 1. Care workers 2. Organisations (hospitals, care homes, schools) Task 3 Mini report Provide introduction to the report: give a brief summary of the content of your reportUsing case study 2: 3.1 Identify Maggies specific needs and To answer this question: Explain/define specific needs Briefly explain the needs of people with dementia Explain Maggies specific needs (Case study 2)3.2 Recommend assistive devices to support Maggie to continue living independently3.3 Evaluate the usefulness of technology for users of health and social care servicesTo answer this question: Briefly explain the benefits of assistive technology to health and social care organisations (hospitals, care homes, supported housing) and clients (elderly, disabled) Give example (2 or more) of assistive technology explaining the positives and negatives Explain how certain types of assistive technology will be useful to Maggie, also explain the type of AT that may not be useful to Maggie due to Dementia Considering Maggies health problem (Dementia), explain how technology may not promote her independence as her illness advances (deteriorates) Summarise and conclude your report Answers: Task 1 1.1 Use of Technology Independent Living is classified as the housing arrangement that is designed or manufactured for the disabled people that are staying in a community rather than in a medical facility (Atia.org, 2015). On the other hand, independent living is defined as the social movement stating that people facing with some disabilities should be given same life choices and civil rights that are provided to non-disable person. In the given case study, Sally is 42 year old and is suffering from various disabilities. The users of health and social care services are people suffering from disabilities or patient or the people that are neglected from the society or care do not shown by the people (Augusto, 2012). Sally is facing health issues such as tingling and numbness in foot, eye patch, and memory issues. Therefore, Sally requires health and social care services in order to improve her health. Assistive technology is considered as the object, item, system or device that helps a person to do the task in effective and safely manner. The assistive technology is composed of supportive technologies, responsive technologies and preventive technologies that ease the work of people and prevent them from harm (Bhatt and GuÃÅ'ˆsgen, 2012). For instance, the medication dispensers technology can be effective for the patient to take the medicine on time. In case of Sally, the assistive technology specialist advised her to use eye patch in order to get relief of double vision. On the other hand, when Sally was feeling weakness and numbness in upper and lower body of her right side then she was allowed to use cane so that her mobility can be improved and she can perform her work with ease (Bravo, HervaÃÅ' s and RodriÃÅ' guez, 2012). Apart from that, alternate input method was considered by the specialist for the keyboard to Sally as it can help her to see the letters more clearly. Moreover, the hand-held personal digital assistant was provided to Sally to improve her memory skill as it can help her to know the next step and completing task or taking medications (Alà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Oraibi, Fordham and Lambert, 2012). 1.2 Barriers to use of Technology The major barrier in using assistive technology is the lack of staff support and training so that best utilization can be made of the assistive technology. Moreover, the person may not have the enough information about the technology and they may find difficulty in finding the available technology. On the other hand, the person may have lack of clarity regarding the funding for technology. Therefore, the person may find the technology costly that may be tough for them to bear it (Atia.org, 2015). In the case of Sally, she can have difficulty in remembering the time when to use the technology. For instance, in using the eye patch, Sally may feel irritation in her eyes that can increase her problem. Moreover, it can increase headache to Sally and her efficiency in doing the work can slow down and also Sally may not have clear vision. On the other hand, using the keyboard with large letters may not last long as with passage of time, the letters can get removed which can be a problem for Sally in latter stage (Augusto, 2012). Further, the spinner knob and left foot accelerator may be tough for Sally to adopt as she is not used of driving vehicle in such way. Moreover, Sally may forget to use hand-held PDA on time or it can have negative effect on the memory of Sally. The barriers to the use of assistive technology can be lowered by taking right guidance from the assistive technology expert or specialist. The specialist can provide right advice that which technology is effective for the particular health issues (Brinkey et al., 2009). On the other hand, the family member of the patient has to remain alert that the patient is taking medication or using technology in prescribed time. The family member can assist the patient by making them remember to use the technology (Bryant and Bryant, 2012). 1.3 Benefits of technology Assistive technology is effective in providing solutions and enabling people having disabilities to become productive, independent and be a part of community life. The users of health and social services can be able to improve their health quality and they can perform their work with more efficiency (Choi, 2011). The users can have greater control on their lives and have interaction with non-disabled people. On the other hand, the carers such as family and friends can be able to have better communication with the disable and strong relationship can be built. On the other hand, if the users are using technology then the carers can have different opinion about the disable and they can provide much needed support to them (Cih.org, 2015). On the other hand, Sally is able to do her task more easily and efficiently due to the use of assistive technology. The eye patch helped her to get some relief from double vision and she is able to visualize the things more clearly and eye strain has been reduced to some extent (Dell et al. 2012). Therefore, the eye patch has helped Sally to do the work till expected hour. Apart from that, the hand-held personal digital assistant was effective in enhancing the memory power and skills that helped in remembering the time for taking medicine and doing other household or office activities (Cornwall.gov.uk, 2015). The assistive technology has provided great advantage to the health and social care organizations. In care homes, the assistive technology is helpful for the elderly people to do their activities properly. For instance, the automatic calendar clocks can be effective for the old people that are not able to remember the particular day. On the other hand, in hospitals, the technology is also useful. For instance, a virtual door and exit sensors can be effective for detecting the exit and entry of the patient from the room (DeRuyter and Beukelman, 2012). Moreover, GPS tracking devices can be useful in monitoring the location of patient in the hospital premises. Apart from that, technology can be valuable for schools too. For instance, the student can be provided with enlarged text if he/she is suffering from poor vision. Task 2 2.1 Health and Safety Consideration Health and Safety Legislation 1974 requires an educational establishment across the sectors. The legislation sees that health and safety is ensured for all the employees in almost all work activity (E-accessibilitytoolkit.org, 2015). The Act requires: Safe operation and upholding of working environment and system Continuance of secure access and egress to the workplace Right training to staff for ensuring health and safety Enough welfare provisions for employees at task Safe utilization, storage and handling of dangerous materials Hospitals: In using the assistive technology, the management of hospital has to provide training to the hospital staff in order to ensure health and safety to the disable. This would help in improving the quality of health of people (Elsaesser and Bauer, 2012). Care homes: The workers or carer in the care homes has to be provided with safe working environment so that due care can be delivered to the elderly and the assistive technologies can be used in more efficient and productive way (Federici and Scherer, 2012). Clients Homes: In regards to clients home, they should be provided with information about the safe use of technologies. On the other hand, the assistive technology specialist has to conduct a session so that client can understand the functioning of the technology. Schools: In school, the premises have to be safe so that any child does not get hurt. An adequate welfare provision has to be provided to the staff so that they can check whether the assistive technology is performing or not (Fleming and Sum, 2014). In the case of Sally, the consideration that can be followed in relation to health and safety is providing safe assistive technology. Sally has to be given training to use the technology so that technology is not used in wrong way. On the other hand, the familys member of Sally can be allowed to properly handle the technology after it is being used by Sally. 2.2 Ethical Considerations Ethics are regarded as ones feeling that tells them to make distinction between wrong and right. Moreover, a person can be said to fall in ethics if he/she fulfills the requirement of laws. Therefore, the ethical code of practice has to be practiced so that individual can be treated fairly (Housingandsupport.org.uk, 2015). The ethical consideration in the employment of assistive technology has to be followed as the technology can be misused and thus it can replace the human contact. Moreover, the freedom of movement can be restricted that can affect the individual life (G3ict.org, 2015). On the other hand, any person should not force the disable to use the technology if the technology is not right for the person. On the other side, if the ethical guideline is not followed then it can hamper the person life and it can increase the problem of disable person. For instance, if the person is using the technology excessively for improving memory power then it can lead to increase of more memory loss and person might not be able to recognize their siblings or families (Kerssens and Zamer, 2012). On the other hand, the disable can be allowed to use technology that may be not right for them thus it can increase the body problem of the person. The assistive technology specialist has to study the situation of the dibble more carefully in order to provide best technology that can really help the person to get relief. On the other hand, the care taker has to treat each individual or disable fairly and provide assistive technology to each one as everyone has the right to use the service (Lange, 2012). For instance, equal access to technology has to be provided in the health and social care units. Further, the right of the person has to be respected in context to privacy, choice, freedom and self determination. For instance, if the sensor mat is taken for monitoring falls risk then it should only direct the person to get up or not to walk (Lowe, 2007). 2.3 Impact of Recent and emerging technological development The emerging assistive technology is greatly helping the people to find a solution for their disability so that they can improve their health and interaction with the people or society has increased. The recent technology such as: Telecare: It can help the family member or friends of disable person that when they require help at home and it can provide support in due time. Telecare is a sensor aids that makes the other person understand that a patient requires help and support. Other technologies: The assistive technologies like grab rails, speaking clocks, personal alarms, grab rails, raised toilet seats; etc is effective in providing great assistance to the people and receiving timely support and care (Peterson and Prasad, 2012). Therefore, emerging assistive technologies is useful for the users. For instance, a personal voice prompt recording can be valuable in reminding a person to take the keys or lock the door after leaving the home. On the other hand, dossette boxes are used in the health and social care service as the box helps in keeping the medicine different compartments as per the medicine timing and day (Ravneberg, 2012). Moreover, the automatic pill dispensers are useful for the person when the medication requirements to be held and right pill can be taken in the specified time. Apart from that, emerging assistive technologies can hold both positive and negative aspects. Care workers: For the care workers, the technology has helped them to do the work in quick time and providing guidance to the disable. The care workers can be able to maintain day schedule, communication needs or alarms that can help in providing due care and support to the people. On the other hand, the care workers may not have enough skills or training to use the advanced assistive technology (Remmers, 2010). Organizations: In hospital, the technology can be helpful in providing support to large number of disable person in short time. Moreover, the technology can be too costly for the hospital to install and staff may not be aware bout the use of technology. In care homes, the technology can help in treating the elderly in productive way whereas it the care provider may not know how to use the technology and which technology is right for the person (Schmitt et al., 2012). In schools, the technology can increase the efficiency of the disable student whereas on the other hand, the technology can student to rely on it forever. Task 3 3.1 Maggies specific needs Specific needs are considered to those needs that are provided to the disable person or people suffering from illness. For instance, if a child is suffering from fever then the parents provide all the special needs such as care, medicine, support, etc. The people suffering from dementia require timely support and consistent monitoring so that their requirement can be fulfilled. Moreover, the dementia people need someone that can take care of their nutrition and eating needs and also hygiene and medical needs (Techandaging.org, 2015). It can be understood that Maggie is suffering from dementia that lead to constant memory loss and leading lowly towards the madness. Moreover, due to this particular problem, Maggie is not able to perform her usual duties and also she is not able to concentrate on habitual requirements (Vincent, 2012). The need that is required by Maggie is respect, emotional support, etc. Moreover, the people around Maggie should try to be tolerant and flexible and affection has to be shown towards the person. This would help the patient to recover slowly. 3.2 Assistive devices to support Maggie Reminder Assistance: The particular technology can be effective for Maggie to remind time and place. The timer will beep after a specific interval so that she can take medicine on time. Smart Toilet: It can help Maggie to know the blood pressure, sugar level in urine and heart rate so that she can remain safe from other potential diseases. Sensors and alarms: Through this technology, Maggie can handle her daily routine life and remain updating abut different activities. Moreover, the sensors can assist in sensing harmful occurrence and alarm can provide solution to the activity of sensor (Aspinall, 2012). Computer: It can be helpful for Maggie to get connected with friends, doctors and family too. Further, she can maintain the routine work and perform daily activities. 3.3 Usefulness of technology Hospitals: The assistive technology is capable of providing versatile support so that unplanned admissions can be voided to hospitals and can be effective in aiding discharge. For instance, lifeline and telecare can be useful for hospital discharge by providing the patient with a pendant that may be pressed while hospital discharges. Therefore, hospitals can be able to handle the number of patients with better service (Griffiths and Price, 2011). Care homes: The workers in the care homes can be able to provide service to many people at one time and it can provide timely service to the disabled people. The disables can be able to notice improvement into their health by the use of assistive technology. Therefore, the care home workers can promote people to live independently and interact with numerous people (Lange, 2012). For instance, the workers can provide preprogrammed numbers to the disable so that they can make call to their friends or relatives. Supported housing: The assistive technology can be too effective in supported housing as it can make the person to get remind of taking of medicine or time for going into bed. For example, the wireless monitoring device can be useful in locating the position of the person in the house so that required support can be provided if needed. Clients: The clients can gain immense support from the assistive technology. For instance, if a person gets wake up at night then the lights can be automatically switched on. Therefore, assistive technology can ease the work of clients and they can improve their health system. There are some assistive technologies that can hold both negative and positive features Wheelchairs: It can be useful for the people that are not able to walk. The chairs can provide person to move from one place or other. On the other hand, it can lead to health ergonomics and can cause strain in the back bone of the person (Elsaesser and Bauer, 2012). Talk Calculators: It can be useful for the learning disabled person and visually impaired person. Moreover, if the battery goes down while using it then it can affect the work of a person. The devices that can help Maggie: Memory aids device: It can help Maggie to maintain her memory power. The memory aids can remind her to do any particular task that she might have forgotten. On the other hand, reminder messages can be set so that she can remind herself about daily appointments. Locator devices: This device can be helpful for the family of Maggie to locate her. On the other hand, Maggie can use this device to find any items or products that she might have forgotten where she might have kept. The assistive technology that may not be useful for Maggie can be smart toilet as it may not be effective in improving the memory of Maggie and moreover, the computer technology may not assist Maggie to do her daily work and remembering her daily appointments. The problem of Maggie is very adverse and she is 62 year old lady which makes it more difficult to gain higher advantage from the assistive technology. Maggie does not have control over her memory she leaves home whenever she wants. Therefore, it is tough to provide her independent life and she requires constant support from family to take care of her (Fujinami and Sugihara, 2012). Summary and Conclusion In the first report, the situation of Sally can be solved by assistive technology as she is not having any adverse problem. The assistive technology is effective in increasing the life status of Sally and provides independent life and better interaction with the society and non-disable person. On the other hand, in case of Maggie, her situation is very worse and assistive technology is not that successful in improving the memory power of her. Therefore, overall all it can be concluded that assistive technology comprises both negative and positive aspects for the disable. References Al Oraibi, S., Fordham, R. and Lambert, R. (2012). Impact and economic assessment of assistive technology in care homes in Norfolk, UK. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 6(3), pp.192-201. Aspinall, A. (2012). Assistive Technology: Principles and Application for Communication Disorders and Special Education20121Edited by Oliver Wendt, Raymond W. Quist, Lyle L. Lloyd. Assistive Technology: Principles and Application for Communication Disorders and Special Education . Emerald Group Publishing, First published 2011. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 6(4), pp.302-303. Atdementia.org.uk, (2015). The benefits and limitations of assistive technology - About assistive technology - AT Dementia home. [online] Available at: https://www.atdementia.org.uk/editorial.asp?page_id=45 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Atia.org, (2015). What is Assistive Technology? How Is It Funded? - Assistive Technology Industry Association. [online] Available at: https://www.atia.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3859 [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Augusto, J. (2012). Handbook of ambient assisted living. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Barks, L. and Davenport, P. (2012). Wheelchair Components and Pulmonary Function in Children with Cerebral Palsy. Assistive Technology, 24(2), pp.78-86. Bhatt, M. and Gusgen, H. (2012). Situational awareness for assistive technologies. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Bravo, J., Herva s, R. and Rodri guez, M. (2012). Ambient assisted living and home care. Berlin: Springer. Brinkey, L., Savoie, C., Hurvitz, E. and Flannagan, C. (2009). Patients' and Health Care Providers' Knowledge of Wheelchair Transportation Issues. Assistive Technology, 21(1), pp.35-46. Bryant, D. and Bryant, B. (2012). Assistive technology for people with disabilities. Boston: Pearson. Choi, Y. (2011). Managing Input During Assistive Technology Product Design. Assistive Technology, 23(2), pp.65-75. Choi, Y. and Sprigle, S. (2011). Approaches for Evaluating the Usability of Assistive Technology Product Prototypes. Assistive Technology, 23(1), pp.36-41. Cih.org, (2015). How to make effective use of assistive technology. [online] Available at: https://www.cih.org/resources/PDF/Policy%20free%20download%20pdfs/How_to_briefing_make_effective_use_of_assistive_technology.pdf [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Cornwall.gov.uk, (2015). Assistive Technology - equipment to help people at home - Cornwall Council. [online] Available at: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/physical-disabilities/disabled-people-specialist-equipment/assistive-technology-equipment-to-help-people-at-home/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Dell, A., Newton, D. and Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom. Boston: Pearson. DeRuyter, F. and Beukelman, D. (2012). Introduction to the Special Issue on Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Assistive Technology, 24(1), pp.1-2. E-accessibilitytoolkit.org, (2015). How AT supports independent living-e-accessibilitytoolkit.org. [online] Available at: https://www.e-accessibilitytoolkit.org/toolkit/promoting_assistive_technologies/independent_living [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Elsaesser, L. and Bauer, S. (2012). Integrating medical, assistive, and universal design products and technologies: Assistive Technology Service Method (ATSM). Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 7(4), pp.282-286. Federici, S. and Scherer, M. (2012). Assistive technology assessment handbook. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Ficocelli, M. and Nejat, G. (2012). The Design of an Interactive Assistive Kitchen System. Assistive Technology, 24(4), pp.246-258. Fleming, R. and Sum, S. (2014). Empirical studies on the effectiveness of assistive technology in the care of people with dementia: a systematic review. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 8(1), pp.14-34. Fujinami, T. and Sugihara, T. (2012). Person-centered dementia care revised from the standpoint of assistive technology. Gerontechnology, 11(2). G3ict.org, (2015). Assistive Technology as a Means of Supporting. [online] Available at: https://g3ict.org/download/p/fileId_949/productId_259. [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Griffiths, T. and Price, K. (2011). A proposed framework for decision making for assistive communication technology support: many perspectives, but one common goal. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 5(4), pp.242-248. Guzman, A. and Ostrander, N. (2009). Hispanics' Awareness of Assistive Technology. Assistive Technology, 21(1), pp.28-34. Housingandsupport.org.uk, (2015). Overview of Assistive Technology - housingandsupport.org.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.housingandsupport.org.uk/overviewassistivetechnology [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Isabelle, S., Bessey, S., Dragas, K., Blease, P., Shepherd, J. and Lane, S. (2003). Assistive Technology for Children with Disabilities. Occup Ther Health, 16(4), pp.29-51. Kerssens, C. and Zamer, J. (2012). Personalized assistive technology for seniors with dementia. Gerontechnology, 11(2). Lange, J. (2012). The nurse's role in promoting optimal health of older adults. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. Lowe, C. (2007). Planning and implementing major health and social care technology programmes. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 1(2), pp.49-51. Murchland, S. and Parkyn, H. (2011). Promoting Participation in Schoolwork: Assistive Technology Use by Children With Physical Disabilities. Assistive Technology, 23(2), pp.93-105. Peterson, C. and Prasad, N. (2012). Assessing assistive technology outcomes with dementia. Gerontechnology, 11(2). Ravneberg, B. (2012). Usability and abandonment of assistive technology. Jnl of Assistive Technologies, 6(4), pp.259-269. Remmers, H. (2010). Environments for ageing, assistive technology and self-determination: ethical perspectives. Informatics for Health and Social Care, 35(34), pp.200-210. Schmitt, A., McCallum, E., Hennessey, J., Lovelace, T. and Hawkins, R. (2012). Use of Reading Pen Assistive Technology to Accommodate Post-Secondary Students with Reading Disabilities. Assistive Technology, 24(4), pp.229-239. Techandaging.org, (2015). Technologies to Help Older Adults Maintain Independence. [online] Available at: https://www.techandaging.org/briefingpaper.pdf [Accessed 3 Feb. 2015]. Vincent, J. (2012). Implementing cost-effective assistive computer technology. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc.

Ku Klux Klan Essays (629 words) - Antisemitism In The United States

Ku Klux Klan Michael Vieira Sociology 5/12/00 The Ku Klux Klan The KKK is a movement that has been very controversial since the Civil War. The Klan as they call themselves was created as a result of the occupation of Federal troops in the South. The KKKs purpose at the time was to provide the people of the south with the leadership to bring back the values of Western Civilization that was taken from them. In the 1920s the Klan had its most popular era. At this time the KKK was the most active politically then it has ever been in history. The KKK still exists today as a brotherhood and a new White racial community that lives and functions by the ideals it promotes. Today the Klan is in its 5th era and continues to be Americas oldest and most effective White Christian Fraternal organization. The Klan stands for many things: The White Race, America First, (First before any foreign or alien influence or interest, and a foreign policy of military non-intervention.) The Constitution, (As originally written and intended. The finest system of government ever conceived by man, who is based on the Holy Bible and Christian Common Law.) Free Enterprise, (Private property and ownership of business, but an end to high-finance exploitation. We advocate economic nationalism and we oppose the Federal Reserve Bank and so-called free trade.) Positive Christianity, (The right of the American people to practice their Christian faith - including prayer in schools. Many Klan members and supporters are involved with the growing Christian Identity religion, which continues to unite the Christian Patriot Movement in the United States.) The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a fraternal, patriotic movement promoting the ideals of Western Christian Civilization and White Racial political self-determination. It is a duly incorporated, non-profit, legally recognized institution, working to rebuild our collapsing society on the principles of Christian honor, honesty, duty, courage, brotherhood, and patriotism. As the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan strive toward the ideals it wants for tomorrow, it lives by those today. In order to become a member of the KKK a person has to meet the following criteria 100%, (the KKK is not an open membership movement) Only pure White Christian people of non-Jewish, non-Negro, non-Asian descent who are at least eighteen years old and who pledge to dedicate their lives to this cause can enter the Ku Klux Klan. Those under the age of eighteen can join the Klan Youth Corp. with parental consent. The Ku Klux Klan is a strictly law-abiding organization. Every member is sworn to uphold the law and the principles of justice. The name Ku Klux Klan comes from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle, because in it is contained some of the unique characteristics of the White or Aryan race. The wheel is a symbol of creativity therefor the creativity of the White races, and the circle is the oldest symbol of unity. Ku Klux was simply taken from the word kuklos and Klan was added. According to the Klan, it is still around because of the name and symbols break through the paper curtain of the anti-White media and brings us to the attention of those who want to learn more about us. Today it is trying to prevent people from taking away your guns, against promoting homosexuals in schools, against permitting the flood of illegal aliens coming across our borders that then tax you to death in order to pay for welfare and other give-away programs. In conclusion the KKK is a movement with very strong beliefs and many deep roots in its history. The KKK is an ongoing movement that will be around until all there demands are met.

Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Essays

Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Essays Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Paper Civil Disobedience and the rule of law Paper the NPCSC ( TheStanding Committeeof the National People s Congress ) declared the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People s Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 in 31.8.2014. Harmonizing to Occupy Central with Love and Peace ( 2015 ) , the members of OCLP ( Occupy Central with Love and Peace ) reject to subject the determination of NPCSC, and they believe that HKSAR authorities should present a receptive attitude towards civil nomination. Occupy Central began in 2013 for the desire of democracy, and evolved into Umbrella Revolution in 26.9.2014. First, I will exemplify the definition of civil noncompliance and regulation of jurisprudence. Second, I will exemplify the statement that support civil noncompliance is non compatible with the regulation of jurisprudence. Finally, I will explicate in what extent civil noncompliance is incompatible with the regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. 2 ) Definition of civil noncompliance Harmonizing toRawls ( 1999 ) , in constitutional theory, civil disobediencecomposed in three parts. First, definition ofcivil noncompliance is different and separate from misdemeanors of jurisprudence, because civil noncompliance is purposes to raise public concern in some unfair issue, but misdemeanors of jurisprudence do non. Second, civil noncompliance will settle after the unfair issue is justified. Finally, civil noncompliance has a function in constitutional system and the civil disobedient demand to account for protest. Harmonizing toRawls ( 1999 ) , civil noncompliance has four characteristics, public, non-violent, painstaking andjustifypolitical rules. First, public refer to civil noncompliance is a public act, it engage openly with just announce to political authorization and is non covert or close. Second, non-violent refer to themanifestationofcivil noncompliance, it expresses noncompliance to jurisprudence with limitloyalty. The fidelity to lawset upan image that thecivil disobedienceispolitical painstaking and intends to raise the public’s sense of justness. Third, painstaking refer to political act that contra to jurisprudence with purpose of altering the recent jurisprudence or policies. Civil disobedient Acts of the Apostless in thismanifestationaimto addressthe sense of justness of society, but non for personal involvement. Finally, warrant political rules refer to civil noncompliance is non in sense that it address tomajoritypolitical power, besides is aim to steer and warrant political rules. 3 ) Definition of regulation of jurisprudence Rule of jurisprudence is viewed as positive thing and represent justness and good ( Lo A ; Chui, 2012 ) . However, Moller ( 2014 ) said: the construct of the regulation of jurisprudence is extremely complex and basically contested. Finally, Tamanaha carried out a method to separate different definitions of regulation of jurisprudence into two bulk approaches- formalist and substantive. In formalist attacks, one of the descriptions of regulation of jurisprudence is A.V. Dicey version. Dicey ( 1959 ) mentioned three rules of regulation of jurisprudence: No adult male is punishable or can be legitimately made to endure in organic structure or in goods except for a distinguishable breach of jurisprudence established in the ordinary legal mode before the ordinary tribunals of the land. No adult male is above the jurisprudence ; every adult male and adult female, whatever may be his or her rank or place from the premier curate right down to the revenue enhancement aggregator, is capable to the ordinary jurisprudence of the kingdom and conformable to the legal power of the ordinary tribunals. Each man’s single rights are best protected under Common Law instead than a formal Bill of Rights. For substantial attacks, substantial theories mentioned that the regulation of jurisprudence must include formalist attacks component. Harmonizing to Moller ( 2014 ) , three more elements added in substantial attacks, they are single human rights ( belongings, contract, privateness, liberty ) , rights of self-respect or justness ( helps single develops ability to go self-determining ) and societal public assistance ( subtantive equality ) . Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of law- statement one Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence because the impression of regulation of jurisprudence is concern about the beginning of jurisprudence, balance of political power and single rights. Harmonizing to Moller ( 2014 ) , there are four dimensions of regulation of jurisprudence, form ( formal legality ) , countenances and control ( cheque and balance between authorities and citizens ) , beginning of jurisprudence and people concent ( Sovereignty of the people ) and substance content ( Indiviaual rights ) . Harmonizing to Brownlee ( 2013 ) , the purposes of civil disobedient is to reprobate peculiar unfair issue and seek to raise the awarness of public in sense of justness. That imply civil noncompliance merely occur when unfair issue occur in society, and unfair issue ever include the resistance between authorities and citizens, this thought is alreadly include in one of dimension of regulation of law- countenances and control, when unfair issue policy occur, people can keep the authorities. And the unjust issue how to specify? Harmonizing to Brownlee ( 2013 ) , civil disobedient addressesthemselves to bulk sentiment and rule of justness. This is besides include in one of dimension of regulation of law- beginning of jurisprudence and people concent. Therefore, civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. Civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of law- statement two Others ground that civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence is regulation of jurisprudence is non wholly equal to obey the jurisprudence. The construct of regulation of jurisprudence is closely linked to societal contract theory, harmonizing to McPherson ( 1980 ) , in societal contract theory, if authorities against citizen’s involvement, citizens can subvert and put in a new authorities. It shows that regulation of jurisprudence is non wholly equal to obey the jurisprudence. When there is unfair issue and policy that against people involvement, people can contend back, civil noncompliance is one of the methods to against these unfair issue and policy. Harmonizing to United Nation ( n.d. ) , the construct of regulation of jurisprudence is extremely associated with the impression of justness. It imply that when the jurisprudence can non demo the impression of justness and when the jurisprudence is unfair in bulk sentiment, civil noncompliance is allowed to warrant the unfair circumstance and it is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. Besides, one of the characteristics of civil noncompliance is justification of political rules and this rules refer to civil noncompliance is non in sense that it address tomajoritypolitical power, besides is aim to steer and warrant political rules. Therefore, civil noncompliance is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. In the undermentioned paragraph, I will discourse approximately in what extent civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. 4 ) In what extent civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong. As I mentioned before, civil noncompliance contain four characteristics, and it is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. But in Hong Kong, civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong in some state of affairss. The first state of affairs is the authorities define regulation of jurisprudence equal to obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces, falsify the impression of regulation of jurisprudence. These are different construct of jurisprudence, if the functionary in Hong Kong use the distort version to judge the civil noncompliance, than civil noncompliance is compatible with the official rule of law . If the Hong Kong authorities defines obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces as regulation of jurisprudence, the distort version of regulation of jurisprudence will non include the impression of justness, therefore the action to warrant political principles- civil noncompliance will specify as compatible with the official rule of law . Second state of affairs that civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in Hong Kong is civil noncompliance does non follow the four rules. Such as violent action of civil disobedient, civil noncompliance for personal involvement, etc. These misdemeanor of the rule will do civil noncompliance same as interrupting the jurisprudence. When civil noncompliance can non stand for the impression justness, it is merely interrupting the jurisprudence. Decision In decision, civil noncompliance that follow four rules, public, non-violent, painstaking andjustifypolitical rules is non compatible with regulation of jurisprudence in normal state of affairs. Because regulation of jurisprudence is non merely accent obey the jurisprudence, it besides include the impression of justness. These four rules of civil noncompliance guarantee that the action is associated with justness. However, in some state of affairss civil noncompliance is compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. That is when regulation of jurisprudence is non the original regulation of jurisprudence, and civil noncompliance is non the original civil noncompliance. When the authorities functionary specify the regulation of jurisprudence as obey the jurisprudence, regulation by jurisprudence or regulation by work forces, so regulation of jurisprudence will loss the impression of justness, than the action represent justice- civil noncompliance will be defined as compatible with regulation of jurisprudence. When the civil noncompliance do non follow the four rules, the action will besides loss the impression of justness, therefore it is non civil noncompliance any more. Mention: Brownlee, K. ( 2013, December 20 ) .Civil Disobedience.Retrieved March 26, 2015, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: hypertext transfer protocol: //plato.stanford.edu/entries/civil-disobedience/ # FeaCivDis Dicey, A. V. ( 1959 ) .Introduction to the survey of the jurisprudence of the fundamental law ( tenth erectile dysfunction. ) .Basingstoke: Macmillan. Lo, S. H. C. , A ; Chui, H. H. ( 2012 ) .The Hong Kong legal system.Singapore: McGrawHill. McPherson, C. ( 1980 ) .John Locke Second Treatise of Government.Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company. Moller, J. ( 2014 ) .THE RULE OF Law: Definitions, Measures, Patterns and Causes.Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Occupy Central with Love and Peace ( 2015 ) .10 Basic Facts about OCLP. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Occupy Central with Love and Peace Official Page: hypertext transfer protocol: //oclp.hk/index.php? route=occupy/eng_detail A ; eng_id=12 Rawls, J. ( 1999 ) .A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition.Cambridge: Harvard University Press. The Hong Kong Special Adminstrative Government ( 2015, January 7 ) .Decision and accounts of the NPCSC. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Method of Choosing the Chief Executive by Universal Suffrage: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.2017.gov.hk/en/decision/index.html Tamanaha, B. ( 2004 ) .On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. United Nation ( n.d. ) .United Nations Rule of Law.Retrieved March 27, 2015, from United State: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.unrol.org/article.aspx? article_id=3 1

Chapter 13 Madeye Moody

â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice. Chapter 13 Madeye Moody â€Å"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures†¦damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins†¦.† â€Å"Double Divination this afternoon,† Harry groaned, looking down. Divination was his least favorite subject, apart from Potions. Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry’s death, which he found extremely annoying. â€Å"You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?† said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. â€Å"Then you’d be doing something sensible like Arithmancy.† â€Å"You’re eating again, I notice,† said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. â€Å"I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,† said Hermione haughtily. â€Å"Yeah†¦and you were hungry,† said Ron, grinning. There was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Harry looked up, but there was no sign of white among the mass of brown and gray. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap – Neville almost always forgot to pack something. On the other side of the Hall Draco Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach, Harry returned to his porridge. Was it possible that something had happened to Hedwig, and that Sirius hadn’t even got his letter? His preoccupation lasted all the way across the sodden vegetable patch until they arrived in greenhouse three, but here he was distracted by Professor Sprout showing the class the ugliest plants Harry had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid. â€Å"Bubotubers,† Professor Sprout told them briskly. â€Å"They need squeezing. You will collect the pus -â€Å" â€Å"The what?† said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted. â€Å"Pus, Finnigan, pus,† said Professor Sprout, â€Å"and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.† Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints. â€Å"This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,† said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. â€Å"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.† â€Å"Like poor Eloise Midgen,† said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. â€Å"She tried to curse hers off.† â€Å"Silly girl,† said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. â€Å"But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.† A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid’s small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions. â€Å"Mornin’!† Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. â€Å"Be’er wait fer the Slytherins, they won’ want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!† â€Å"Come again?† said Ron. Hagrid pointed down into the crates. â€Å"Eurgh!† squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward. â€Å"Eurgh† just about summed up the Blast-Ended Skrewts in Harry’s opinion. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small phut, it would be propelled forward several inches. â€Å"On’y jus’ hatched,† said Hagrid proudly, â€Å"so yeh’ll be able ter raise ’em yerselves! Thought we’d make a bit of a project of it!† â€Å"And why would we want to raise them?† said a cold voice. The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words. Hagrid looked stumped at the question. â€Å"I mean, what do they do?† asked Malfoy. â€Å"What is the point of them?† Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds’ pause, then he said roughly, â€Å"Tha’s next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus’ feedin’ ’em today. Now, yeh’ll wan’ ter try ’em on a few diff’rent things – I’ve never had ’em before, not sure what they’ll go fer – I got ant eggs an’ frog livers an’ a bit o’ grass snake – just try ’em out with a bit of each.† â€Å"First pus and now this,† muttered Seamus. Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made Harry, Ron, and Hermione pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry couldn’t suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn’t seem to have mouths. â€Å"Ouch!† yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. â€Å"It got me.† Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. â€Å"Its end exploded!† said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand. â€Å"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off,† said Hagrid, nodding. â€Å"Eurgh!† said Lavender Brown again. â€Å"Eurgh, Hagrid, what’s that pointy thing on it?† â€Å"Ah, some of ’em have got stings,† said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box). â€Å"I reckon they’re the males†¦.The females’ve got sorta sucker things on their bellies†¦.I think they might be ter suck blood.† â€Å"Well, I can certainly see why we’re trying to keep them alive,† said Malfoy sarcastically. â€Å"Who wouldn’t want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?† â€Å"Just because they’re not very pretty, it doesn’t mean they’re not useful,† Hermione snapped. â€Å"Dragon blood’s amazingly magical, but you wouldn’t want a dragon for a pet, would you?† Harry and Ron grinned at Hagrid, who gave them a furtive smile from behind his bushy beard. Hagrid would have liked nothing better than a pet dragon, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew only too well – he had owned one for a brief period during their first year, a vicious Norwegian Ridgeback by the name of Norbert. Hagrid simply loved monstrous creatures, the more lethal, the better. â€Å"Well, at least the skrewts are small,† said Ron as they made their way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later. â€Å"They are now,† said Hermione in an exasperated voice, â€Å"but once Hagrid’s found out what they eat, I expect they’ll be six feet long.† â€Å"Well, that won’t matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?† said Ron, grinning slyly at her. â€Å"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up,† said Hermione. â€Å"As a matter of fact I think he’s right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all.† They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Harry and Ron stared at her. â€Å"Er – is this the new stand on elf rights?† said Ron. â€Å"You’re going to make yourself puke instead?† â€Å"No,† said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. â€Å"I just want to get to the library.† â€Å"What?† said Ron in disbelief. â€Å"Hermione – it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!† Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leapt to her feet, said, â€Å"See you at dinner!† and departed at high speed. When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry and Ron set off for North Tower where, at the top of a tightly spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where Professor Trelawney lived. The familiar sweet perfume spreading from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. As ever, the curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Harry and Ron walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at the same small circular table. â€Å"Good day,† said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Harry, making him jump. A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear far too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Harry with the tragic expression she always wore whenever she saw him. The usual large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight. â€Å"You are preoccupied, my dear,† she said mournfully to Harry. â€Å"My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas†¦most difficult†¦I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦.and perhaps sooner than you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, who looked stonily back. Professor Trelawney swept past them and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who deeply admired Professor Trelawney, were sitting on poufs very close to her. â€Å"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars,† she said. â€Å"The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle†¦.† But Harry’s thoughts had drifted. The perfumed fire always made him feel sleepy and dull-witted, and Professor Trelawney’s rambling talks on fortune-telling never held him exactly spellbound – though he couldn’t help thinking about what she had just said to him. â€Å"I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Hermione was right, Harry thought irritably, Professor Trelawney really was an old fraud. He wasn’t dreading anything at the moment at all†¦well, unless you counted his fears that Sirius had been caught†¦but what did Professor Trelawney know? He had long since come to the conclusion that her brand of fortunetelling was really no more than lucky guesswork and a spooky manner. Except, of course, for that time at the end of last term, when she had made the prediction about Voldemort rising again†¦and Dumbledore himself had said that he thought that trance had been genuine, when Harry had described it to him. â€Å"Harry!† Ron muttered. â€Å"What?† Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts. â€Å"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Saturn,† said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words. â€Å"Born under – what, sorry?† said Harry. â€Å"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn!† said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn’t riveted by this news. â€Å"I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth†¦.Your dark hair†¦your mean stature†¦tragic losses so young in life†¦I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?† â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"I was born in July.† Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough. Half an hour later, each of them had been given a complicated circular chart, and was attempting to fill in the position of the planets at their moment of birth. It was dull work, requiring much consultation of timetables and calculation of angles. â€Å"I’ve got two Neptunes here,† said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, â€Å"that can’t be right, can it?† â€Å"Aaaaah,† said Ron, imitating Professor Trelawney’s mystical whisper, â€Å"when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry†¦.† Seamus and Dean, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, though not loudly enough to mask the excited squeals from Lavender Brown – â€Å"Oh Professor, look! I think I’ve got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one’s that, Professor?† â€Å"It is Uranus, my dear,† said Professor Trelawney, peering down at the chart. â€Å"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?† said Ron. Most unfortunately, Professor Trelawney heard him, and it was this, perhaps, that made her give them so much homework at the end of the class. â€Å"A detailed analysis of the way the planetary movements in the coming month will affect you, with reference to your personal chart,† she snapped, sounding much more like Professor McGonagall than her usual airy-fairy self. â€Å"I want it ready to hand in next Monday, and no excuses!† â€Å"Miserable old bat,† said Ron bitterly as they joined the crowds descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. â€Å"That’ll take all weekend, that will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Lots of homework?† said Hermione brightly, catching up with them. â€Å"Professor Vector didn’t give us any at all!† â€Å"Well, bully for Professor Vector,† said Ron moodily. They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the end of the line, when a loud voice rang out behind them. â€Å"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something. â€Å"What?† said Ron shortly. â€Å"Your dad’s in the paper, Weasley!† said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. â€Å"Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC It seems as though the Ministry of Magic’s troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.† Malfoy looked up. â€Å"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It’s almost as though he’s a complete nonentity, isn’t it?† he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on: Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers (â€Å"policemen†) over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of â€Å"Mad-Eye† Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody’s heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene. â€Å"And there’s a picture, Weasley!† said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. â€Å"A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn’t she?† Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. â€Å"Get stuffed, Malfoy,† said Harry. â€Å"C’mon, Ron†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?† sneered Malfoy. â€Å"So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?† â€Å"You know your mother, Malfoy?† said Harry – both he and Hermione had grabbed the back of Ron’s robes to stop him from launching himself at Malfoy – â€Å"that expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?† Malfoy’s pale face went slightly pink. â€Å"Don’t you dare insult my mother, Potter.† â€Å"Keep your fat mouth shut, then,† said Harry, turning away. BANG! Several people screamed – Harry felt something white-hot graze the side of his face – he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he’d even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall. â€Å"OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!† Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing. There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Harry – at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. â€Å"Did he get you?† Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly. â€Å"No,† said Harry, â€Å"missed.† â€Å"LEAVE IT!† Moody shouted. â€Å"Leave – what?† Harry said, bewildered. â€Å"Not you – him!† Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody’s rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons. â€Å"I don’t think so!† roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again – it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. â€Å"I don’t like people who attack when their opponent’s back’s turned,† growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. â€Å"Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly. â€Å"Never – do – that – again -† said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again. â€Å"Professor Moody!† said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books. â€Å"Hello, Professor McGonagall,† said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher. â€Å"What – what are you doing?† said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret’s progress through the air. â€Å"Teaching,† said Moody. â€Å"Teach – Moody, is that a student?† shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. â€Å"Yep,† said Moody. â€Å"No!† cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. â€Å"Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!† said Professor McGonagall wealdy. â€Å"Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?† â€Å"He might’ve mentioned it, yeah,† said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, â€Å"but I thought a good sharp shock -â€Å" â€Å"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender’s Head of House!† â€Å"I’ll do that, then,† said Moody, staring at Malfoy with great dislike. Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words â€Å"my father† were distinguishable. â€Å"Oh yeah?† said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. â€Å"Well, I know your father of old, boy†¦.You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son†¦you tell him that from me†¦.Now, your Head of House’ll be Snape, will it?† â€Å"Yes,† said Malfoy resentfully. â€Å"Another old friend,† growled Moody. â€Å"I’ve been looking forward to a chat with old Snape†¦.Come on, you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  And he seized Malfoy’s upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons. Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms. â€Å"Don’t talk to me,† Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. â€Å"Why not?† said Hermione in surprise. â€Å"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,† said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. â€Å"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret.† Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. â€Å"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,† she said. â€Å"It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it -â€Å" â€Å"Hermione!† said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, â€Å"you’re ruining the best moment of my life!† Hermione made an impatient noise and began to eat at top speed again. â€Å"Don’t tell me you’re going back to the library this evening?† said Harry, watching her. â€Å"Got to,† said Hermione thickly. â€Å"Loads to do.† â€Å"But you told us Professor Vector -â€Å" â€Å"It’s not schoolwork,† she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed. No sooner had she gone than her seat was taken by Fred Weasley. â€Å"Moody!† he said. â€Å"How cool is he?† â€Å"Beyond cool,† said George, sitting down opposite Fred. â€Å"Supercool,† said the twins’ best friend, Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. â€Å"We had him this afternoon,† he told Harry and Ron. â€Å"What was it like?† said Harry eagerly. Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning. â€Å"Never had a lesson like it,† said Fred. â€Å"He knows, man,† said Lee. â€Å"Knows what?† said Ron, leaning forward. â€Å"Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,† said George impressively. â€Å"Doing what?† said Harry. â€Å"Fighting the Dark Arts,† said Fred. â€Å"He’s seen it all,† said George. â€Å"‘Mazing,† said Lee. Ron dived into his bag for his schedule. â€Å"We haven’t got him till Thursday!† he said in a disappointed voice.