Passwords (was: Re: Snape - a werewolf bigot??)

[amis917]

No: HPFGUIDX 170116

> Alla wrote:
>  
> I of course think of mudblood in Pensieve scene and password to  
> Slytherin dorms in CoS, which I do not buy for a second was created 
> by  somebody else but Snape IMO.
>  
> Julie:
> That's a very interesting point, Alla! I've never actually thought 
about 
> who, if anyone, creates or changes the passwords for each House.
> I don't recall any definitive canon about it either, though the 
Head  of
> House is as good a guess as any. Another possibility is a  long-
standing
> list of passwords for each House that are routinely shuffled (in 
which 
> case "Mudblood" might have been created years, decades, even  
centuries
> earlier). 
> 
<snipping the rest>

Amis917:

I responded to this post becuase I thought that the prefects created 
the passwords. When  started searching however, I think there's more 
evidence that the portriat does it.

I thought the prefects did it because in OOtP, Harry returns to the 
dorm and doesn't know the password. Neville comes and knows it 
because it's the name of his new plant. I always took this to mean 
that Hermonie made the password that because she knows Neville has a 
tendency to forget them. It made me smile to think that anyway. So, 
I'll hold onto this idea and belive that Hermonie suggested it.

However, in PoA - Neville can't remember all of the passwords that 
Sir Cadogan is coming up with. He asks him for a list, which is then 
stolen. This is how Sirius gets into the dorm.

In HBP, Harry and Ron return from the Christmas holiday to discover 
that the password has been changed. Hermonie comes and tells them 
it's abstinence. Hermonie goes on to explain that the Fat Lady and 
her friend Viiolet drank the wine from another picture. (Ch 17 - US 
hb, p351)

Also, later in HBP Harry returns with Slughorn's memory. The Fat 
Lady, annoyed that Harry has woken her up, pretends the password has 
changed. She says that it's the headmaster's fault because he's the 
one who has tightened security.  (CH 23 - US hb, p492)

Anyway, in Cos - I think the password is "pure-blood" and not "mud-
blood". I always thought it had been changed becuase of the 
importance the Slytherin house puts on blood purity. In the wake of 
the attacks, they were just reminding everyone in their house how 
great it is. We know, however, that not all members of the house are 
pure-bloods. 

It is possible, I suppose, that each house has something different 
set up. Gryffindor uses the portriat to create the passwords. One 
would think that the passwords might have to be approved, but maybe 
not.  I don't have CoS handy, so I can't check on what exactly 
happens when Harry and Ron enter the Slytherin common room.

Amis917