thought.he.had.been.right.to.suggest.they.practise.the.basics.first;.there.was.a.lot.of.shoddy.spellwork.going.on;.many.people.were.not.succeeding.in.Disarming.their.opponents.at.all,.but.merely.causing.them.to.jump.backwards.a.few.paces.or.wince.as.their.feeble.spell.whooshed.over.them..
.Expelliarmus!..said.Neville,.and.Harry,.caught.unawares,.ielt.his.wand.fly.out.of.his.hand..
.I.DID.IT!..said.Neville.gleefully...I.ve.never.done.it.before.‐.I.DID.IT!..
.Good.one!..said.Harry.encouragingly,.deciding.not.to.point.out.that.in.a.real.duel.Nevilles.opponent.was.unlikely.to.be.staring.in.the.opposite.direction.with.his.and.held.loosely.at.his.side...Listen,.Neville,.can.you.take.it.in.turns.to.practise.with.Ron.and.Hermione.for.a.couple.of.minutes.so.I.can.walk.around.and.see.how.the.rest.ae.doing?..
Harry.moved.off.into.the.middle.of.the.room..Something.very.odd.was.happening.to.Zacharias.Smith..Every.time.he.opened.his.mouth.to.disarm.Anthony.Goldstein,.his.own.wand.would.fly.out.of.his.hand,.yet.Anthony.did.not.seem.to.be.making.a.sound..Harry.did.not.have.to.look.far.to.solve.the.mystery:.Fred.and.George.were.several.feet.from.Smith.and.taking.it.in.turns.to.point.their.wands.at.his.back..
.Sorry,.Harry..said.George.hastily,.when.Harry.caught.his.eye...Couldn.t.resist...
Harry.walked.around.the.other.pairs,.trying.to.correct.those.who.were.doing.the.spell.wrong..Ginny.was.teamed.with.Michael.Corner;.she.was.doing.very.well,
.whereas.Michael.was.either.very.bad.or.unwilling.to.jinx.her..Ernie.Macmillan.was.flourishing.his.wand.unnecessarily,.giving.his.partner.time.to.get.in.under.his.guard;.the.Creevey.brothers.were.enthusiastic.but.erratic.and.mainly.responsible.for.all.the.books.leaping.off.the.shelves.around.the;.Luna.Lovegood.was.similarly.patchy,.occasionally.sending.Justin.Finch‐Fletchley.s.wand.spinning.out.of.his.hand,.at.other.times.merely.causing.his.hair.to.stand.on.end..
.OK,.stop!..Harry.shouted...Stop!.STOP!..
I.need.a.whistle,.he.thought,.and.immediately.spotted.one.lying.on.top.of.the.nearest.row.of.books..He.caught.it.up.and.blew.hard..Everyone.lowered.their.wands..
That.wasn.t.bad,..said.Harry,..but.there.s.definite.room.for.improvement..
.Zacharias.Smith.glared.at.him...Let.s.try.again...
He.moved.off.around.the.room.again,.stopping.here.and.there.to.make.suggestions..Slowly,.the.general.performance.improved..
He.avoided.going.near.Cho.and.her.friend.for.a.while,.but.after.walking.twice.around.every.other.pair.in.the.room.felt.he.could.not.ignore.them.any.longer..
.Oh.no,..said.Cho.rather.wildly.as.he.approached...Expelliarmious!.I.mean,
.Expellimellius.t.t.1.‐.oh,.sorry,.Marietta!..
Her.curly‐haired.friend.s.sleeve.had.caught.fire;.Marietta.extinguished.it.with.her.own.wand.and.glared.at.Harry.as.though.it.was.his.fault..
.You.made.me.nervous,.I.was.doing.all.right.before.then!..Cho.told.Harry.ruefully..
That.was.quite.good,..Harry.lied,.but.when.she.raised.her.eyebrows.he.said,
.
.Well,.no,.it.was.lousy,.but.I.know.you.can.do.it.properly,.I.was.watching.from.over.there...