Chapter Fourteen: In Which Walls Are Destroyed
"My dear old mum, yeah," said Sirius. "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."
"Hold up," said Harry. "A month? A whole freaking month and bunch of adult wizards couldn't figure it out?"
"Yup. You look like you have an idea, Harry. Anything you want to contribute to our incredibly grueling war against the portraits?"
"Off the top of my head: Transfigure them, put a Permanent Silencing Charm on them, set fire to them, take black paint and paint all over them."
There was a stunned silence.
"Bringing down the wall they're stuck on and replacing it with a new one would work too, I guess," added Harry.
"Well. . . . The portraits are protected against the first three, but the fourth one would probably work. James and I vandalised quite a lot of portraits in our day," remniscinced Sirius. "Bringing down the wall appeals to me for some reason, though. Good talk, Harry, good talk."
Sirius bounced away happily, presumably to obtain some wall-destroying supplies. Harry watched him in amusement, wondering if his godfather would ever be serious.
"No pun intended, of course," said Harry to no one in particular.
AN: No one, no one should ever have to hear Mrs Black screaming. It's so irritating that even readers feel the character's frustration when someone accidentally triggers her. Remember Tonks and the umbrella stand?
As people who can do magic, pesky things like portraits shouldn't really be a problem. It isn't like the portrait can actually do anything other than scream while you destroy the wall they're attached to. Simple, yet effective.