Disclaimer: you all know it's JK Rowling's.

Author's Notes: (1) As you can tell, I'm not overly fond of Harry. (2) The idea of having a Jewish character is one I've considered for some time and finally did when one of JK's random mentions was Jewish -- a Hogwarts student is named Anthony Goldstein. That's about as Jewish a name as you'll find.

"Barukh ata--"

"Is that a spell?" Harry asked. "Something to do with the fire?" It felt odd to ask such a bald-faced question; the sensation was the one Harry had experienced four years ago when he first met Hagrid and learned that magic was real and alive throughout the world.

It was only half an hour later. Ginny and the twins were upstairs, working, Harry guessed, on something Mrs. Weasley, who was conveniently asleep, would not approve of. Hermione was curled up in a comfortable chair reading a thick book; Ron lay on his stomach, staring at the fire and licking a chocolate frog. On the floor near an empty bookcase, Sirius dangled a bit of string in front of his kitten.

Lupin carefully replaced the shamus candle before he looked back at Harry and smiled. "Not exactly," he said. "I'm surprised you don't know. It's a prayer."

"A prayer? How would I know a prayer?" Harry asked, somewhat insulted. What right had Lupin to make him seem an ignoramus? He had only asked a question!

As though reading Harry's thoughts, Sirius said, "Remus isn't insulting you, Harry. He and Lily used to keep Chanukah together at Hogwarts."

"Chanukah?" asked Harry.

Hermione raised her head from her book and explained, "It's a Jewish holiday, Harry."

"My mum was Jewish?" Harry asked.

Lupin nodded, but it was Sirius who answered. "Didn't you ever wonder why you're circumcised?"

This drew Ron's attention. He raised his chocolate-smeared face to gaze at Harry in sympathy and horror. "I'm so sorry, mate," he said.

"Circumcision is not gelding, Ron," Sirius replied. Hermione slammed her book shut and strode from the room, muttering something about complete indecency. "It's just--"

Harry was squirming uncomfortably at this conversation. He never thought himself a prude, and in fact was uncertain precisely what circumcision was, but he had the feeling it pertained to the contents of his trousers and Harry did not enjoy listening to Sirius and Ron discuss his personal areas. Lupin interrupted his friend, "Sirius, don't have this conversation. It's embarrassing."

"No it isn't," Sirius said.

"For Harry," clarified Lupin.

Sirius gasped in surprise. "Right. Sorry, Harry."

But Ron was gazing at Harry yet, his mouth open like a caught fish. "But Harry's still got…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"Yes, Ron," Lupin said. "If you must know what it is, look it up."

More than eager to change the subject, Harry asked, "Wait a moment. Lupin, why am I… er… y'know… if I've got a godfather?"

"Well that's just a bit of a wizarding thing, Harry. James wasn't religious," Lupin added, "but he felt you should have a godfather to look after you, just in case. Lily, however… Lily was religious. Do you remember, Sirius, the year she was Bat Mitzvah'd?"

Sirius smiled. "Oh, yes. She went absolutely mad!"

"Most people memorize their Torah portion, but Lily didn't," Lupin explained to Harry, "she actually bent her incredibly apt mind to learning Aramaic."

"That was a lot of work, and she was cramming during finals. It's the only time I can recall Lily snapping at someone who didn't deserve it," Sirius reflected, giving Harry the impression that Sirius had been on the receiving end of one of Lily's outbursts.

"She was really pleased to've done it, though," Lupin added. "She was glowing at the ceremony. It defined her, I think, that Torah segment, not for what it was but for what it made her think."

Harry had never much considered his mother. He had, since beginning Hogwarts, heard that he had her eyes, but it was James who Harry desired to follow, whose shoes he hoped to fill. Every word of James Potter he had memorized and cherished. Now he wondered about Lily, desiring with a great strength to know everything about her. She had been defined by this text, Lupin said; could the text in turn define her? "Do you know it?" he asked, leaning forward. "Do you know the words?"

Lupin shifted uncomfortably. "A few snatches. I was never as pious as Lily. She told me about a few phrases concerning the capability of humanity to rule over sin and the unwillingness of the ground to give unto Cain after he spilt the blood of Abel. Lily believed this to be applicable to all situations: in short, that all people are capable of goodness and harm to others is wrong. I heard that, Ron!"

Ron looked up at Lupin and blushed. "I didn't say anything," he lied.

"Lily was not a nutter," Lupin replied, and Ron's blush deepened. "Look, religion makes people do stupid things sometimes, especially Muggles, but Lily wasn't like that. She took the words and read them, what they said and did not say, inverted them, chewed them over, and what remained she used by interpretation to form, or perhaps to support, her opinions and beliefs."

Harry asked, "What were you saying earlier? Is that… what did you say Mum learned? Aramaic?"

"Oh, no. That's just Hebrew."

"How does it go?"

Lupin said the prayer once through, then, at Harry's request, repeated the words more slowly. Harry began to ask another question, but was interrupted by a squeak from the kitten as Sirius scooped the animal up and stood. "Good night," Sirius said. "Happy Christmas." He strode towards the doorway, but paused in front of Harry. "Harry…" For a moment Sirius stood with the blatant discomfort of a first-year boy standing before the headmaster, then he very awkwardly kissed his godson's brow and said, "G'night."

He was gone before Harry swallowed the lump in his throat.

to be continued!

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