We gotta talk about Margaret LeFay

[g33k]

... Now a hypothesis: LeFay met Malcolm after hiring him for Thomas's birthday on Valentines day. Nine months later, Harry was born on Halloween. Plausible? ...

If she was intimate with Malcolm at-or-shortly-after Valentine's Day, that would call for Harry to be (at least a couple of weeks) premature; not impossible, but AFAIK nothing to hint at it has ever been stated.

The (semi) official timeline has:
  ~26-27 BSF: Thomas is given a pentacle necklace on his fifth birthday. His mother escapes Lord Raith.
  26 BSF: Maggie LeFay meets Malcolm Dresden.
("BSF" stands for "Before Storm Front")

This strongly implies that "meets Malcolm Dresden" is a wholly-separate (and later) event:  it is a separate entry from the paired events of "Thomas gets his pentacle necklace" + "Maggie escapes Lord Raith"

The DF wiki (which is entirely unofficial, but more often right than wrong) has:

... When her son was about five, she escaped Lord Raith, abandoning Thomas to the mercy of his father, who had killed all his other sons. The next year[5], she met Malcolm Dresden.

[g33k]

I doubt that Lea has a mantle...

You may be correct; I don't think we have enough info to say one way or another.

But notice this:  "Lea" isn't, in fact, "Lea:"  that's not her name.

She is the Leanansidhe.
That's a title, a role.
We don't actually have any hint what her name is!

How many such titles/roles do we know?  The Queen, the Lady, the Mother, the Eldest, the Erlking, etc... these are all mantles in Faerie.

Do we know any other Fae titled as "the ...<X>" which are not Mantles?

We also know of at least one ("Kringle") which seems to be an actual name (but is also a Mantle)... but I don't think is relevant to the case of the Leanansidhe.

[Mira]

You may be correct; I don't think we have enough info to say one way or another.

But notice this:  "Lea" isn't, in fact, "Lea:"  that's not her name.

She is the Leanansidhe.
That's a title, a role.
We don't actually have any hint what her name is!

How many such titles/roles do we know?  The Queen, the Lady, the Mother, the Eldest, the Erlking, etc... these are all mantles in Faerie.

Do we know any other Fae titled as "the ...<X>" which are not Mantles?

We also know of at least one ("Kringle") which seems to be an actual name (but is also a Mantle)... but I don't think is relevant to the case of the Leanansidhe.

All mantles?  My problem is I think we the readers over use the term, or maybe misunderstand it.  I include myself in that, I think the overall problem of labeling this or that title a mantle is it loses it's importance and meaning after a while.  You could be correct about Lea, but then again how many ordinary non mantled Fae have we met aside from Toot and his people?  Just what are the characteristics of an ordinary member of the High Sidhe of the Winter Court?   

[g33k]

... but then again how many ordinary non mantled Fae have we met aside from Toot and his people? ...

Actually, quite a few, depending on what you mean by "met."
All of the Gruffs (including "Tiny") other than Eldest Gruff are, I presume, not mantles.
I'm pretty sure WoJ has stated that "Eldest" is Kind of a Big Deal in faerie, and those are mantles.

But Maeve's little ambush-party at Harry's Wintercourt birthday-party, including the redcap & the rawbones & the ogre &c were all afaik non-Mantle'd fae, as were the fae in the garden when Harry met Lily, etc.

It's just that, generally speaking, the "mantled" fae are both more-powerful (with the consequent storytelling value to Jim, of playing in Harry's power-league) & more-interesting; Toot is certainly an exception, but note that Toot has both increased in personal power, & recruited the force-multiplying "Za-Lord's Guard..." I wonder if there is such a thing as "Eldest Pixie" ... I wonder if Toot is going to become the first "Eldest" of all pixie'dom?

[g33k]

Where does it say that?  It is my understanding that Lea was always a Fae.

WoJ says:

All the fae are part mortal.  There is some bit of mortal in every single one of the fae.

^{-- https://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-the-fae/}

As always, standard disclaimers apply:  Jim may have changed his mind since then, or been actively lying to keep back a surprise, etc.

[Mira]

Actually, quite a few, depending on what you mean by "met."
All of the Gruffs (including "Tiny") other than Eldest Gruff are, I presume, not mantles.
I'm pretty sure WoJ has stated that "Eldest" is Kind of a Big Deal in faerie, and those are mantles.

But Maeve's little ambush-party at Harry's Wintercourt birthday-party, including the redcap & the rawbones & the ogre &c were all afaik non-Mantle'd fae, as were the fae in the garden when Harry met Lily, etc.

It's just that, generally speaking, the "mantled" fae are both more-powerful (with the consequent storytelling value to Jim, of playing in Harry's power-league) & more-interesting; Toot is certainly an exception, but note that Toot has both increased in personal power, & recruited the force-multiplying "Za-Lord's Guard..." I wonder if there is such a thing as "Eldest Pixie" ... I wonder if Toot is going to become the first "Eldest" of all pixie'dom?

Or the term is over used and loosely used.  It isn't a catch all title, there are the kinds of mantles that are physically passed on like the Ladies, Queens, Mothers, and Knights, i.e. being in the right place or wrong place at the right time and being a vessel to recieve it.. And then there are those that are acquired over time by deeds, that's the type of mantle that Toot wears.  When we first meet him he is merely a little pizza loving pixie, but with his brave acts and loyalty to Harry he has grown physically and earned the mantle of Major General, and the power that goes with it.

[g33k]

"Mantles"

Or the term is over used and loosely used...

I expect we here in the fandom overuse it sometimes, yes.

But add all the "Eldest..." (Malk, Gruff, Fetch, etc) to the "Big" mantles that you listed -- plus Kringle, of course! -- because Jim has specified that all the "Eldest..." are Mantles.

Beyond that... I think all is our speculation.

In particular, it's 100% speculation on my part the Toot has gained (or will or might gain) a mantle of the Pixies.  AFAIK neither the books nor WoJ has suggested this.

But it strikes me as the kind of thing Harry does:  he invests himself in others, and those he invests in grow far beyond what they originally were (looking especially at Lash, here). 

[LordDresden2]

LeFay was also about a century old before she died. Do Harry and Thomas have any older siblings?

I believe JB has said that Thomas is Harry's only siblings, though I can't recall exactly where.

Nicodemus' words to Harry back in the day hinted that there might be others, he referred to Harry as Margaret's 'youngest' rather than 'younger', but that's hardly proof of anything.  Of course it's possibly in theory that Margaret could have had kids when she was much younger, who never studied magic and died of old age before Harry and Thomas were born.  But I don't consider that at all probable.

Now a hypothesis: LeFay met Malcolm after hiring him for Thomas's birthday on Valentines day. Nine months later, Harry was born on Halloween. Plausible?

Possible, yes.  Likely, no.

The Raith family is rich beyond rich.  It's not very likely they'd have hired a struggling stage magician as entertainment, the more so because the adult Raiths no magic is real.

I think it far more likely that Margaret went on the run, and then met Malcolm along the way.

What other head cannon have you been filling Margaret Gwendolyn McCoy LeFay's backstory with?

Head canon is too strong a word.  I have head speculations.  It's hard to be very confident until we can reconcile what Eb and Thomas and so forth told Harry and what Stacy told Harry, though.

[Mira]

In particular, it's 100% speculation on my part the Toot has gained (or will or might gain) a mantle of the Pixies.  AFAIK neither the books nor WoJ has suggested this.

Don't think I have been clear on this, what is the difference between mantel of power and mantel of power.  Toot might gain the type of mantel the President of the United States or any leader gets, all sorts of power but no actual supernatural gain, or in other words, the mantel of the office.  Then there is the mantel, something totally different, hard to define, it seems to be able to move from vessel to vessel and in some cases over runs the host, as we have seen even Harry struggle with it. 

[Tinfoil hat]

I have always thought that Margaret was randomly walking around a random park. That Malcolm was randomly walking around at the same time. While 3 random men with random swords were randomly near by while randomly being random. And Marget just randomly bumped into A random Malcolm.

[forumghost]

I have always thought that Margaret was randomly walking around a random park. That Malcolm was randomly walking around at the same time. While 3 random men with random swords were randomly near by while randomly being random. And Marget just randomly bumped into A random Malcolm.

Shiro, back in the day: "Hmm, I wonder why God wanted me to cut off that random stage magician in traffic."

or something along those lines.

[g33k]

Don't think I have been clear on this, what is the difference between mantel of power and mantel of power.  Toot might gain the type of mantel the President of the United States or any leader gets, all sorts of power but no actual supernatural gain, or in other words, the mantel of the office.  Then there is the mantel, something totally different, hard to define, it seems to be able to move from vessel to vessel and in some cases over runs the host, as we have seen even Harry struggle with it. 

Within discussions of the Dresdenverse, I usually assume the term "mantle" refers to the supernatural kind; and I was suggesting that some combo of:
 [free-willed mortal] X [brawny wizard] X [Starborn] X [time & attention & emotional investment]
could have given (or be in the process of giving) such a mantle to Toot.

He took a soulless construct (Lasciel's Shadow) and in just a few years gave it free will, gave it a soul.
He frightened the archangel Uriel by casually shortening that beings name.

And the same person who did those things?
He has been interacting with Toot for decades.

I think a new mantle is entirely within the scope of "reasonable outcomes" here.

[Mira]

Within discussions of the Dresdenverse, I usually assume the term "mantle" refers to the supernatural kind; and I was suggesting that some combo of:
 [free-willed mortal] X [brawny wizard] X [Starborn] X [time & attention & emotional investment]
could have given (or be in the process of giving) such a mantle to Toot.

He took a soulless construct (Lasciel's Shadow) and in just a few years gave it free will, gave it a soul.
He frightened the archangel Uriel by casually shortening that beings name.

And the same person who did those things?
He has been interacting with Toot for decades.

I think a new mantle is entirely within the scope of "reasonable outcomes" here.

I still think what is called a "mantel" is way to broad.  I understand, it is a cool word to throw around, it impresses.  Now the outcome when Harry is involve might very well be like you suggest, but only because Harry is a unique being apart from other wizards, or even other star borns.

[g33k]

I still think what is called a "mantel" is way to broad.  I understand, it is a cool word to throw around, it impresses ...

More to the point:  Jim uses it to convey something in the Dresdenverse.
It has a particular meaning, in the stories.

I don't think he has ever pinned the details down for us, not completely.

This leaves plenty of room for fan speculations & WAGs.

You may find the fandom use "way too broad," and I don't think I'd argue with that.  But I hope you give the author the respect of letting him build his universe the way he envisions it... and there are a LOT of mantles in Jim's Dresdenverse, far more than he has ever named in the books.

[g33k]

Except the date of 1810 doesn't exactly track with Margaret's age when Harry was born, does it?  That would put her close to or over 200 when she died, I had the impression that she was closer to 100 to 150 in age.  I think pushing 200 is a bit past child baring age for even a wizard, but I could be mistaken. What I base that on is the age of Luccio when her old body was replaced in Death Masks. and I seem to remember her telling Harry that at that age she no longer had a lot of sexual desire.. I know that doesn't mean she still couldn't have children, but the two usually track together.

The date(s) may be off a bit; but the fact that (as per the OP's query) Maggie Sr's mother is firmly fixed as a mortal woman.

AFAIK Eb's parents (and all the rest of the Senior Council) are entirely un-addressed in either canonical stories or WoJ's.  Jim may -- or may not -- have some "Meaningful Revelations" for us, there...