The Best Medicine
Theme 38: Rictusempra


The laughter that rose from the Gryffindor boys' dormitory was merry, infectious. Anyone who could have heard it, then, would have thought they were a couple of fine, very fine boys, cheerful and ready to take life in its stride.

Nothing could have been wronger.

Fine boys, they were, of course but, as James bent over his bed, laughing uncontrollably, the noise in the room was anything but pure joy. It was, rather, their homework for the day - they had learned of the Tickling Charm in a lesson that morning, and the assignment given at the end of the class had been practice of the spell.

It had been James's idea to practice together. "Would save us looking like loonies, separately," he had grinned, and the others had agreed readily. Now they sat, holding bits of furniture for support [they would have been rolling on the floor, otherwise] as they laughed, and it was pretty clear some of the spells had gone pretty wrong.

"I - can't - stop - laughing -" James said, between tears of what, he supposed, was happiness. "Padfoot - I - Rictusempra! Rictusempra! Rictusempra!" He let out a wail of mirth, and collapsed on his bed, a laughing heap.