Caput Draconis

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 167667

Goddlefrood wrote: 
> > > By this token The Fat Lady's first password "Caput Draconis",
meaning approximately "off with their heads"
> 
>  
> > Random832: 
> > Except it means "Dragon's Head", not anything like that.
> 
Goddlefrood responded:
> 
> In Pig Latin it certainly might (mine or Random832's, take your 
pick), then again it also means "North Node", as it is likely to have
come from some astrological source or another ;).
> 
> Easily traceable if interested.
> 
> The main point is that the Fat Lady has many and varied passwords
throughout the books and no inferences should be drawn from the use of
passwords by her or by any other password guardians as the thread
starter did in order to support a contention that Slyths are bad, when
clearly they not all are. <snip>

Darol responds:
"Caput draconis" means "dragon's head" (literally, "head of the
dragon") in Latin, not pig Latin (which is merely a children's
anguagelay in ichwhay the first yllablesay is--well, never mind. You
get the idea). It isn't even the sort of pseudo-Latin that JKR often
uses for her spells, which I believe more nearly qualifies as dog
Latin. :-). 

As for "Caput Draconis" also meaning "north node," that's not quite
accurate (though you're correct that it's an astrological term). Caput
Draconis is *the name of* the moon's north node, which in astrology is
associated with fate or some such thing. (Don't ask me; I'm no
astrology expert.) It may relate in some way to Harry's fate, but
given JKR's treatment of Divination in the books, I suspect that it
doesn't/

It's interesting, though, that "Caput Draconis" would be the very
first password to the Gryffindor common room that we're given in the
books. I don't know about anyone else, but I immediately thought of
Draco = dragon), not yet realizing that he was named for a star or
constellation in the Black family tradition, and of the Hogwarts
motto, "Draco dormiens numnquam titillandus." Nevertheless, the Fat
Lady has no special insight into Draco Malfoy, a brand-new first-year
in another House entirely. What significance the password may have, if
any, is probably unconnected with him. (By the same token, "Mimbulus
mimbletonia" is probably unconnected with Neville--just a lucky
coincidence for him that the password for once was one he could easily
remember.)

To return to the topic of "pureblood" as password for the Slytherins,
I'm not sure that the Slytherin common room has a guardian like the
portrait of the Fat Lady. I don't recall any such portrait in the Cos
scene in which Harry and Ron were polyjuiced as Crabbe and Goyle.
Although it does appear that the Fat Lady chooses the passwords for
Gryffindor, as does Sir Cadogan, it's not clear who chooses the
passwords for Slytherin. Their prefects, possibly? Or Phineas
Nigellus, who has nothing better to do most of the time? Maybe there's
a portrait hanging over their common room, but, if so, Harry didn't
notice at the time and consequently, the narrator doesn't mention it.
Or maybe JKR just didn't think it was important. It's just a detail,
like the password to the Prefects' bathroom being "pine fresh," that
in her view was appropriate to the occasion but neither a red herring
nor a clue.

Carol, wondering irrelevantly whether the male and female prefects
share a bathroom or whether Cedric just forgot to mention that he
meant the male prefects' bathroom