The plan was set into motion the next day. Using Ginny's idea, they had already made it safely outside of Hogwarts grounds and into the Forbidden Forest. Things were going splendidly—for the most part, anyways.
"Tell me again why I have to ride back here?" Ron lamented for the umpteenth time.
While Harry made the trek to the forest covered in the invisibility cloak, the others, made small by the diminuendo charm, rode in his coat and pant pockets. Ron, who was currently located in Harry's back jean pocket, had been given one of the less desirable spots, and had no qualms with letting everyone else know that he wasn't happy about it.
"Ronald Weasley, if I hear you complain one more time, you'll be sorry," Hermione fumed.
"That's easy for you to say," Ron retorted. "You've got a nice coat pocket spot."
"Any gentlemen would be happy to give up a better spot for a lady," Hermione said primly.
"For a lady maybe, but not you!"
"How dare you!" Hermione shrieked.
Harry listened with only half an ear to this exchange. He had long since learned to leave those two alone when they were going at it. He paused a moment to glance over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Hogwarts in the distance. Maybe just a little bit further…
His thought was cut short as his foot caught on a loose tree root. He managed to save himself from falling, but then he suddenly heard Hermione's voice scream, "Ginny!"
He looked down and saw something small plummeting toward the ground. Ginny. She must have tumbled from his pocket when he tripped. He reflexively cupped his hands and dropped to his knees, catching her just before she hit the ground.
"Are you alright?" he exclaimed. He brought his hands closer to his face so that he could see her better. To his relief, she was already sitting up and appeared to be unharmed, albeit a bit shaken.
"I'm fine," she said softly. "Thank you for catching me, Harry."
"No problem," he answered. "It's my fault that you fell anyways. Sorry about that."
After walking for a few more minutes, Harry decided that they had come far enough. At this distance, there was no chance that anyone at Hogwarts would be able to detect them. He turned everyone back to their normal size, and then immediately launched into their first lesson.
"Stupefy is one of the most useful spells in your arsenal," he began. "It's a wizard's bread and butter, really. Using it properly will knock your opponent to the ground and render them unable to move temporarily, giving you a huge advantage in a close combat fight."
"So," he continued, "I would like you all to try it on some inanimate object first, like a rock or a tree branch. Once you can move that, then we'll try it on each other."
He assessed each student with an expert eye that belied his years, making corrections and adjustments as he walked from one to the other. Public speaking may not have been his cup of tea, but teaching was something that came naturally to him.
"Good Fred! Good George!" he said as they successfully moved two good-sized rocks several yards back. They were both seniors, so it was to be expected that something like this wouldn't be too difficult for them.
He was happy to see that most of the others were also getting it fairly quickly.
"Try flourishing your wand a bit less, Dennis," he directed his youngest student. "You want to point the wand exactly where you want the energy to go."
He watched as the younger boy tried again, this time repelling a lightweight branch back about a foot. "Much better!" Harry praised him. The boy may have only been a second-year, but he certainly had potential.
The only one left was Ginny. As he came up to her, she stood there, unmoving. "Do you want to give it a go?" he asked gently. Even though he always saw her when he was at the Weasleys', Ginny was still a mystery to him. She was a grade below him, and she had always been quiet, especially when he was around.
"I'll try," she answered somewhat reluctantly. She took a deep breath, "Stupefy!"
Her voice and motions were weak, but the branch still moved about the same amount as Dennis' had. "Good job," he told her. "Just keep working on your intensity and concentration. Remember, the more you desire the object or person to move, the more it will respond."
"Alright," she said quietly.
"Well then," he said as they gathered back together, "I think you guys are ready to practice the real thing. Go ahead and pair up, and then we'll try it one at a time."
After they had done so, he said, "So, I want each of you to take a turn using the spell on your partner. And don't worry about holding back, I'll cast a counterspell to catch you guys, so I want you to give it all you've got."
"All right," he said to Ron and Hermione. "You're up first."
"You'd better prepare yourself, Ronald," Hermione brandished her wand threateningly. It appeared that she hadn't yet forgotten Ron's earlier insult.
Ron swallowed nervously. "Harry?" he looked at him pleadingly. "You're sure I won't get hurt?"
"I'm sure," he assured his friend. "You just might go flying a bit."
"What?!"
"I need to see how powerful the spell is," Harry explained, trying hard not to laugh at the panicked look on Ron's face.
Ron went first, managing to throw Hermione backwards a few feet, but as expected Hermione's showing was far superior. Her natural talent combined with her current rage sent Ron flying so far that Harry was forced to use the counterspell prematurely so that he didn't hit a tree.
"That was fantastic, Hermione!" he said excitedly. "Oh, and Ron, good job to you too," he added.
"Thanks a bloody lot," Ron muttered.
The pairs went down the line after that. Fred and George, Cho and Padma, Parvati and Lavender, Neville and Luna, and Colin and Dennis. To his gratification, all of them, even Dennis, were able to move their partners at least a bit.
They had an odd number, so he paired up with Ginny who had been left alone. They stood facing each other, several yards apart.
"Ok, Ginny, now I want you to try your best to move me as far as you can."
"Do you want me to cast a counterspell?" Hermione asked.
"That's alright," he answered. He wasn't sure that Ginny would be able to move him at all, and even if she could, he knew that he wouldn't be knocked back more than a foot or two.
He turned back to Ginny. "Go ahead, Ginny. Give it your best shot."
"But…," she twisted her wand in her hands, "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'll be fine," he assured her.
"Ok then," she said hesitantly, "here it goes…Stupefy!"
The force of the spell hit him like a brick wall. He felt himself being flung through the air, and then then everything went black.
"…arry….Harry….Harry!"
That was… Hermione's voice. As Harry opened his eyes, he could make out the blurry forms of his friends bending over him. He blinked, but they still didn't come into focus. Suddenly he realized what was wrong. His glasses were missing.
He began to feel frantically around on the ground when Hermione thrust something in front of him. "Here, your glasses," she said. "They got a crack in them, so I was fixing them for you."
He put them on, and immediately felt better. His head still throbbed, but at least he could see. "Thank you," he said. "What happened…?"
"Ginny sent you flying," Ron broke in eagerly. "You should've seen it—it was incredible!"
"It's true," Hermione said. "You went even further than Ron."
Harry was still trying to process this information when he noticed Ginny, standing with red eyes, at the back of the group.
"I'm…so sorry...Harry," she said between sobs.
"Ginny," he said gently, "you don't need to feel bad. I'm fine." He stood up to prove his point, but he moved too quickly and would've fallen if Ron hadn't stepped forward to support him.
"That's right, Ginny," Hermione hugged her comfortingly. "It's not your fault. Harry was an idiot for not letting me cast a counterspell."
Harry shrugged his shoulders helplessly. She had a point.
"You're not angry with me?" Ginny sniffed.
"Of course not," he said quickly. "In fact, I'm elated. If you can do that in a real-life battle, we'll be set!"
They decided to head back to Hogwarts after that. It had been a productive, and somewhat surprising first day, but Harry knew that there was still much work to be done.