The Secret Bishopric

THE SECRET BISHOPRIC

By F.P.Barbieri

"Your Eminence."

"Headmaster."

The two men measured each other as they shook hands. The habit of authority sat easily on both, but otherwise they could hardly have been more different. The man Dumbledore saw before him (flanked by a very tall, silent young man the Headmaster knew quite well) was clean-shaven, with a thick thatch of silver hair closely cut and combed, and the sober black robes of his order with the scarlet piping of his rank. The face was deeply lined, and may well have been handsome when young. There was a suggestion of tight control about the deep-set eyes and dense eyebrows. It was an expressive face, even a bit clownish when it smiled; but it was hard not to sense something never quite admitted, always held back. From his youth, this man must have made it a habit to be wary - of many things; of anger and of loose talk; of cleverness out of place; of self-indulgence. He spoke excellent English with a German accent. Dumbledore had accepted to meet him, suspending the enchantments of Hogwarts for his benefit, after being informed that no man was deeper in the counsels of the Pope, and that he was regarded as a likely successor.

The Cardinal, on the other hand, was for a second tempted to describe what he saw before him as "charlatanism." No more than for one second: for he was a shrewd man; and besides, his young companion had briefed him on the power and wisdom of the person he was going to meet. But Dumbledore's gloriously embroidered apparel, his faux-wild beard so well groomed to reach almost to his knees, all that carefully cultivated air of too-good-to-be-true arch-wizard, had set off all the defensive reflexes in his down-to-earth Bavarian soul. But there was no bluster with it. This was a man who said less than he thought, with a twinkle in his eyes that suggested that he knew what life was about. The Cardinal wondered about discipline in his school; he seemed altogether too twinkly and ironical to impose the kind of order required in a school where all the children had powers. Waving his hand around gently, he said:

"This is all quite remarkable... I suppose that is a hackneyed observation?"

"I would not say so, Your Eminence. At any rate, we are not used to Muggles here. I am interested in your reaction."

"Well, I knew what to expect, to some extent. But I must say that my imagination was a bit more... shall we say... obvious?"

"Obvious?"

"I had a notion... a visual image... of a school simply surrounded by children flying on broomsticks, like a swarm of birds. And bubbling cauldrons everywhere, and dangerous beasts at every turn. Instead of which, the most obvious manifestation of magic... ffffmp!" Dumbledore's smile became brighter, his eyes twinklier, as he realized that the dignified churchman had suddenly been struck in the mouth by one of those wandering effervescences, like many-coloured bubbles, that sometimes arose from the magic in his room, offering a variety of unexpected but pleasant feelings. And no matter how much one might love the taste of rum and raisin ice-cream or lemon curd, to suddenly find it in one's mouth was an inevitably bewildering experience.

"Well," said the Cardinal, recovering, "there you go. I sort of thought that I would be seeing all sorts of obvious manifestations of magic. Instead of which, I just get a sudden mouthful of something that tastes just like the best Kabinett wine" (Dumbledore smiled) " and a warning against getting lost in the corridors, because the staircases like to change directions. And frankly, getting lost in the corridors is something that I could do just as well in the Palace, with no help from magic." Both men chuckled.

"We have to keep a certain control over our children. Flight, in particular, is only allowed under certain conditions, because of the danger of falls. And magic is forbidden in the corridors and dormitories, for obvious reasons."

"Falls are dangerous to a wizard?"

"A young, inexperienced one, yes. There always are protective spells against physical harm, but it is hard to be clear in your mind about them when you are plummeting to the earth and have only a few seconds to get it right or die."

The Cardinal shivered. "It is no joke, what you do here, is it?"

"No, indeed. I think all our teachers are conscious of that. We are always dealing with things that could cause terrible damage, injury, or death. That is why it is so important that every young wizard and witch should be schooled."

"I can see that. Yet at Durmstrang I caught a rather different air."

"I know. There you would have students flying at all times of day or night, and dangerous beasts and cauldrons and all the rest of it?"

"I think they had rather toned it down for my visit. It was all very formal, with students lined up like soldiers in uniform. But yes, I had a feeling that that was what ordinarily went on there."

"Well, your Eminence, Durmstrang has a rather different educational philosophy. There is more of an emphasis on letting students make their own mistakes. And on the other hand, they are rather more punishment-orientated than we are. I am not saying that I criticize them - most of their students seem to turn out all right... And they have their own controls, their own ways of avoiding things getting out of hand. Still... Let us just say that I am comfortable where I am and with the educational philosophy I have inherited."

Dumbledore's mouth suddenly twisted in a slightly crooked smile. "It is hard to deal with this kind of argument without getting pompous. I am sorry." The Cardinal looked at him with interest. It struck him as slightly incongruous that this gorgeously-apparelled old sage should feel such a distaste for anything that might even only sound pompous. No, this definitely was no charlatan in any of the more obvious ways. He was tempted to ask his opinion of Igor Karkarov, but he was sure that he would be diplomatically fended off.

"Well, Headmaster" he said, with the air of someone coming to the point.

"Well" answered Dumbledore.

There was an uncomfortable silence, then Dumbledore spoke again. "What I do not quite understand is why you should want to consult the Headmasters. I should have thought that your obvious referents would be the Ministries for Magic."

"We have, never fear. But I understand that... in your world... educational leaders have great influence and importance. Besides," a slight hint of a grin, "I felt that they might provide a different viewpoint from that of politicians."

"A more honest one?"

"A different one at any rate. I met with nothing but politeness at every Ministry I visited, but your colleagues at Durmstrang were visibly hostile and defensive."

"And Beauxbatons?"

"Incredibly polite, the first couple of days. Then enough stories of Muggle iniquity and persecution to make my ears drop off."

"I see." Dumbledore's face grew troubled. "You have the impression of not being welcome?"

"Sometimes."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I took the trouble to do a little research... what was meant to be a little research," he said. "It snowballed into a major research project, and I don't mind telling you, your Eminence, that I am very disturbed by what I have found.

"You understand, of course, that we have our own traditions. We are a community, after all... that is why you are investigating the opportunity of sending us a Bishop." The Cardinal's face remained calm. "And I don't have to tell you that they tend to agree. The common view of Muggles in general and that of the Catholic Church in particular are not favourable. You know the sort of thing: Inquisition, faggots, persecution, etc. etc. Wizarding Christian families are not popular and tend to keep their religion to themselves."

"Seven families, I believe." Dumbledore looked at the young priest standing modestly behind the Cardinal, but he saw no hint of any emotion on his face; except perhaps for a further stiffening of his already wooden expression.

"Yes," said Dumbledore , "there are seven wizarding families known to be traditionally Catholic. A couple of dozen more belong to other Christian bodies, and then there are a number of individual converts or members of Muggle families" - Dumbledore looked for a split-second to see if the Cardinal understood him - "who keep their family's religions. But on the whole, in the wizarding world, you are greatly outnumbered by Jews and members of other religions."

"I understand that. But the community, however small, has been petitioning us for a Bishop for years."

Now they were coming to the core of the matter. "And you think..."

"We have been repeatedly told that only a Bishop from a faultless wizarding background would stand a chance. Until Father Halldor came along..."

Silence fell in the room, as the two older men looked at the young man in priest's garb.

He has presence, thought Dumbledore. Dignity beyond his years, like all his family. The House of Valsinius have always known how to present themselves. And in the Wizarding world, that matters. That matters a lot.

Not a bad wizard either. He was a prefect at Ravenclaw and quite an all-rounder in his subjects. But this is never what I would have envisaged for him. Dealing with people, diplomacy, were never his strong suit.

Not that it matters to me. But I don't particularly want the Catholic Church to fail. It would mean a victory for the elements in wizardkind I care for least.

I wonder how he will measure up, thought the Cardinal. He is not the kind I would put in single charge of a job. His temper shows too clearly behind his mask. But we may never have another chance like this...

"I would agree, of course. A Bishop for wizarding Catholics who was not a member of a leading family would never stand a chance. I assume you have everyone's assent already?"

The Cardinal nodded. "In a mostly negative way, but I do. All the Ministries I consulted, and all your colleagues, said they had nothing against it and that he would be treated like any other religious leader in the community. Here and there I even caught a kind of sense that it was about time."

"And I would say it is, too. But there is a reason why nobody committed themselves any further than that."

"Because they could not be sure their word would be respected?" The Cardinal looked very old, very shrewd, and very sad.

"Exactly. No Ministry will declare itself in favour of establishing a Diocese among wizards, when they know that a single contrary or fanatical witch with an Avada Kedavra could dispose of Bishop and Diocese and make a joke of all their words of support."

The Cardinal was quiet for moment or two, then looked straight into Dumbledore's eyes. "You know, Headmaster... you have been the first to mention that aspect of the matter."

"You surprise me."

"Well, perhaps your colleagues felt that I understood already. Or maybe they did not want to say things that might sound like threats." Dumbledore nodded.

"We are bound to have taken that side of things into consideration. Three times in the last two centuries we have tried to appoint a Bishop in partibus to the Catholics in the wizarding world. Each time, the appointed man was pelted with threatening messages and died soon after in mysterious circumstances. There is a military expression: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

"So you do understand," said Dumbledore darkly.

He went on: "It really is a matter of the odd fanatic. Most wizards and wizarding power centres would have no objection to the Catholic community having a leader, however chosen, as long as he did not throw his weight about. After all, a number of communities with worse records now have their own group institutions."

"But a lot of wizards still have an obsession with wizarding history and ancestors assaulted or maybe burned hundreds of years ago. People in our community brood on the past a lot, Your Eminence. And if a single one of them loses his mind... and it has been known to happen..."

For a while there was silence in the beautiful room

"Well," said the Cardinal, turning to the young priest, "you heard, Father Halldor. Are you still of the same mind?"

The young priest drew himself up. "Your Eminence," he said, and his tone reminded the Cardinal of the temper he had divined under his young friend's calm surface, "with due respect, you do not have to treat me like a child. I have lived in the Wizarding world all my life, I have an idea how people think, I have an idea what expects me. I am ready to take the risk.

"You know that my community needs priests and a bishop. How can wizards even properly confess their sins to a Muggle priest? If they were sincere, half of what they said would be incomprehensible to him, and at any rate they are bound by law and custom not to reveal their secrets to Muggles. Every time we approach the Sacraments, we do so with some sort of compromise in our hearts. Eminence, this simply cannot go on!"

The young man's outburst died out. After a second, he started more calmly. "We have no organic contact with the Church. We have to go to our Muggle parishes in disguise, and lie at the foot of the Cross. My Lord Cardinal... do you not think that I have thought about it again and again? I hope I shall be able to look after myself. But... if I have to risk my life so that the members of my community may have the life of normal Catholics, then I guess I was not the first to do so."

There was a silence.

"We shall go ahead with it, then. It is the Pope's view, and mine too, that we shall not easily have another opportunity like this. The authorities are not unfriendly, we have a suitable candidate, and Father Halldor, as he just said, knows the situation and is ready to run the risks involved." Dumbledore looked dubious. The Cardinal looked straight in his eyes and said: "Martyrdom is what you might call an occupational hazard of the priesthood. Last year, for instance, we lost about twenty priests in various parts of the worlds, and an Archbishop was shot down at the altar. I could also mention the monks, nuns and laymen, but I won't."

It was Dumbledore's turn to shudder. "It is no joke, what you do, is it?"

"No, indeed," said the Cardinal. "The red in my dress is supposed to mean the willingness to shed my own blood for the Church. But whether or not I do, it is certain that somewhere in the world, one of us will."

...................................................................................................................

"Father Halldor will be consecrated Bishop on November 2, in a private chapel in the Vatican. We shall respect your traditions and keep his real duties secret; the Annuario Pontificio will only record that he is Bishop of Larissa in Thessaly in partibus infidelium" - Dumbledore smiled appreciatively - "and has duties in the Curia. Only the Pope and a few directly involved ecclesiastics will know his real job. You are invited to the ceremony, of course. We hope that as many teachers and Ministry officials as possible will manage to attend."