Passwords in the "Harry Potter" Books Quiz

Answer: caput draconis

The phrase means "dragon's head" in Latin. Many of the magic-related terms in the series, especially spells and incantations, have some sort of Latin etymology. It can be assumed this has to do with the fact that many of these originated centuries ago.

In real life, author J.K. Rowling has studied French which, as a romance language, also has its roots connected to Latin. The school motto "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus", another Latin sentence, means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon" - a wizarding proverb. Dragons, as strong magical animals, are traditional heraldic symbols of power. Thus, it is conceivable that the Fat Lady, who tends to come up with thematic passwords for Gryffindor Tower, chose "caput draconis" as a majestic-sounding phrase, worthy of the start of a new school year.

Another example of thematic passwords are the passwords, "baubles" and "fairy lights", which were used at Christmas time.

Answer: Hufflepuff

The taps should be in the rhythm of the name "Helga Hufflepuff", one of the four Hogwarts founders and namesake of Hufflepuff House. This information doesn't come from the books, since Harry never goes to the Hufflepuff common room. It is, however, still considered "canon", as it was made available on Rowling's website pottermore.com. Users got a welcome message with information on their House, including the security measures to enter the Common Room.
I, being a Ravenclaw, would need to solve a riddle, the answer being the password (sometimes inconvenient, if you're in a hurry, but manageable for "those of wit and learning"). Of course, this also leads to the possibility of other intelligent people being able to enter if they work the answer out. This is shown in the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", when Minerva McGonagall (who herself very nearly became a Ravenclaw - another Pottermore fact) manages to solve the riddle and is allowed in.

The more action-oriented Gryffindors and Slytherins have changing passwords that they need only remember - but which, accordingly, can sometimes be forgotten, or even stolen.

Answer: It is the name of a kind of plant that Herbology-interested Neville owns.

Mimbulus mimbletonia resembles a cactus, but has Stinksap-filled pustules instead of thorns as a defense mechanism. Neville received one as a birthday present in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Though many of the school subjects challenge the young wizard, he is actually very good in Herbology, the study of magical herbs and funghi. This fact is abused by the fake Mad-Eye Moody, who gains Neville's trust by giving him a book on Mediterranean plants.

In the end, Neville's bad memory does not hinder him too much in his education - we learn from the Epilogue of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" that he has become a Hogwarts Professor.

Answer: Neville had written down the constantly changing passwords and lost the list.

The often overly-enthusiastic Sir Cadogan gets carried away and comes up with difficult-to-remember passwords that keep changing. Thus, Neville asks for a list of the upcoming passwords to avoid getting locked out. Alas, Sirius Black gets his hands on said list and manages to enter and scare everyone in the boys' dormitory - they believe a convicted mass-murderer has come to attack! For allowing this serious (no pun intended ;) ) breach in security, Neville gets punished severely - he isn't to be told the passwords and thus needs some other Gryffindor to let him in.

The incident is a stroke of luck for Sirius Black. Sir Cadogan, for all his flaws, is exceedingly brave and most likely wouldn't have cowered under any threat from him. Black's Animagus form - a huge black dog - serves him as a good enough disguise to enter the Hogwarts grounds, but a dog sneaking into a common room would have seemed strange enough for people to notice. And while Severus Snape would gladly have Lupin responsible for letting Sirius in, the werewolf believed the tale everyone was told - that Black was a traitor and murderer. In fact, he was merely trying to reach the real traitor who had framed him - Peter Pettigrew, disguised as Ron's rat, Scabbers.

Answer: pure-blood

Of course, Slytherin House doesn't accept only pure-blood students - as evident by half-blood Severus Snape being its Head of House. Still, it is the House that places most importance on one's ancestry. So, naturally, in times when threats against the "enemies of the Heir" are issued, Slytherins apparently felt the inclination to ascertain their purity of blood. The Black Family's motto "toujours pur" (from French, "always pure"), would also fit well with this way of thinking. Accordingly, most Blacks are former Slytherin students - the most prominent exception being, of course, Sirius.

While both "chamber" and "basilisk" would have fit the events, the former would have probably not been grand enough for Slytherin taste. As to the latter - the fact that Slytherin's Monster was a basilisk wasn't commonly known - it is Hermione Granger who, at a later point in the story, figures this out.

Answer: The password needs to be spoken in the language of snakes, Parseltongue.

The ability to speak to snakes is a very rare gift, mostly connected to wizards involved in the dark arts. Such is the case with the ancient Greek wizard Herpo the Foul, who was the first to breed a basilisk. This giant snake with venomous fangs and the power to kill anyone who looks it in the eyes was the obvious choice for Salazar Slytherin to place in his Chamber, to assist his Heir in ridding Hogwarts of those of impure blood. Being a Parselmouth himself, Slytherin believed his Heir would also possess this gift. Indeed, such is the case with the Heir Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, as well as his relatives, the Gaunts.

Of course, contrary to the rumors that started after his ability to converse with snakes became known, Harry isn't the Heir of Slytherin. His gift of speaking Parseltongue resulted, as revealed in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", from the piece of Voldemort's soul he unknowingly carried in him since the attempt of the Dark Lord to kill him as a baby. Thus, this piece of the Heir's soul grants access to the Chamber of Secrets to Harry and Ron, allowing them to rescue Ginny from the basilisk.

Though typical Parselmouths seem to inherit the ability, it is apparently also possible to learn Parseltongue. Remembering the words spoken by Harry by sound, Ron, who has no connection to Slytherin or Voldemort, also manages to open the Chamber during the Battle of Hogwarts, which helps him and Hermione destroy one of the horcruxes with a fang of the dead basilisk.

For the "Harry Potter" films, phonetics expert and Cambridge Professor Dr. Francis Nolan created a snake language the actors could then speak "for real" in the necessary scenes.

Answer: Dissendium

The incorrect answers are all spells from the books. Alohomora opens locks, Rictusempra is a tickling spell, and Densaugeo lets teeth grow. Hermione gets hit by this spell, cast by Draco Malfoy during a fight, in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire". When Madam Pomfrey shrinks her teeth, she takes the opportunity to make them smaller than before the accident - something her dentist parents wouldn't have allowed otherwise.

Though the etymology of "Dissendium" isn't quite clear, the "Harry Potter Lexicon" website (hp-lexicon.org) proposes a meaning of "part/separate here, now", as a portmanteau of the Latin words "dissocio" (part/separate), "en" (here) and "dium" (day/today, now). This explanation would fit in with the effect of uttering "dissendium" in combination with tapping the hump of the witch - the entrance to the tunnel opens. This secret passageway leads directly to the cellar of Honeydukes Sweetshop. This way, hidden under his Invisibility cloak, Harry can make sure to get the sweets he likes, and stop Hermione and Ron from buying him Cockroach Clusters!

Answer: cockroach cluster

Even Harry seems astonished that THIS is the correct one. Evidently Dumbledore likes just about any type of sweets he can get. The exception is, of course, "Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans", where he has had very bad luck in getting both a vomit flavoured one (in his youth, as he tells Harry in "Philosopher's Stone") and one tasting of earwax (in the Hospital wing in the same scene, the one time he decides to give these sweets another chance)!

Cockroach clusters are probably a homage to "Monty Python", who mention them in a sketch. J.K. Rowling is a self-proclaimed Python-fan.

Acid Pops and Fizzing Whizbees are both magical sweets - burning a hole in the tongue of the person who eats them or causing levitation, respectively. Sherbet lemons are Muggle sweets popular in the UK. Since US readers wouldn't recognise them, for the American editions the name was changed to "lemon drop".

Answer: pine fresh

Cedric gives Harry the password as "quid pro quo" for telling him about the dragons in the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. It does indeed help Harry, since the only way to understand the clue is to listen to it underwater (unless, of course, one speaks Mermish). Fittingly, a picture of a mermaid adorns one wall of the bathroom - though it is the Mediterranean version that doesn't have much in common with the Merpeople Harry later encounters in the lake.

Besides being lavishly decorated, the prefects' bathroom also offers a very luxurious bathing experience, with different sorts of bubbles, scents and foam flowing out of jewel-encrusted taps into a swimming pool-sized tub. Using it is indeed a privilege, reserved for Prefects and Quidditch captains. Since Harry receives the latter position in "Half-Blood Prince", he could also officially use it from then on.

Answer: magic

Upon dialing the correct password, one is issued with a badge stating the purpose of the visit. The operator who does this seems to be some form of enchantment, rather than a real person, since they accept the "rescue mission" of Sirius in "Order of the Phoenix" without comments or questions.

The fact that, prior to Lord Voldemort's "official" return, the security in the Ministry is quite lax can probably be attributed to Minister Fudge's reluctance to accept the idea that any danger could be imminent. Furthermore, from the visit of Harry and his friends to the Department of Mysteries, it becomes evident that the more important secrets of the Ministry have their own protective enchantments. The initial version of Rowling's official website, jkrowling.com, also used dialing a specific word as a way to provide access to hidden content. On the homepage, a desktop (supposedly depicting the author's real-life workspace) could be found, which featured a cell phone. Both "magic" and "Peeves" (733837) unlocked new information about the books, including a picture of the poltergeist, drawn by Rowling.