Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or JK Rowling's world
A/N: This oneshot grew out of a conversation I had with a fellow writer on here, arwenjanelilylyra. It had always occurred to me that it was slightly strange that in the books, Harry had a godfather and presumably, therefore, had had a christening, in a world where there is no other evidence of Christian worship (other than celebrating Christmas and Easter, which have, for a lot of people, lost many of their religious connotations anyway, and are celebrated by a lot of non-Christians). I suppose that for people who grew up in a Christian, or nominally Christian (at least Anglican or Catholic - I'm sorry, I don't know much about other denominations), household, godparents are just a normal part of life, but for people like me who grew up in non-religious families, they are something fairly unknown, which makes me feel that they are somehow out of place in the otherwise non-religious Wizarding World.
So this is one possible explanation I came up with for how it happened. I'm sure there are a lot of people who will disagree with me, and say that the Wizarding World is not necessarily non-religious. I wouldn't disagree with that, but it depends on personal interpretation, and my interpretation, the one that appears in all my stories, is of a non-religious world, and some of my storylines rely on pureblood wizards knowing little or nothing about Muggle religion. So you could say this is my personal attempt to reconcile the fact that Harry has a godfather, with the totally non-religious Wizarding World I have written about - and I really hope nobody takes offence or thinks I'm having a go at religion or anything. I don't feel that I've been offensive, and I certainly wasn't trying to be, but you never know :-/.
So, just to make it clear: This is a light-hearted story for the most part. It is not making fun of Christian ceremonies, or criticising the church in any way, and the opinions expressed by the characters are not necessarily the opinions of the author. And now I've hopefully covered my back, please enjoy the story!
"I want to have a Christening."
"A what-e-ning?" The young man lifted a tousled black head from the sofa cushion, and looked at his wife in puzzlement.
"A Christening," she said, patiently and clearly, "You do know what a Christening is, don't you?"
He looked pained.
"Of course I do. Don't worry. I'll get you one. But not tonight, if that's okay. I'm a bit shattered."
"You're shattered?" she demanded, distracted from the conversation, "You're not the one who had to get up and feed him eight times last night!"
"You woke me up every time you got up," he protested, "And I had to get up and go to that bloody Order meeting this morning."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said sarcastically, "I'll try and be quieter about getting up tonight. Wouldn't want to disturb your beauty sleep, after all."
He looked at her.
"You know I'd feed him if I could," he said apologetically.
She giggled tiredly.
"I'd like to see you try. He'd get very annoyed!"
"If he's awake, but doesn't need feeding, wake me up. I don't have to get up tomorrow, unless there's an emergency. I can walk with him for a bit."
"I don't know. Waking you up when you're properly asleep might be more trouble than it's worth," she replied, but she was smiling, and she came and sat on the sofa beside him. He took her hand and stroked it gently.
"I mean it. You don't have to do everything."
"I know," she leaned down and kissed him, "But you're right. I'm not the one spending all day working for the Order. If you can go out and risk your life fighting dark wizards every day, I should think I can manage to look after one three week old baby."
Her words were brave, but her voice shook slightly.
He smiled at her.
"I'm not so sure. He's more work than a dozen Death Eaters."
She laughed weakly.
"So long as you don't get yourself killed, I'm happy."
"So, if I'm tortured and mutilated and disfigured beyond recognition, that's all right, is it?" he grinned at her, but she did not grin back.
"James! That isn't funny!"
"Sorry."
"They're late," the thin, brown-haired young man, who looked older than he was, looked at his watch impatiently, "Where are they?"
"What time is it?" his companion asked lazily, grabbing the first man's wrist and twisting it so he could see the time, "Twelve o'clock. Well, at a guess, Pete's still in bed and fast asleep, and James… well, James may be still in bed too, but if so, he probably isn't asleep…"
"Would you try and be serious for once?" his friend asked irritably, "And don't even bother," he added, as the other young man opened his mouth with a grin, "That joke doesn't get funnier with use. This is important…"
"Calm down, Moony. I know it is, but we've got plenty of time. It's only a reconnaissance trip. And they'll be here."
They were interrupted by the door flying open and a third young man came bursting in, black hair all over the place and glasses slightly askew.
"Hey. Sorry I'm late," he grinned round, but a bit distractedly, as if he had something else on his mind.
"About time!" the first young man said, "What were you doing?"
"Now, now, Moony. That's no way to talk about Lily," the second one said reproachfully, "You mean, who were you…?" he broke off and grinned at the glares both his friends turned on him.
"And now we're just waiting for Peter and we can start," the one called Moony went on, "We ought to start planning; James, did you bring the cloak…?"
"Yeah, yeah," James waved this aside, and seated himself astride a chair, "Listen, you two; I need your help."
They looked expectantly at him.
"What the hell's a Christening?"
"I still don't get why she wants one," he said confusedly.
"James!" Remus Lupin looked at him in exasperation, "This isn't exactly the time. Can we discuss it later?"
They were both speaking in whispers, hidden under James' invisibility cloak, only yards away from the entrance of what looked, from the outside, like a broken-down barn, but which they suspected was actually something quite different, and being used as a head quarters for Death Eater activity. It was drizzling gently.
"Yeah, but what's the point?" James went on, clearly not listening to a word, "I mean, from what you said, it's a religious thing, right? But Lily's not religious. And I don't get it. She wants some priest to splash water on his head, and tell us what his name is. What's the point?"
"I don't know," Remus replied, "I think it means a lot to some people, even if they're not strongly religious. Now, will you please concentrate? We need to see if there are any spells on that barn."
James frowned worriedly.
"D'you think it means a lot to her? I mean, when you say 'people,' you mean Muggles, right? But she's not a Muggle…"
"James, I don't know. Why don't you just ask her? And now I really need you to help me cast this spell…"
She was changing a nappy when he came in, so he sat and watched while she finished, and distracted his small son by pulling faces at him.
"So, Lil," he said, when the baby was clean and dressed again, "This Christening thing…"
"Do you know what one is now?" she asked with a grin.
"Yes," he said with dignity, "Of course I do. And if that's what you want, of course we can…"
"You asked Remus, didn't you?"
He gave up and grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah. But anyway, he told me all about them. And I don't see why we shouldn't, I suppose. But… why do you want one exactly? I mean, what's it for…?"
She looked down at the baby, who was now almost asleep on her front, and was silent for a moment.
"I was christened when I was a baby," she said at last, quietly, "And we used to go to church sometimes, when I was a kid. I mean, I wouldn't say I was ever exactly religious. My Mum and Dad weren't that convinced by the whole thing. But we used to go sometimes, and I liked going," she looked earnestly at him, "Churches are nice places, even if you're not religious. And… it's part of my childhood. I know it's a Muggle thing, so you probably don't see the point, but the Muggle world's part of who I am. It… it feels like the proper thing to do, if you know what I mean. Everything's so awful at the moment in the Wizarding World. I feel like doing this would let me believe there's some normality left in the world," she looked beseechingly at him, "You don't mind, do you?"
He kissed her.
"Of course I don't. If that's how you feel, that's what we'll do," he smiled at her, "Sounds fun, anyway. Good excuse for a party…"
She rolled her eyes.
"It won't be a very big one. Half the Order's off abroad at the moment… And anyway, after Dad… and with Mum the way she is…"
"No, obviously," he said hastily. Lily's father had died just a few months before, of a massive heart attack, and her mother, who had been struggling with cancer for years, was not doing well.
"We could always wait, though," he went on, "I mean, at least until Odette's home…"
Odette Irvine had been one of Lily's best friends at school, and was the daughter of old friends of the Potters.
"No," Lily shook her head, "I don't want to wait. We don't know when Odette's coming home; it might not be for months and months. Who knows where we'll all be by that time? And Mum could go downhill at any time. I really want her to be there. Odette'll understand."
He nodded.
"Right, quiet party it is. Although if we have Sirius there, I can't guarantee how quiet it'll really be. So… what do we actually have to do?"
"Okay, sounds cool," Sirius agreed breezily, helping himself from a bag of Cockroach Clusters that Peter had accidentally left on the table of the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
James rolled his eyes.
"I haven't even told you what it means yet."
"No," Sirius grinned at his best friend, "But it sounds cool. Godfather? As in a mixture of God and Father, only without the nappy changing? Sounds brilliant. So what do I have to do?"
"Well… It's kind of important. I mean, I think it's got some religious meaning, but basically, it means you have the next responsibility, after the parents. So if anything happened to me and Lily, you'd have charge of Harry…"
"Well, obviously," Sirius said calmly, "What d'you think I'd do? Abandon him to be brought up by some of Lily's Muggle relatives or something?"
There was no point in saying stupid things like 'nothing's going to happen to you.' They were on the frontline of a war, and the danger was constant.
"So, that's a yes?" James asked, "You'll do it?"
"Course I will. You don't think I'd let you use someone else, do you?"
"You'll have to dress smart, Lily says. Muggle clothes."
"I can do that," Sirius said confidently.
"Lily said she'll help us choose something suitable. I don't think she trusts us. Oh, yeah, and you're supposed to have been christened yourself before you can be a godparent, so we might have to do some subtle spellwork to make them believe you were…"
"Did you have to come on that thing?" Lily asked Sirius exasperatedly, looking at the large motorbike he had parked outside the church gates. He grinned.
"Why not? I didn't do any harm. I could have ridden it into the church, or flown it in or something..."
"Yes, well," Lily glanced over her shoulder at the small huddle of people behind her, "I don't think you made a very good impression on my family." Two of the people were staring disapprovingly at Sirius and his bike.
"Those are your family?" Sirius looked at them, "Wow. They don't look much like you, do they? She looks like she's just realised that the slightly soft feeling under her shoe was actually dog shit..."
"Shut up," Lily bit back a smile, "That's my sister. And you're probably not too far off with the emotion you just described so poetically. She's looking at you, after all."
"Thanks, Lily," Sirius grinned at her, "I always know I can rely on you when I need a compliment to boost my ego..."
"You never need a compliment to boost your ego," she retorted, "It boosts itself perfectly well. Anyway, let's get inside. You're almost late."
"Does this go on much longer?" Sirius muttered to James, half way through the first reading. Lily being nominally Church of England, they were at the usual Sunday morning service.
"I don't know. Lily, how much longer does this go on for?"
"Shut up!" Lily hissed, and gave no other reply.
James glanced over his shoulder, to where Petunia Dursley had retreated with a screaming baby (she had eventually conceded defeat after exchanging glares with a formidable elderly lady in a large hat; James had been amused to see his sister-in-law eventually stared down, and forced to get up and grudgingly take young Dudley out of the service), and was pacing up and down in the entrance hall. Then he looked regretfully down at the peacefully sleeping baby in Lily's arms and a thoughtful expression came over his face. He reached over and began to take the baby out of his wife's arms.
"Stop it!" whispered Lily, "What are you doing? You'll wake him up... there, I told you!" as Harry's face crumpled and he gave a squawl.
"Sorry," James murmured, smiling pacifically at her, "It's all right. I'll take him out."
He rose, gave an apologetic smile at the formidable old lady in the hat, and a triumphant smirk at Sirius, who pulled a face at him, and carried his now howling son from the church.
He came back in time for the actual baptism, which went surprisingly well. Sirius managed to solemnly promise that he would repent of his sins and renounce evil, and even to keep a straight face while James did the same, thanks to a heavy step on his foot from Remus.
"I wonder what they'd say," Sirius muttered to that young man as the vicar splashed water on Harry's head, "if they knew that we were all witches and wizards, and that you were a werew..."
"Be quiet!" Remus whispered frantically, "Someone'll hear you!"
However, nobody did, and the rest of the service went without a mishap, if you discounted Vernon Dursley saying rather loudly as they filed out that he was surprised that 'that type' were allowed into churches, drawing disconcerted glances from other members of the congregation.
"Was that really worth it?" Sirius asked James, as they left the church.
"Yes," said James simply, "Because she's smiling. Look."
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Honestly! She's got you wrapped round her little finger, mate."
"Of course she has," Remus sounded amused, "Don't tell me you've only just worked that out, Padfoot? I thought we realised it back in sixth year. Now, come on. The next bit'll be starting without us at this rate."
"There's another bit?" Sirius looked alarmed.
"The next bit is the reception," Remus explained patiently, "The bit you elegantly described as the 'piss-up,' Sirius, although I should think Lily'll neuter you if try and turn it into a rave."
"It wasn't too horrible, was it?" Lily asked anxiously, a considerable time later, when they were back at home, and Harry was down for the night (or rather, for the time being). James looked surprised.
"It wasn't horrible at all. It was quite fun, most of it."
"But you didn't just think it was stupid?" she frowned worriedly at him. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead.
"It wasn't stupid. It was nice, and I'm glad we did it," he said firmly.
"Even though it was such a Muggle thing?"
"I like Muggle things. Aren't you glad we did it?"
It was her turn to look surprised.
"Of course I am. It was exactly what I wanted, except I'd have liked Odette to be there..."
"So you didn't mind that Sirius got drunk?" he grinned.
She giggled.
"Not too much. I sort of expected it. And you didn't mind that Petunia's husband kept insulting you?"
He grinned again.
"Nah, it was quite entertaining. Stupid idiot. I think seeing Sirius take off on the bike gave him a bit of shock though."
He kissed her again, on the mouth this time, and drew her down onto the sofa, and for a few moments there was silence in the room.
Then a thin wail from upstairs interrupted them, and they broke away from each other.
"Why couldn't God make him stay asleep when he's put down, now that he's part of the great Christian family?" James grumbled jokingly.
She giggled, then sighed.
"This is our life now. Crying babies and broken nights and nappies. It's never going to go back to how it was before."
"Would you want it to?" he asked seriously.
"No, of course not," she replied, "But I'd better go..."
He got up.
"You stay where you are. If he needs feeding I'll bring him down. It's my turn."
And he took the stairs two at a time on his way to calm to screaming of the newest member of the world-wide Christian family.
Just so you know, the closest thing to my own opinion in this is Lily's line in the middle: 'Churches are nice places, even if you're not religious.'
And the last line, for those who don't recognise it, (and James' line just a little bit earlier) is a reference to the Baptism service in the Church of England, which ends with an introduction of the child to the congragation in exactly those words (at least, exactly as far as I can remember.
Hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to review :-)