CHAPDISC: DH, EPILOGUE

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 185377

Marion:
> 
> 'Regulus' is latin and means 'prince' or 'litle king' and is the
latin word for 'basilisk' (which is greek, the greek word for 'king' 
being 'basileus'). It has therefore little to do with 'regulations',
and, since JKR showed us little of Regulus beyond a young boy being 
fascinated by a younger, handsome and smoothtalking Voldemort and
later falling out of fascination when finding out that Voldemort was
not what he claimed he was, the idea that he was fond of order and 
regulations would, imo, be a bit of projection. <snip>

Carol responds:
Well, yes and no. Your etymology is correct, but kings regulate
(rule). The word "regulation" is derived from "regulatus," the past
participle of "regulare, " to rule (note that our word "regular" is
derived from the same verb). All of these words are related to "rex,
regis" (king or ruler). I agree that none of these words or ideas has
anything to do with Regulus, but I'll bet that JKR (and perhaps
Regulus's Slytherin parents) was amused by the coincidence that his
name means the same as "basilisk" ("little king"). I had not heard
that "Regulus" was the Latin word for "basilisk," though. I think it
meant "petty king," a ruler of a small kingdom who owes allegiance to
a more powerful king or emperor.

One other point: I doubt that Voldemort was handsome at this point. He
would have made five Horcruxes by this point (the diary, the ring, the
locket, the cup, and the diadem). He would have looked as he did at
the interview for the DADA position, by which point he had made the
diadem Horcrux that he hid in the RoR). 

BTW, the Voldemort who killed Harry's parents ought to look exactly
like the Voldemort who showed up in Dumbledore's office, but, given
the reaction of the DEs in the graveyard, who recognize Voldemort in
his snake-faced form, it seems that JKR thinks he was snake-faced at
that point. So is the Voldemort whose face sticks out of the back of
Quirrell's head. Admittedly, at that point, there's one more
(accidental) Horcrux, and Voldemort would have noticed the difference
(he's not averse to looking in mirrors, as we see in "The Eagle Owl"
in GoF) and been wary of making Nagini into a "sixth" Horcrux.

BTW again, and I'm really straying from the post I'm responding to
here, does anyone think that Voldemort is right (in terms of JKR's
world) about seven's being a lucky number and that he would have had a
better chance against Harry if he hadn't made that extra Horcrux? Or
was the "bad luck" the creation of that accidental Horcrux regardless
of its place in the sequence and the total number of Horcruxes in the
sense that he accidentally created his own worst enemy?

Marion: 
> Anyway, back to Regulus' name; I think it's obvious that he is 
indeed named for the constellation of the Snake. His name means
'basilisk', a creature, we are told, who was the pet of Salazar
Slytherin. He is therefore the ultimate Slytherin, and I have no doubt
that JKR named him so to show that he was indeed the true Slytherin of
the family (not a compliment, in JKR's eyes), the 'little prince' of
the Black family.

Carol responds:
Actually, no. I wish you were right since it would mean that
Scorpius's name had no significance (if Regulus is named after a
Basilisk constellation and turns out good, then Scorpius, named after
the constellation Scorpio, could also turn out good). Unfortunately
for that theory, Regulus is a star in the constellation Leo, and is
known as "the heart of the lion." (What were the Blacks thinking? The
lion is the symbol of Gryffindor!)

"Regulus ( Leo /  Leonis / Alpha Leonis) is the brightest star in
the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime
sky" 

http://encyclopedia.vbxml.net/Regulus

There *is* a constellation called serpens (snake) and a better-known
one called Hydra (the many-headed snake killed by Heracles/Hercules),
but none representing a Basilisk. (Regulus, the star, is sometimes
called Basiliscus, a Latinized form of Basiliskos, Greek for "little
king," but the name doesn't signify a Basilisk. IOW, Regulus ("little
king") is merely a translation of "Basiliskos" ("little king").

Carol, glad that the Blacks didn't have a daughter named Hydra

But the prince or "little king" of the Black family I agree with. Ties
in well with another Prince of our acquaintance!