Robertus Tallis

Wizzy
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Brown
Eye colour	Blue
Skin colour	White

Wizzy was a wizard. He seemed to be a rather scholarly man, as he carried about a thick book with a golden pentagram on it. He also smoked a pipe and wore plum-coloured robes.

Physical appearance

Wizzy had a sly sort of look about him, with a small goatee and a handlebar moustache. He had small blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a slightly pointy nose. He was known to wear a scarlet scarf with golden swirls, a purple robe and red and beige striped pants.

Etymology

Wizzy may come from the Arabic name Wasi, which means "broad-minded, liberal or learned".

Behind the scenes

• This rather bizarre-looking figure is included on the back of the original Bloomsbury cover by Thomas Taylor. In later editions, he was replaced with a clearly recognisable portrait of Albus Dumbledore. The fandom was left baffled, as this wizard did not correspond to any character in the books. The artist later revealed that he was comissioned to paint 'a wizard to decorate the back cover', and so he did a generic wizard based on the likeness of his father, that 'disappeared in a puff of smoke' to make way for Dumbledore when the publishers were repeatedly called on to explain who that wizard was.
• Most fans tended to presume Wizzy was a younger Dumbledore, Quirinus Quirrell, or Nicolas Flamel (the last of the three being most likely given the large bulge in Wizzy's pocket, that could potentially be the Philosopher's Stone)
• On Thomas Taylor's blog, "That Elusive Line", this wizard is referred to as "Wizzy" for the first time. His name was never given elsewhere.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First editions cover art only)