HP Vignette: Twice Bound
Jul. 26th, 2008 06:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
martasficTitle: Twice Bound
Summary: A careless comment on James's part upsets a rather pregnant Lily. Because pureblood/Muggle-born relationships would probably have all the stresses of inter-racial or inter-religious marriages in our own world.
Word Count: 882 + Notes
Characters: Lily/James Potter
Timeline: May 1980 (summer before Harry's birth)
Rating: General
Warnings: Um, discussion of religion? Not really sure if that qualifies as "mature themes," but some readers may find my treatment a bit liberal for their tastes.
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
just_ann_now (and thank you, lindahoyland, for reading over it for Americanisms)
Notes: written forallie_meril, who asked for "a wizarding perspective on faith".
***********************************
Lily leaned her head back against the wall, the cloth upholstery of the sofa cool against her neck. It was only May, and the weatherman had promised the temperature would soar over eighty-five degrees today. James sat not far off, his arm resting gently on her quite pregnant belly, his thumb tracing curlicues over the thin cloth of her robe.
It was much too warm to be touched, even so lightly, yet Lily did not mind.
"Have you thought at all of the christening?" Lily asked. She turned her head lazily to face James, and saw the look of confusion on his face.
"What would we want with a Muggle church ceremony?" James asked after a moment. "You're a witch, and a fine one at that; I didn't think you cared for such superstitions."
Lily felt her face grow warm, and not wholly from the heat. She blinked in surprise. Superstition? She'd never heard James mention "God" or even "church"; certainly there'd been no clergyman at the wedding, and Lily knew that had grated somewhat with her family. But somehow she had always imagined her child would be christened in her parents' church, even if he never set foot in such a building again.
"Lily...." James started, grasping her elbow with the hand that had rested on her stomach a moment before. Lily shook off his grip and pulled herself awkwardly to her feet. "I mean no disrespect to your family, truly... but God's for Muggles, isn't he? There's so much beyond their control, it only makes sense they'd dream up some kindly old father to protect them. We don't need that."
Lily walked across the room to the window – waddled, more like, if she was honest with herself. The heat was driving her to distraction, and her ballooning girth did not help matters. She knew that, in better circumstances, she would not find James nearly as frustrating as she did at the moment. Just now, though, she longed to crack his skull against the sill.
Superstition. Lily's family had never been particularly religious, nor was she in the conventional sense. She had not pressed for a church wedding, she did not even own a Bible, yet for her God was much more than Muggle superstition. Yet she'd always sensed something in the world that transcended her likes and experiences.
Lily turned around so she could face her husband. She knew she was in an ill temper, but this was important to her; she and her husband were risking their very lives to do what was right – not best for them, but truly right, and so their son would be born into a world where he was free to choose what type of a wizard he would be. What would that choice mean without a truth to strive for?
"James, you studied arithmancy. Do you remember what Professor Matrista said of the number three?"
James nodded, rotely repeating the words he had learned in that class. "One is the fulcrum on which the world is turned; two, the balance to keep both elements in check; yet the twice-bound strength of three united in a common cause is nigh unbreakable."
Very good, Lily thought, but even a troll can recite what it has overheard. "And did you actually understand what she said?"
James glared at her, as if to say that he was no ignoramus, and Lily felt a bit of her anger fade away. She did not mean to take her ill mood out on her husband. "It's like the Unbreakable Vow, isn't it?" he said. "Three wizards, each bound to each other, so three times as difficult to break." Lily nodded. "But what's that to do with God?" James asked.
Lily walked back to the couch and sat down. "The Unbreakable Vow... that's it, precisely." She clasped James's hand in hers. "Anglicans – all Christians, really – believe it's like that with God. I'm tied to you, and you to me, and that's strong, no mistake. But if we're both tied to God, then we're tied to each other three ways rather than one. Through ourselves, and through God, and that makes the bond stronger still."
"Do you really believe in that?" James asked. "In God?"
Lily gave James's hand a squeeze, then let him go. "I wouldn't have believed in house elves and flying broomsticks and alohomora, before I came to Hogwarts. But there are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in our philosophy."
James nodded to himself, as if turning over what she'd said in his mind. After a moment he quirked an eyebrow, and Lily caught his lips twitching in what she guess was a suppressed smile. "You'll not make me drink Christ's blood?" he asked.
"That's Catholics," Lily laughed. "In the Church of England, we believe the wine just represents Christ's blood, it doesn't become it. And no, you don't even have to take communion. Not everyone does, even among Muggles. Your main job would be to host a fancy luncheon afterwards for our families." She nuzzled her head under his chin, heat be damned. "And you'd have to stand with me at the front of the church, and be proud of your son."
James smiled down at her. "I think I could manage that."
***********************************
Notes:
The word "religion" comes from the Latin phrase "re-ligare" – to bind again. That etymology seemed to echo the Unbreakable Vow rather eerily.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt in your philosophy." – William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
According to JK Rowlings, Harry is born on July 31. That means Lily is in the seventh month of her pregnancy in May. I've never been pregnant myself, but I can only imagine it's miserable to be that pregnant in summer, especially when you're worrying about whether your friends in the Order will still be alive the next time you see them and probably want to be out there fighting with them.
Both James and Lily assume that Harry will be a wizard. It's possible that he would turn out a squib (a non-magical person with wizarding parents), but as Ron observes in CoS, squibs are "really rare." Based on this rarity, it seems natural to me that two wizards would assume their children would be wizards as well until they were proven wrong.
Summary: A careless comment on James's part upsets a rather pregnant Lily. Because pureblood/Muggle-born relationships would probably have all the stresses of inter-racial or inter-religious marriages in our own world.
Word Count: 882 + Notes
Characters: Lily/James Potter
Timeline: May 1980 (summer before Harry's birth)
Rating: General
Warnings: Um, discussion of religion? Not really sure if that qualifies as "mature themes," but some readers may find my treatment a bit liberal for their tastes.
Beta:
just_ann_now (and thank you, lindahoyland, for reading over it for Americanisms)Notes: written for
allie_meril, who asked for "a wizarding perspective on faith".***********************************
Lily leaned her head back against the wall, the cloth upholstery of the sofa cool against her neck. It was only May, and the weatherman had promised the temperature would soar over eighty-five degrees today. James sat not far off, his arm resting gently on her quite pregnant belly, his thumb tracing curlicues over the thin cloth of her robe.
It was much too warm to be touched, even so lightly, yet Lily did not mind.
"Have you thought at all of the christening?" Lily asked. She turned her head lazily to face James, and saw the look of confusion on his face.
"What would we want with a Muggle church ceremony?" James asked after a moment. "You're a witch, and a fine one at that; I didn't think you cared for such superstitions."
Lily felt her face grow warm, and not wholly from the heat. She blinked in surprise. Superstition? She'd never heard James mention "God" or even "church"; certainly there'd been no clergyman at the wedding, and Lily knew that had grated somewhat with her family. But somehow she had always imagined her child would be christened in her parents' church, even if he never set foot in such a building again.
"Lily...." James started, grasping her elbow with the hand that had rested on her stomach a moment before. Lily shook off his grip and pulled herself awkwardly to her feet. "I mean no disrespect to your family, truly... but God's for Muggles, isn't he? There's so much beyond their control, it only makes sense they'd dream up some kindly old father to protect them. We don't need that."
Lily walked across the room to the window – waddled, more like, if she was honest with herself. The heat was driving her to distraction, and her ballooning girth did not help matters. She knew that, in better circumstances, she would not find James nearly as frustrating as she did at the moment. Just now, though, she longed to crack his skull against the sill.
Superstition. Lily's family had never been particularly religious, nor was she in the conventional sense. She had not pressed for a church wedding, she did not even own a Bible, yet for her God was much more than Muggle superstition. Yet she'd always sensed something in the world that transcended her likes and experiences.
Lily turned around so she could face her husband. She knew she was in an ill temper, but this was important to her; she and her husband were risking their very lives to do what was right – not best for them, but truly right, and so their son would be born into a world where he was free to choose what type of a wizard he would be. What would that choice mean without a truth to strive for?
"James, you studied arithmancy. Do you remember what Professor Matrista said of the number three?"
James nodded, rotely repeating the words he had learned in that class. "One is the fulcrum on which the world is turned; two, the balance to keep both elements in check; yet the twice-bound strength of three united in a common cause is nigh unbreakable."
Very good, Lily thought, but even a troll can recite what it has overheard. "And did you actually understand what she said?"
James glared at her, as if to say that he was no ignoramus, and Lily felt a bit of her anger fade away. She did not mean to take her ill mood out on her husband. "It's like the Unbreakable Vow, isn't it?" he said. "Three wizards, each bound to each other, so three times as difficult to break." Lily nodded. "But what's that to do with God?" James asked.
Lily walked back to the couch and sat down. "The Unbreakable Vow... that's it, precisely." She clasped James's hand in hers. "Anglicans – all Christians, really – believe it's like that with God. I'm tied to you, and you to me, and that's strong, no mistake. But if we're both tied to God, then we're tied to each other three ways rather than one. Through ourselves, and through God, and that makes the bond stronger still."
"Do you really believe in that?" James asked. "In God?"
Lily gave James's hand a squeeze, then let him go. "I wouldn't have believed in house elves and flying broomsticks and alohomora, before I came to Hogwarts. But there are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in our philosophy."
James nodded to himself, as if turning over what she'd said in his mind. After a moment he quirked an eyebrow, and Lily caught his lips twitching in what she guess was a suppressed smile. "You'll not make me drink Christ's blood?" he asked.
"That's Catholics," Lily laughed. "In the Church of England, we believe the wine just represents Christ's blood, it doesn't become it. And no, you don't even have to take communion. Not everyone does, even among Muggles. Your main job would be to host a fancy luncheon afterwards for our families." She nuzzled her head under his chin, heat be damned. "And you'd have to stand with me at the front of the church, and be proud of your son."
James smiled down at her. "I think I could manage that."
***********************************
Notes:
The word "religion" comes from the Latin phrase "re-ligare" – to bind again. That etymology seemed to echo the Unbreakable Vow rather eerily.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt in your philosophy." – William Shakespeare's "Hamlet."
According to JK Rowlings, Harry is born on July 31. That means Lily is in the seventh month of her pregnancy in May. I've never been pregnant myself, but I can only imagine it's miserable to be that pregnant in summer, especially when you're worrying about whether your friends in the Order will still be alive the next time you see them and probably want to be out there fighting with them.
Both James and Lily assume that Harry will be a wizard. It's possible that he would turn out a squib (a non-magical person with wizarding parents), but as Ron observes in CoS, squibs are "really rare." Based on this rarity, it seems natural to me that two wizards would assume their children would be wizards as well until they were proven wrong.