Summary: It is the beginning of the sixth year and Harry has had a tough time dealing with the death of Sirius. To lighten his mood, the twins gave him a package of their newest creation, 'baby bon-bons,' to try out. They are supposed to turn whoever eats them into a younger version of themselves, but they may not work out just the way the twins had planned. (This is not a story where they all turn into babies.) I haven't decided which ships I will include yet. But it's not Angsty At ALL. I hate angst.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters in the series. I only own the plot.

You Know What They Say

Laughter's the Best Medicine

By: Tacky Socks

If you've ever tried to fit eight people into one taxi, you'd know just how difficult it was. However, if you've ever tried to cram three pets and four suitcases in with you, you would know just how Harry felt.

It was 10:00 on the morning of September first and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mrs. Weasley were on their way to King's Cross station to board the train that would take them to Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione were sitting next to Harry, completely silent – for once. Fred and George were crammed next to their brother in the back seat while Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were squished in the front seat with the driver. The car ride was short and silent, partly because everyone's oxygen supply was dangerously low, and partly because Harry's temper had been boiling at the surface the past summer and everyone was afraid they would only upset him.

They all got out of the taxi at half past ten and headed towards the platform that concealed a magical barrier leading to the secret scarlet engine deemed the Hogwarts Express. Stopping between platforms 9 and 10, Mrs. Weasley made sure that nobody had forgotten anything.

"I packed you all sandwiches for the trip – here you are." Mrs. Weasley handed them each a small paper bag and kissed them each on the cheek. "Now, you four be careful," she said, giving Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny a meaningful look. "And do try and be careful, won't you?" The four students nodded their heads, but Mrs. Weasley didn't look convinced. "Well, go ahead then. One at a time, you've nearly half an hour yet. Why don't you go first, Ginny dear."

The youngest Weasley took a trolley with her trunk on it and pushed it toward the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. She stopped right before the seemingly solid brick wall and turned around to wave goodbye. Then, checking to make sure nobody was paying attention to her, she casually leaned forward into the wall and disappeared.

Mrs. Weasley looked at the three sixth years with tears in her eyes, a normal habit for her lately.

"Oh, mum, why are you crying now?" Ron asked exasperatedly.

"You three are just growing up so fast!" she choked, holding back her sobs. "You only have two more years of school left, and then…and then…" She didn't finish her sentence, but wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "And then Ginny only has one more year after that… I never actually thought I would live to the day when all my children were out of school." Harry, Ron, and Hermione just gave each other awkward looks. As if she just realized that they were in public, Mrs. Weasley looked around her and straightened up. "You three just promise me you'll watch over Ginny this year, okay?" The three of them nodded their heads, not knowing what else to do. "All right then," Mrs. Weasley said smiling. "You better get going now. You don't want to be late."

The three of them turned around and prepared to disappear through the barrier when Fred stopped them.

"Harry," he called. Harry turned around at the mention of his name and saw Fred and George beckoning him to them. Mrs. Weasley gave them a suspicious glance as Harry made his way to where they were standing, a ways away from their mother. "Don't worry mum, we'd just like a word with him before he leaves. It won't take long," they assured her. She didn't look at all convinced.

"So how's it been, Harry?" George asked in a falsely booming voice.

"It's been fine…" Harry replied, trying to figure out what they were up to.

"Good. That's good," Fred began. "It's just that we haven't seen much of you this summer, seeing as how we've been so busy with our business – "

"Which we only have you to thank for – " George interrupted.

"And a little bit of ourselves – " Fred added.

"But the point is," George continued, a bit louder in order to drown out Fred. "The point is – we wanted to show you our appreciation." Harry just stared at them blankly.

"So we wanted to give you a complimentary package of Baby Bon-bons." Fred handed Harry a package of what seemed to be candy, packaged in a bright orange wrapping. Harry gave them a suspicious glance while taking out a piece of candy and examining it.

"What's the catch?" he asked. The twins immediately fixed looks of offended outrage on their faces.

"Why Harry, my boy! What on Earth are you implying?" George asked indignantly. "We can't just do something nice for you out of the goodness of our hearts?" Harry was still skeptical, but didn't press it any longer.

"So…what do they do?" he asked.

"What an excellent question!" Fred announced. "Well, they're filled with an anti-aging potion, so they're supposed to turn the consumer into a younger version of themselves," he supplied.

"They're supposed to?" Harry repeated.

"Precisely!"

"You mean you haven't tested them yet?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Shhh! Keep it down, Harry!" George whispered hurriedly, taking a quick glance at his mother.

"So why are you giving them to me, if they're not tested?" Harry asked.

"That's a fair question. You see, since we are no longer Hogwarts students ourselves, we are finding it harder and harder to find kids willing to subject themselves to our tests," Fred explained. "We have, of course, tested them on ourselves. We just want to make sure they work the same on everyone. No surprises then, see?"

"Plus, if it works – which I'm sure it will – " George added hastily, seeing the look of apprehension on Harry's face. "What I mean is, when it works, it will be like free advertisement for us!"

"FRED! GEORGE! Come on now! He only has ten minutes left!"

"Almost done, mum!" George called back to her before turning back to Harry. "Listen, just take them okay? You don't have to say you'll use them, but if anyone gives you a hard time…"

"Okay, okay, I'll take them," Harry said, grinning. He put the brightly colored bag into his pocket.

"That's a good chap. Now, in all seriousness," George said, dropping the business tone. "I know that you've been down this summer. That's understandable; it's been rough on all of us. And I know how mum's been fretting over you like you were a baby, but now that school's started, I think the best thing for you to do is…just have some fun. Try to leave your worries behind and enjoy the year as much as possible. You know what they say – laughter's the best medicine!" Harry stared at him for a moment.

"BOYS! Let's get a move on!"

"Yeah…I'll try," Harry promised them. Then he turned toward Mrs. Weasley, who was now standing alone between platforms 9 and 10.

"Better hurry up dear," she told him softly. He hoisted his trunk onto a trolley and wheeled it around to face the barrier.

"Thanks for everything," he said to Mrs. Weasley before turning back around and running right through the brick wall. Ron and Hermione were waiting patiently with their trolleys for him on the other side.

"What took so long? What did they say to you?" Ron asked.

"Er – nothing," Harry lied. "It was nothing."

"Come on, what was i – "

"Ron, we'd better get on the train. We don't want to be late," Hermione interrupted him. "We'll see you in a little bit, Harry."

"Yeah, okay. See you." Ron and Hermione headed to the front of the train while Harry headed toward the back. He could hear Ron and Hermione arguing as they left him.

'What was that? I just wanted to know what took so long!'

'It's none of your business! He obviously didn't want to tell you.'

'You think…know everything, you are so…'

"Harry!" Ginny was standing near the scarlet engine with her trolley, waving for him to join her. He pushed his trolley over to her and together they looked for an empty compartment.

The train was already pretty full when they got on and there weren't many open compartments. They hoped that they could depend on Luna Lovegood having an empty compartment, which they realized was probably a safe assumption. Luna Lovegood was an odd girl, who preferred to be by herself, which suited her fine, because most people were put off by her and tried to steer clear. Finally, in the very last compartment, they found her. She was, as they suspected, alone, so they slid the door open and entered the compartment.

"Hi Luna," Ginny said brightly as she lugged her trunk in behind her. Luna looked up, her round, protuberant eyes roaming the formerly empty compartment before resting upon Harry. Harry shifted uncomfortably before sitting down in the empty seat beside Ginny. Luna continued to stare at them both in silence, and Harry could feel the awkward tension hanging above them like a thick fog in the compartment. Harry was about to say something to break he silence, but was spared the trouble when the compartment door opened and Neville Longbottom walked in.

Neville was a round faced, forgetful boy in Harry's same year and house. He looked immensely relieved to see Harry and Ginny there, as he dragged his trunk in behind him and slid the door shut.

"You guys don't mind if I sit here with you, do you?" He asked timidly.

"No, not at all – "

"Actually," Luna interrupted Ginny, "there isn't any more room in this compartment. Sorry."

"What are you talking about Luna? There's a seat right next to you – "

"Oh, it's okay, I can find a seat somewhere else," Neville said.

"No, Neville, there's a space right there!" Ginny told him.

"I told you, that seat is occupied," Luna repeated, much more calmly than Ginny.

"By who?"

"By me."

Everyone turned toward the now open door to see who had spoken. A girl about their age stood there with a large trunk at her heals. She looked around at everyone with a large, pleasant smile on her face.

"Er – my name is Alexis. I'm Luna's cousin. Are you Luna's friends?" she asked tucking a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear. She was fairly tall, and looked around the room excitedly with her round, deep brown eyes, as though she didn't dare believe that her cousin actually had friends. Nobody really knew how to answer her.

"Well, er…we are – "

"No, not really," Luna supplied. Some people might think this remark was rude, but Alexis seemed to be used to her cousin's blunt behavior, because she just smiled and heaved her trunk in behind her.

"Oh, don't let me cause any trouble," she said as Neville stood awkwardly in the corner, getting ready to leave. "Go ahead and sit down, we can all fit," she assured him.

Neville hesitated, but sat down in the seat beside Luna. Alexis lugged her trunk to the wall and sat on top of it.

"So," she said after making herself comfortable. "What are your guys' stories?"

"I'm Ginny. I'm in my fifth year this year, and in Gryffindor."

"Oh. And Gryffindor is…one of the houses, right?" Ginny nodded her head. "Good. Luna was explaining it all to me on the way here," Alexis told them as she turned to Harry.

"Oh, I – I'm Harry. Harry Potter." Alexis shook his hand.

It was the most peculiar feeling in the world. For the first time since Harry had found out he was a famous wizard, he didn't feel the awkwardness of meeting a new person because their head flicked to his scar or their eyes widened in excitement. When he introduced himself to Alexis, she didn't do anything to indicate that she thought he was anyone special or even that she knew who he was. She just continued to smile her permanent smile before turning to Neville.

"Longbottom…that name sounds familiar…"

"Oh, I don't think you'd have heard of me, I'm just a – "

"If you say you're a nobody, Neville, I'll curse you!" Ginny interrupted fiercely. Changing the subject, she turned to Alexis. "So, where are you from?" she asked Alexis.

"Can't you tell from my accent?" Alexis asked. Ginny shook her head. "Well actually, I'm originally from England, but I moved to America when I was young."

"So what brought you back here?" Neville asked. Alexis's smiled faltered, and it took her a moment to answer. When she did, however, it was in her normal quiet voice.

"My father loves this place. He couldn't be away for too long. I knew we'd be back. He got a job offer from here and we moved back straight away."

As she finished her sentence, the compartment door opened and in came Ron and Hermione. They looked absolutely exhausted, and Harry couldn't think of why. But after hearing the next sentence, he understood.

"Malfoy is such an idiot!"

"What'd he do now?" Harry asked, as Ron looked frantically around the room for something.

"He just followed us around on our patrol of the train and promised people points if they did the exact opposite of whatever we told them to do," Hermione explained angrily.

"Where're the snacks?" Ron asked, clearly not paying attention. Hermione shot him a look that seemed to say that she was too angry for even him to be thinking about food.

"Sorry Ron, the trolley hasn't come yet. Don't you have the sandwich that your mom gave you?" Harry asked.

"No, I already ate it."

"And you're still hungry?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I don't think he's ever answered no to that question in his life," Hermione said. Everyone laughed, and perhaps that was when Ron and Hermione noticed an extra voice in the room. "Oh!" Hermione said, spotting Alexis for the first time. "Hi. I'm Hermione. Granger. I'm a prefect at Hogwarts." She held out a hand, which Alexis shook.

"I'm Alexis, Luna's cousin," she said with a smile before stretching her hand out in front of Ron, who also shook it.

"Oh, I'm Ron Weasley," he said.

"Oh, are you?" He looked at her with a confused look on his face, but Alexis remained smiling. "Weren't you the one who crashed that flying car into the Whomping Willow?" Ron gave Harry a weird look, but Harry saw that he was smiling too.

"Er – yeah. That was me. Me – and Harry was with me – " he added quickly. "But I was driving."

"Obviously not very well," Alexis joked.

Ron went on to tell her how and why the car was necessary, but Alexis already seemed to know the story. She listened patiently, nodding her head. Once the story was over, there was an awkward silence, so Harry decided to break it.

"Do you follow quidditch at all?" he asked.

"Yeah, a bit," Alexis replied. They talked for a while about quidditch until it began to get dark. "So, did any of you guys go to the Quidditch World Cup when it was here?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, we all went," Ginny said, indicating her, Ron, Harry and Hermione.

"I couldn't, but I heard it was great!" Neville said.

"Really? Because I heard someone conjured the Dark Mark and a gang of Death Eaters tortured some muggles while rampaging across the campsite, setting things on fire." Alexis said in a calm voice.

"Oh yeah…I had forgotten about that part…"

"I believe we should change into our robes. We'll be to school soon," Luna said finally.

Not too long after, the train began to slow down, eventually coming to a stop. Alexis made to grab her trunk, but Luna told her to leave it.

They stepped off of the train into a large crowd of students and all got into a carriage that would take them to the castle. The short ride past the winged boars was quiet, but once they stepped out of the carriage, there was plenty of noise as the students around them talked excitedly to their friends, catching up on each other's summers.

Harry looked up at the magnificent castle and let out a deep sigh. He supposed that if he was going to enjoy the year, he would have to take the twins' advice and leave his problems behind. 'You know what they say – laughter's the best medicine!' Well, it's worth a try. Harry let out a horribly loud, false laugh, for absolutely no reason whatsoever. People around him gave him weird looks, as if they seriously questioned his mental stability. This only made him give the first real smile he'd worn in a long time. Maybe laughter is the best medicine.

Author's Note: I think that is by far the longest chapter I have ever written. It's seven pages! I actually had the chapter written out to be much longer, but when I saw that I was already seven pages into it and only half way done, I thought I should stop there. I'm just worried that seven pages without much of a real plot is going to be terribly dull. So sorry. But you will get more of the plot in the next chapter…hopefully. Right now it's just kind of in the plot setting stage. I hope you'll all bear with me.

-Tacky Socks