Crossposted to FictionAlley Park - JKR gives two big clues at her reading (SPOILERS AHOY)

[heidi]

JKR gives clues about Book Six (which she says she's half through with, sigh) including

Harry has no Godmother. Does that mean his godfather had no woman in his life? Hmmmmmmm!

Also, Aberforth was the barman in the Hog's Head, rita is coming back, and Grawp will also (gah! The horror! The horror!) be back too.

Also, petunia is *not* a squib as Lily's parents were not magical. She did say something that may imply that Petunia is a witch, though - we know of another muggle-born sibling pair of wizards - the Creeveys.

I'm just sayin'...

Comments

[february-sea.livejournal.com]

Must, must MUST agree with you about Petunia. When I first read this:

Petunia is not a squib, as she is muggle-born, but......

my beady little eyes lit right up and I thought, "Hey! Maybe she's a witch, too!!" *snerk* Wouldn't THAT fry Vernon's tushie. hee, hee...

[siresin.livejournal.com]

Harry has no Godmother. Does that mean his godfather had no woman in his life? Hmmmmmmm!

I would really like to take it like that but my Godfather and Godmother are just my parents best friends, and not married or together at all. I don't know how common a practice that is though. *shrugs*

Would really like to hear that what my parents did isn't common though. ;)

[phoenixsong]

Actually, my Godparents aren't a married couple, either. None of my cousins, AFAIK (and I'm the oldest of 15 cousins/siblings on Mom's side) have married Godparents. I think most of us kids have one Godparent from each side of the family.

[miafitz.livejournal.com]

News on Petunia definitely makes things interesting. Perhaps this would also be reason for why Harry is safer at Privet drive...I'm not a fan of Petunia, and never will be, but I'm just dying to know what it is about her that is more than meets the eye.

Well, perhaps Sirius had no woman in his life at the moment of Harry's birth. Perhaps he just never liked women :)

[miafitz.livejournal.com]

I am the same case. My godparents are just relatives from each side of the family.

[eilanhp.livejournal.com]

It is common. IOn fact, I don't know a single person where this isn't the case. My Godmother is my Godmother and her husband is just called my Godmother's husband. It doesn't make him my Godfather.

[kisbite.livejournal.com]

Well, I was at the event, and she didn't say Petunia was muggleborn, she said she was a muggle. She did imply there was more to Petunia that she couldn't tell us, but I wouldn't count on her being a witch.

[akahannah.livejournal.com]

Though not a puppyshipper per se, I'm rather glad that Harry doesn't have a Godmother - I've read quite enough 'Lily's Best Friend' Mary Sue type fanfics to last me a lifetime, kthx.

The news that she is halfway through has made me a very happy bunny indeed. Whee!

[casfic.livejournal.com]

Harry has no Godmother. Does that mean his godfather had no woman in his life? Hmmmmmmm!

What on earth has Harry not having a Godmother got to do with the gayness or otherwise of his Godfather? It's never been a British tradition that one's godparents are married to each other.

[moony]

Er, I think she's only joking.

[nightfalltwen.livejournal.com]

Harry has no Godmother. Does that mean his godfather had no woman in his life?

My sister has 2 godmothers and 1 Godfather... none of them are related to each other in any way. One godmother is my aunt, one godmother is a friend of my mom and the godfather is a friend of my dad.

This was all done in an Anglican church.

[peregrinuscanus.livejournal.com]

I agree. Only four of my offsprings' twelve godparents (three each) are married (ie. two couples). The others don't even know each other very well and some live in other countries but they are still excellent godparents. I am more than happy that Sirius would seem to be Harry's only godparent, though it is the English Anglican tradition that a boy has one godfather and two godmothers, and a girl the reverse.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's fairly rare for the godparents to be an actual couple, though it does happen. Sometimes, they're one from each side of the family, or the best man and maid of honor from the wedding, or in one of my cousin's cases, a pair of siblings (i.e., my brother and sister are my cousin's godparents. To be very clear, my siblings are not a couple. *g*).

On one hand, yet again are we stymied in knowing anything about Lily's friends or family outside Petunia, if they were following the typical "one from each side" way of doing it. Otoh, it'd be nice to think that Remus was fulfilling the 'godmother' role. *g*

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

And JUST because I want to sadistically beat this idea to death, I'm Catholic (sort of) and not only was my godmother a good unmarried Catholic girl all her life (draw your inference), but I don't even remember who my godfather was. Except, obviously, it wasn't anybody involved with my godmother.

[slinks off giggling evilly]

[nightfalltwen.livejournal.com]

though it is the English Anglican tradition that a boy has one godfather and two godmothers, and a girl the reverse.

Really? Wow I didn't know that.

I, like my sister, have 2 Godmother's and one Godfather...

Maybe it's because I'm canadian? *ponders this*

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Both of our kids have the same godparents, a married couple consisting of a woman who grew up with my husband and was like a sister to him and her husband, who became my good friend while he was going to Wharton and attending our church. Because of this our daughter calls THEIR daughters her "god-sisters," which I think is very cute (of course, I'm biased). Her godmother's sister (her god-aunt?), who also grew up with my husband (obviously) was visiting Philly today and Rachel declared that HER daughter was her god-cousin!

I think that if Lily had been close to Petunia she probably would have named her own sister godmother. Obviously this didn't happen. But this also seems to imply that Lily had no close female friends. In that there were women besides Lily and Alice Longbottom in the OotP, I find this rather odd. Sirius wouldn't have to be "with" a woman for Harry to have had a godmother; Lily could have chosen a friend to fill that role.

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

Does that mean his godfather had no woman in his life? Hmmmmmmm!

Is it common for godmother and godfather to be together?

I'm just trying to go over my sisters' godparents, and my own, and I don't think we have one "pair" between us (and we all have 2 godmothers and 1 godfather (something about two of the same sex as the baby)).

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

And then I see that there's already a thread on this...

Sorry.

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

In my family, godparents are NEVER married couples...you split up the g.mother and g.father so that your bases are more fully covered.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

I think that if Lily had been close to Petunia she probably would have named her own sister godmother. Obviously this didn't happen. But this also seems to imply that Lily had no close female friends. In that there were women besides Lily and Alice Longbottom in the OotP, I find this rather odd. Sirius wouldn't have to be "with" a woman for Harry to have had a godmother; Lily could have chosen a friend to fill that role.

*nod*

I think it's just one more way of making sure that Harry had no one to turn to - had she had a close female friend able to take Harry in, or able to visit and shame Petunia into treating him better, the story would be very different, much like, had Sirius had a wife, his focus couldn't just be "protect Harry/kill Wormtail" in PoA, because if he were any kind of decent guy, he'd also be all, "must check on wife."

Of course, it could also be that if the Potters already knew they had to go into hiding, they were already aware of the spy in their midst, and they were only going to trust one person, and James's choice (unfortunately, as it turned out) won out over Lily's.