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ღ chapter fifty ( grimmauld place )
A BLOODCURDLING SCREAM ripped through the air, startling the mass of people that had congregated in the hallway after Tonks had tripped over an umbrella strand and landed flat on the floor. Jules quite enjoyed the company of her vivacious cousin, but she made fun of her for how clumsy she was.
The scream in question came from her drooling old grandmother, her eyes rolling, the yellowing skin of her face stretched taut as she screamed, and all along the hall behind them, the other portraits awoke and began to yell too, so that Harry actually screwed up his eyes at the noise and clapped his hands over his ears. Lupin and Mrs. Weasley darted forward and tried to tug the curtains shut over Walburga, but they would not close and she screeched louder than ever, brandishing clawed hands as though trying to tear at their faces.
"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers —"
Tonks apologized over and over again, at the same time dragging the huge, heavy troll's leg back off the floor. Mrs. Weasley abandoned the attempt to close the curtains and hurried up and down the hall, Stunning all the other portraits with her wand.
Suddenly, Sirius came charging out of the kitchen, visibly frustrated.
"Shut up, you horrible old hag, shut UP!" he roared, seizing the curtain Mrs. Weasley had abandoned.
Walburga's face blanched. "Yoooou!" she howled, her eyes popping at the sight of the man. "Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"
"I said — shut — UP!" Sirius roared, and with a stupendous effort he and Lupin managed to force the curtains closed again. Her screeches died and an echoing silence fell. Panting slightly and sweeping his long dark hair out of his eyes, Sirius turned to face them all.
"Hello, Harry," he said grimly, "I see you've met my mother."
"Your — ?"
"My dear old mum, yeah," Sirius mumbled harshly. "We've been trying to get her down for a month but we think she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the back of the canvas. Let's get downstairs, quick, before they all wake up again."
"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, bewildered, as they went through the door from the hall and led the way down a flight of narrow stone steps, the others just behind them.
"This house has been in the Black family for generations," Jules replied. "Its where dad grew up. But he's the last of-age Black left, so it's his now. He offered it to Dumbledore for headquarters —"
"— about the only useful thing I've been able to do," Sirius growled.
They all followed Sirius to the bottom of the stairs and through the door leading into the basement kitchen. It was scarcely less gloomy than the hall above, a cavernous room with rough stone walls. Most of the light was coming from a large fire at the far end of the room. A haze of pipe smoke hung in the air like battle fumes, through which loomed the menacing shapes of heavy iron pots and pans hanging from the dark ceiling.
