Meanwhile, in the Great Underworld, a great reunion was taking place.
"Hey there Lily! Hey James!" said Dumbledore. "Long time no see!"
The couple looked shocked. "Professor Dumbledore! What are you doing here?" asked Lily.
"Please, please, call me Alberto."
"Alberto? I thought your name was Albus…" remarked James, tousling his hair and readjusting his glasses.
"Ah, but I'm Alberto now," nodded Dumbledore. "Ever since Snape did me that great favor I decided to get down and jiggy. You know, it's like a little vacation."
"Snape did this to you?" asked Lily. "Not Severus?"
"Ah indeed!" nodded Alberto, stroking his beard. "Don't be alarmed! I asked him to. It was quite nice of him you know, putting his life in danger to do me such a favor. I'm afraid Harry won't like it though."
"Harry?" whispered Lily. "How is he? How is my son?"
"Ah, lucky for you I still have my brain. If you can locate a pensive, I would be more than happy to offer you strands of my knowledge. He's quite an amazing chap, I'll tell you that. Me gusta, me gusta!" nodded Alberto. "Do you guys have a pensive down here?"
"Yeah, but you have to sign one out…" said James. "You'll have to talk to the Great Lord."
"Ah! Well, before we do that, let's get down to business. I didn't die just to see you guys you know, ahem, no offense!" chuckled Alberto. "I came here to find Sirius Black."
"Sirius?" said James looking a little worried. "He's not doing that well…"
"Of course he isn't! He's half dead and half alive! Didn't he tell you about the curtain?"
"He mentioned only that he fell through a curtain while fighting Bella," said Lily. "We aren't sure of what that curtain is."
"Well of course you aren't, it's located in the department of mysteries, isn't it?" said Alberto. "Well, as a rule of thumb, usually if I told anyone about it, I'd have to kill them, but since you're dead already, I don't think I have to worry about anything."
James and Lily exchanged grimaces.
"As I was saying," said Dumbledore, "That curtain, located in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic, is a magical curtain woven by the mane of thestrals. The properties of that curtain allow one to prematurely visit the Underworld and return to the Muggle world under special permission. However, the Ministry of Magic confiscated it for reasons you can imagine I'm sure. Sirius is trapped here because he came through without permission, regardless of the fact that it was an accident."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I am going to find him and take him to the Great Lord where we will have a talk so that he may release us."
"But how can you return if you are dead?" protested Lily.
"I'm not dead!" sighed Dumbledore. "How many times do I have to remind you? I am not dead!"
"Have you ever met the Great Lord?" asked James, trying to change the subject. "We have not yet seen him, but we hear he's quite a character."
Alberto chuckled. "Indeed the Great Lord is a friend of mine. He will be surprised to see me here. Now," he said, rubbing his hands together, "I shall need to find Sirius as well as a certain house-elf by the name of Hokey…and please keep my temporary presence here a secret. I am here on official business you know."
They found Sirius in a dark chamber. He appeared to be transparent like a ghost, but his actual body was solid.
"Ah Sirius!" said Dumbledore, walking into the stone room.
Sirius looked up from his hands, a bit moody, and looked startled. "Professor! What are you—how—who—"
"Please, please, for the moment call me Alberto. I'm on a bit of a vacation."
"Who did this to you?" Sirius' eyes were wide, framed by a pallid face and tangled hair.
"Snape did me the great favor," said Alberto, and quickly raised his hand, "I asked him to."
"But, but … why?" asked Sirius.
"I'll let you know all the details soon enough. Meanwhile, I am here to get you out of this place, as well as find the house-elf Hokey. It is vital that I find her descendent Pokey, and send a message to Harry."
"You can't do that!" exclaimed James. "There's no way to contact the living in the land of the dead…"
"Oh yes there is!" nodded Dumbledore, grinning to himself. "Indeed there is."
Lily and James looked surprised.
"Tut tut," said Dumbledore. "Don't think that I will tell you. It's strictly forbidden for permanent residents of the underworld to find out about it. However if you would like to send a goody package to him, I'd be happy to give it to him when I leave."