Nicknames

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 185547

Barry wrote:
>
> Were nicknames used in the WW? I'm thinking "Red" for Hermoine,
things like that?
> 
> Thanks
> Barry
>
Carol responds:

Why "Red" for Hermione (not "Hermoine")? Her hair is brown. And "Red"
wouldn't work for the Weasleys since all of them have red hair. But if
you recall, the Marauders called each other by nicknames (Moony,
Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs), and Harry lies to Snape, telling him
that "Roonil wazlib," the name that Ron's defective quill has
inscribed in his Potions book, is his (Harry's) nickname. When Snape
questions him, Harry says "That's what my friends call me" and Snape
sneers, "I know what a nickname is." He would--he called himself "the
Half-Blood Prince."

BTW, someone mentioned Elphias "Dogbreath" Doge, but I doubt that
anyone besides Rita Skeeter called him by that name. ("Mad-eye" Moody,
mentioned by the same poster, is probably the best example of a
universally used nickname. Otherwise, we have epithets like the Dark
Lord or He Who Must Not Be Named which are not really nicknames *You
Know Who comes close except that it's not applied affectionately and
shortened versions of people's names (Sev for Severus and Ced for
Cedric, unless that second one is movie contamination). And let's not
forget Grawp's nickname for Hermione, Hermy, admittedly the product of
special circumstances! And wasn't there a Healer in a painting in St.
Mungo's who had a nickname? And I think some of the Quidditch players
in QTTA did, too (not that I remember it particularly well).

Carol, vaguely recalling that some of the Wizards of the Month on
JKR's website have nicknames but not sure that they count as canon.