Who sets the passwords?

[quigonginger]

No: HPFGUIDX 77559

> Wanda:
> > I was just wondering, who makes up the passwords for the 
Gryffindor 
> > students?  I assumed it was McGonagall, and she probably sets a 
new 
> > one every week.  It seemed to me more than odd that the password 
> for 
> > the first week would be "mimbulus mimbletonia".  Any ideas as to 
> why 
> > this word would have been chosen, or is it really just a huge 
> > coincidence?
> 
Margaret responded:
> 
> I always assumed that the prefects made up the passwords, it would 
> account for them always knowing what they were and when they were 
> changed,  (snip)
 
> Given that the Gryffindor prefects are Ron and Hermione, both of 
whom 
> are well aquainted with Neville's poor memory, it would be very 
kind 
> of them to have made it something easy for him to remember for the 
> beginning of the year.  Get him off on the right foot and all 
that :-)
> 

Now Ginger:

Cheers to you Margaret!  Long ago I wondered to the list the very 
question that Wanda posed.  My problem was that in CoS (p.221 US 
paperback) the Slytherin password was "pureblood".  I couldn't 
imagine Dumbledore approving, much less inventing that for a 
password.  I had wondered if the heads of houses gave the passwords.  
I then wondered what this said about Snape.  Was it real prejudice or 
keeping in character as "pure" Slytherin?  

Your idea of the prefects is so perfectly sensible and answers that 
old question of mine.  I can now go back to working on the filk I 
promised Gail and quit wondering about how "Snape's Worst Memory" 
where he calls Lily a mudblood fits in with the "pureblood" password.

Ginger, off to filk