"Some kind of..chimera..?" Ed whispered in Amestrian, and blinked. Pointed ears. Long noses. Human-based face. He visually discected each one, thinking of at least three animals mingled together with a human being that could make the same results, but only once, not over and over again.
'Who are these people that they would do this...' Ed thought, horrified of the answer. 'They all seemed so kind. But for them to be capable of such depraved alchemy....'
"Oh. So you noticed them. Awful of them, isn't it?" Hermione's voice whispered to him near his right, and he looked at her, forcing his face to be nuetral. "I believe House elves deserve to be treated better than that, you know?" she said.
"Yeah." He barely managed, his throat so tight.
She smiled a sweet smile and headed up the stairs with a slight toss of her bushy brown hair over her shoulder.
Ed blinked. He swallowed back his bile and continued on to the kitchen. Harry and Ron hurried past him once he entered. He sat down at the table and forced some bread down his gut, and followed it up with some orange juice. Everything else thoroughly revolted him.
He found a mug and poured himself some coffee, feeling like he desperately needed some liquid sunshine. Then he sat for some time, savoring the dark bitter liquid.
A loud clanging bell sounded, followed at once by a cacophany of screams and wails. He jumped at the sounds, and got up from his seat at the table. He was at the kitchen door when he realised he was still carrying the mug in his right metal hand. Dark coffee still steaming. He shrugged and opened the door.
The wails and screams seemed to be coming from the age darkened pictures all along the stair well, the loudest about door sized and flanked by moth eaten curtains. It contained an image of a old woman. Skin yellowed with age and stretched tight on her skeleton and yet sagging. What he could see of the image told him it moved.
At the moment, it screamed, "Stains of dishonor, filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, children of filth..!"
Ed tilted his head and brought his mug up to his lips. He watched as Sirius rushed down the stairs, yelled at each of the pictures to "Shut the hell up!" mostly, saving his most scathing curses for the old woman's image before he jerked the curtains closed. Then the man rushed to the door at the end of the hall.
Ed walked to the curtained over, door-sized picture and stood before it.
"Hestia's just relieved me, so she's got Moody's cloak now, thought I'd leave a report for Dumbledore..." A deep voice said. Ed recognised it as the man called "Shacklebolt".
"Oh. Edward. There you are. You were supposed...Is that..COFFEE?..you're drinking?" Sirius said in a whisper.
Ed snorted and took another sip, letting a smirk show on his face. He then glanced at Sirius's incredulous face.
"Is it so surprising?" Ed said, voice normal volume, and turned his eyes back to the pictures. "Vhat's vith dees tings? Are dey teevees or something?"
The curtains parted by themselves and picture before him began screaming again. Joined by the others, the noise was truly great. Sirius was in motion at once, yelling and screaming at each picture frame to get them silent. Ed stepped back to let him do so, but otherwise calmly observed, sipping his coffee. Sirus was soon joined by the sickly looking man called Lupin, who stumbled his way down the stairs.
The woman in the picture looked at Ed. He was sure of it. He held her gaze, coffee mug at his lips.
"YOoooooUuu! NOt even a filthy mudblood! a MUGGLE?? That blood traitor! How dare he defile the home of my noble ancestors..."
Ed's chuckle was nearly just an exhalation, but he smirked his lips just the same. Lupin and Sirius were on either side of the picture tugging desperately at the curtains, trying to close them with all their might. Sirus even yelled at the top of his lungs at the image. Ed lowered his mug, and put his hand on the much bigger man's shoulder. Gently moving him aside. He then reached out to the image and placed his bare left hand on it, and closed his eyes.
"WHAT ARE YOU..?" The man yelled, both in anger and to be heard over the noise.
The woman in the image screamed something about "DAMN DIRTY HANDS...!"
:::
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