"Now, on to you. On my graduation night from Hogwarts, I went to Godric's Hollow to visit a good friend of mine. When I was walking, I saw a small crowd, and I am not exactly fond of crowds, they normally indicate something dreadful. I walked down the alleyway parallel to it. Part of the wall was fairly low, and I could see what was happening fairly well. I saw who I now know to be Peter Pettigrew, and I, of course, saw you. You looked to be on the verge of a break-down and Peter was drawing his wand, and before he turned it onto the crowd, he sliced off his own finger."
"I saw him kill those Muggles with a single curse. You drew your wand and it looked as if you had killed the people that were laying in the street. Peter turned into the rat that he is and disappeared down the sewer. Of course, the ministry arrested you, and no one would listen to my protest. I was only 17 at the time. The evidence all pointed at you, and I must admit, it was a fairly well planned set-up." Mandalisi finished her story and calmly took a sip of tea.
Sirius sat bewildered. This woman knew everything about his life. He had no idea to say to something like this and he pondered the thought as he took a sip of tea. Only one thing sounded right.
"Thank you."
"Thank you? For what, I merely tell the truth. Though, I wish the truth were enough to get the ministry off of your back but for now I can let you have a few days of freedom. You can stay here at my house. I can tell just by looking at you that you haven't slept or eaten properly in days."' Mandalisi smiled warmly at Sirius.
"Well, well thank you, but I really must go. I am on a mission for Dumbledore."
"Sirius, come on. You are going to drop dead if you don't have a few days rest. Whatever you are doing is going to have to wait." Mandalisi looked at Sirius stubbornly. She strangely reminded him of Molly Weasley without her red hair. There were no more doubts about it, Sirius would have to stay whether he wanted to or not.
"Now, Sirius, there is a bathroom down the hall. It's the first door on the left. You need to have a shower. Towels are in the bathroom under the sink, and in the closet there is a bathrobe along with some other clothes that my ex so kindly left behind, but aside form that, you can use them. You can use anything else in the bathroom that you would like. When your finished with your shower, you can come and eat. I hope you like pasta salad, because that's about all I have." Said Mandalisi and she smiled a bit.
"Thank you" Sirius said again for lack of thought. He walked down the hallway and into the bathroom.
Mandalisi was getting out dishes when Sirius walked out of the bathroom. She almost dropped the cup she was holding. Sirius Black looked like a whole new person. Somehow, Sirius looked considerably taller, and much more handsome. Fifteen layers of dirt can really do some oded things to a person.
"Come and sit down. The pasta salad is ready. Wow, you look... fantastic." To Mandalisi, this felt like an extremely awkward first date, but Sirius could be nothing but grateful.