Godparent

"Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

- Cornelius Fudge.

A godparent (either godfather or godmother, depending on gender), in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. The term does not always have explicitly religious overtones, since the secular view of a godparent tends to be an individual chosen by the parents to take an interest in the child's upbringing and personal development, and to take care of the child should anything happen to the parents.

Known godparents

 * Sirius Black, to Harry Potter
 * Harry Potter, to Edward Lupin
 * Neville Longbottom, to Albus Potter
 * Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, to James Potter II