Drakon

• Term: drakon
• Language: Mermish
• Translation: Dragon
• Source: The Mermish song of the Second Task

“Drakon” is the word for dragon in the Mermish language. Its only known appearance is in the Mermish song that served as the clue for the Second Task of the 1994 Triwizard Tournament. The song was magically contained within the golden egg that each champion retrieved from a mother dragon in the First Task. While Harry Potter was able to hear the song's lyrics by opening the egg underwater, its full meaning was not revealed until after the Second Task was completed. In his address to the crowd and judges, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore provided a translation and explanation of the song's riddle. He clarified for his fellow judges (Ludo Bagman, Barty Crouch Sr., Igor Karkaroff, and Olympe Maxime) that the “drakon” mentioned in the lyrics was a direct reference to the dragons faced by the champions in the First Task. The Merpeople's song was thus drawing a parallel between the champions taking the golden eggs from the “drakon” and the Merpeople taking the champions' hostages for the Second Task.

The Mermish word drakon is almost certainly derived directly from the Ancient Greek word, δράκων (drakōn), which translates to “dragon” or “large serpent.” This Greek root is the origin of the word “dragon” in English and many other European languages, suggesting a shared linguistic history or a direct adoption by the Merpeople of a term from a surface-dwelling culture.