[HPforGrownups] Harry's Godmother?

[Penny & Bryce]

No: HPFGUIDX 28891

Hi --

doseylel at aol.com wrote:

> I don't know about British traditions, but in the States, there is
> usually a Godfather AND a Godmother.  It's more of an honorary title
> than a guardian choice, so they don't have to be married or anything
> like that.  

Leslie -- there was a thread about this subject a few months ago.  I'd 
bet you could find it easily enough by searching "godmother" and/or 
"godfather" in the Message archives.

In short though, we don't know if Sirius is a godfather in a religious 
sense or strictly legal guardian sense.  Typically parents do name at 
least two godparents these days, but they almost always name one legal 
guardian in a will (a married couple or a single individual).  The 
Potters wouldn't have wanted there to be a huge custody battle between 
Sirius Black & this hypothetical godmother after all.  It's possible 
that there is a godmother for Harry from a religious ceremony, but I 
think it sounds more likely that Black is a non-religious guardian with 
the title "godfather."

Penny
(whose daughter was baptized 2 weeks ago & has 4 godparents: a married 
couple from our church, my single sister & Bryce's married brother ... 
but she has only one named legal guardian in the event of our deaths)