Here it is! The beginning of my very first Fanfiction! Excited applause and cheering (or just me, clapping excitedly in my bedroom, much to the disgust of my dog). For most of the story I'll be focusing on one of my favorite Weasleys, Fred, but the introduction in the first chapter or two will be coming from Mrs. Weasley because Fred's sleeping, making it rather difficult for him to introduce anything . Thanks for giving this story a shot and I really hope you enjoy it and even if you hate it, that you'll take the time to send me a review about what you didn't like and what I should fix. I have no shortage of ideas so I should be updating regularly with chapters full of Hogwarts, quidditch, twin mischief, and of course, Fred and Angelina chemistry and embarrassment. Enjoy!

Oh and before I forget to mention it, no matter how many candles I waste wishing, I am not nor will I ever be the wonderful J.K Rowling. Maybe now I can move on to wishing for something more realistic, like background music for my life, or a hippogriff ;). Read and review (gorgeous please)!

Better Than Laughter

Chapter One

Mrs. Weasley's War

Every first of September, Molly Weasley ran her household with all the skill and precision of an experienced Army general. She rose at exactly five in the morning, years of practice drilling an internal alarm clock into her brain. When it rang, sounding of the screeching of owls, the dropping of breakfast bowls and silverware, yells of "I can't find my school robes!", and the general chaos to ensue, Molly shoved her husband out of bed with a strength unexpected of a woman of her size, and determinedly got out of bed. Putting on her favorite robe, the one Ginny had made her for her birthday; Molly steeled herself for next six hours. Maybe Ginny seeing her wearing the robe would soften the blow of finally being the only Weasley not riding the Hogwarts Express. Molly only started in on waking the brood when she was sure Arthur was actually taking a shower, having thwarted his first attempt at fooling her by running the water and slumping against the bathtub, trying to get in a few extra minutes of sleep. Not that that was going to be possible once the mob was up and running (and screaming, and quite possibly crying).

Molly trudged up the three flights of stairs to her eldest's, at Hogwarts that was, bedroom. He'd finally gotten his own room after a heated campaign on the importance of having undisturbed time to devote to his studies and political networking. She didn't always understand her sons, but that didn't stop her from being proud of them. Rapping on the door, she wasn't surprised when it swung open to reveal Percy, hunched over his desk, feverishly writing a letter, and already dressed in his school robes. She waited a few seconds, fondly recalling the days when she and Arthur had spent summers writing love letters to each other, before she cleared her throat. Percy spun around, practically toppling out of his chair, his cheeks glowing and a ferocious scowl on his face.

"If you two come into my room one more time without my express permission, I swear to Merlin I'll-…" Percy flushed and trailed off upon seeing his mother standing in his doorway, one eyebrow raised dangerously, daring him to finish his sentence, both fists on her hips.

"S-sorry Mum, thought you were, well, you know." Percy stammered out, perfectly aware that his mother was fully capable of punishing him before he left for school, her mercy was key if he didn't plan on arriving at Platform 9 ¾ with dirt stains on his robes from weeding and de-gnoming. That was no way to impress Penelope.

Molly, knowing exactly who Percy had thought was bursting into his room, smiled sympathetically at her third and arguably most responsible son.

"Not at this hour I'm not, now get downstairs and eat breakfast. And Percy," Percy looked up at his mother fearfully, silently pleading for clemency, "If I ever hear that kind of language pass your lips again, I'll have them hexed shut. Oh and don't forget to feed Errol, poor bird." Already headed out the door, she surveyed Percy's luggage set, already neatly packed and organized in the corner, as it had been ever since the family's annual trip to Diagon Alley a week and a half ago. "Thank Merlin one member of this family is packed."

Molly padded lightly past her only daughter's room, hoping to put off the inevitable waterworks which would ensue, as they had for the past ten years, when Ginny woke up to remember that once again, her brothers were off to exciting Hogwarts without her, leaving her to yet another year with old Mum and Da. Molly remembered all too well the fuss her younger brothers, Gideon and Fabian, had put up when she had ridden away without them. Nevertheless, it would be Ginny's turn all too soon and that was a fact best not lingered on on this most sentimental of mornings. After all, it was youngest son Ron's first year at Hogwarts. He had spent the summer intermittently fretting over the possibility of breaking family tradition and being sorted into a house other than Gryffindor, and fending off Fred and George's delighted promise that he was, without a doubt, a Hufflepuff through and through. Opening Ron's bedroom door with great squeak and circumstance, Molly was fully prepared for exactly what she found. As expected, Ron lay in bed, eyes wide open, still dressed in his Chudley Cannons pajamas, staring up at the posters on his ceiling with a rather sick look on his face.

"Ron," she whispered as kindly as possible with the schedule still ticking away in her head, "it's time to get out of bed. You've barely packed at all and we need to leave in less than two hours."

Still not looking at her, Ron visibly paled, and shook his head.

"I've decided. I'm not going." He croaked out, "There's no way I'll be a Hufflepuff, Fred and George would never let me live it down."

"Nonsense," Molly clucked, privately seething at her twins for making this morning off mornings all the more difficult, "you'll do beautifully. The Sorting Hat knows best, and besides, there have been plenty of wonderfully successful wizards to come out of Hufflepuff." Just none that she could think off. This information didn't appear to cheer Ron at all, but it got him to mechanically sit up and climb out of bed, which was all Molly needed before she whirled off to make sure breakfast was underway while working up the energy to deal with the resurrection of Fred and George from their infuriatingly deep slumbers.

Finding Percy downstairs, his trunks orderly lined up near the door, calmly eating his porridge and reading the Daily Prophet, confirmed precisely why Percy had been chosen for prefect and in his opinion, was well on his way to becoming Head Boy. Ginny also sat at the table, glumly staring down at her marmalade and toast. Molly rubbed Ginny's shoulders comfortingly before deftly charming the tea to boil and setting the table for the rest of the family. Thank Merlin Bill and Charlie had graduated, leaving Molly to facilitate only seven Weasleys through Muggle London to King's Cross Station. When Arthur finally managed to groggily make it down the stairs to insensibly ladle porridge into several glasses and earnestly butter a slice of bacon, Molly reminded herself to choose her battles, and headed upstairs to face that which year after year, always posed the greatest challenge.