"Come with us, Jerry!" The twins, George and Fred, exchanged a sly glance, then eagerly urged Jerry to follow them.
"Jerry, remember not to—" Before Ron could finish, George quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, cutting him off. Jerry looked at the twins in bewilderment, hesitating to speak. You two are going to suffocate Ron!
Entering the dim stairwell, George, Fred, and Ron slipped silently past a huge pair of curtains riddled with tiny moth holes. Jerry assumed they covered a window and paid them no attention.
Unfortunately, he accidentally kicked an ancient vase by his feet. The sharp clatter echoed through the silence, disturbing the sleeping portrait behind the curtains.
Just as Jerry was wondering what genius had put a vase in such an awkward spot, the two seemingly timeworn velvet curtains flew open. Instead of the window he had expected, they revealed a portrait glaring furiously at him.
The old woman in the painting wore a black hat and screamed hysterically, spewing abuse. Every word seemed to squeeze through her clenched teeth, brimming with fury and disgust:
"Animals! Bastards! Freaks! Get out, all of you! You filthy, lowly Mudbloods dare to defile the home of my ancestors!"
Drool hung from the corners of the old woman's mouth, her eyes rolled wildly, and her yellowed skin stretched so taut with rage that it seemed about to split.
Holy shit!
The old woman gave Jerry quite a fright. In the middle of the night, too!
"Ha-ha!"
"Your welcoming ceremony!"
At the top of the stairs, the twins watched Jerry clamp both hands over his ears, a rare look of terror on his face, and grinned triumphantly.
Jerry hurried to pull the curtains shut and block out the old woman's piercing screams, but they seemed unusually heavy. No matter how