Because he was not in the Gryffindor/Slytherin flying class, Harry did not follow canon and end up on the Quidditch team when Neville broke his wrist. And while his flying class had been fun and enjoyable, Harry made sure he knew enough spells to make any accident that may occur because of faulty brooms irrelevant. Hootch may possibly be a worse teacher than Snape when it came to putting children in danger.
While he like flying, he felt no great urge to join a team and devote a good chunk of his free time to a sport that made no sense. He could understand if there was no Golden Snitch and was just about scoring with the Quaffle, but catching a magic golden orb that broke the game and made everything else meaningless?
Plus, if he hurt anyone seriously with a bludger or something, his haters could use it for a smear campaign. The slight bit of celebrity status for being a school Quidditch star would be meaningless in the long run, it certainly didn't do canon Harry any good. Much better to put his time into something that would be productive, like training new minions.
After the wake-up call Harry gave Hermione, she had been a lot more tolerable to be around. He had even arranged a two-hour-long 'study' session in the library each day with her so he could firmly bind her to his side as a loyal follower. Though Harry mostly used the time to write out whatever assignments he needed to do out of class since he had both Snape's and Riddle's memory of the Hogwarts curriculum, it was still a good bonding session for the awkward girl with no friends.
Even though he knew that the homework counted for nothing towards his final grades, it still gave everyone the perception that he was intelligent and hardworking. Or a nerd depending on who you asked. Hermione used this time to learn how not to be a judgmental b*tch that tattled on everyone to the teachers. Apparently, Harry's earlier advice of 'snitches get stitches' was not detailed enough for her and needed clarification.
"Look, Hermione, it's fine to live your life by the book and follow the rules, but that doesn't mean that you need to make everyone else live that way. How does it benefit you to tell the teacher that Malfoy is threatening others with his father's status or that Ron thinks it is ok to bully Slytherins because they are evil?
Is it the right thing to do? Sure, but now you have become the target of two bullies that the teachers would not really be able to protect you from. Sure they can take off some house points and give them detention, but would that make the boil curse any less painful or the cruel words hurt any less?
The system does not care about you as an individual, it is for the masses. That is why they have police forces and school staff to control those breaking the rules. The best you can hope for by sticking your nose into others business is a pat on the back from the authorities and painful retaliation from those you informed on!" Harry lectured the innocent girl.
"But they are in the wrong! We can't just let them get away with it!"
Harry sighed in exasperation, this was a chore he would much rather not have to do. He really wanted to just brainwash her and save himself the trouble, but he was afraid of Dumbledore checking her mind and finding something out. Besides, Harry loved to rant, and he had plenty of time to kill.
"Yes, but why is it your problem if it doesn't affect you? Say your mother secretly witnessed a man kill ten people before he had to run away because the cops showed up. He was caught a year later, but there was no real evidence and needed your mother's testimony to put him away. No one knew she had witnessed the crime, so there was no pressure from anyone to come forward. This violent criminal was part of a gang of killers who had no respect for the police or human life whatsoever. Would you urge your mum to testify?"
"Of course. There is no way we could leave that man free to kill again! He needs to go to jail and receive his punishment!" Hermione adamantly replied.
"That's very admirable, and your mother would now be hailed as an upstanding citizen in the news. Unfortunately, your family now has become the target of a gang of murder hobos and now needs to go into witness protection. Both your parents have to quit their jobs, and your house is burnt to the ground in retaliation.
After a trial, the man is convicted and goes to jail for the rest of his life. But his buddies are furious and swear to rape and kill your whole family. Now you have to spend the rest of your lives in witness protection with a meagre allowance and forever limited by protocols to keep you safe. Because the press covered the story closely, your identities are exposed, and you now have to live quietly to avoid any publicity or risk being found by killers.
Was it worth it to get the pat on the back from the government and then thrown away like trash? There is no way they will go in and take his friends off the streets, they are part of society too and need to get caught doing something wrong before they are jailed." Harry finished his hypothetical situation.
It was the equivalent to a five minute lead up to a joke that ends up having a weak as piss punchline, but from the horrified look on her face, it seems to have done the job.
"Unless informing on others directly involves you or your safety, the only reason you should snitch on others is for your own benefit. Like if a business competitor is cutting corners and reporting them will gain your company more work. Or if anonymously dobbing on Draco loses them enough points to win the house cup.
Never directly run to a teacher and paint yourself as a target just because 'it is the right thing to do!' Unless of course, you are a masochist and love both physical and emotional torment."
Over the next couple of weeks, Harry was glad to see that she had taken his ranting as gospel, following his 'suggestions' to the letter. Whether it was because she had nothing to lose being at rock bottom socially or was conducting a social experiment, he could not say. Even after he read her surface thoughts, it seemed to be a mixture of both reasons. Either way, she was now not spending most of her free time crying and seemed genuinely happier.
His new minion firmly in hand and gradually converting to his more pragmatic view of society, he was free to move onto his next target for re-education. Neville Longbottom was the perfect quarry as an heir to an influential Noble House with no real friends, low self-esteem and a timid personality. Harry had read quite a few fanfictions in his old world that had the MC train Nevile and had to agree that they chose the right target.
What he didn't agree with was that they built him up into a powerful, confident and independent person that stood by their side as a friend. This is the kid, that even at his most pathetic and insecure, stood up to the idiot trio and tried to stop them from going to 'save' the Philosopher's Stone! He even threatened them with violence without listening to the full story!
No, Harry would be training Neville to follow orders, not think for himself and ruin Harry's plans with his selfish stupidity. He only tried to stop them because they would lose Gryffindor points in a meaningless contest that he barely contributed to. Really, how many points had Neville gained Gryffindor to feel so invested in the competition that he felt the need to physically fight his friends to win it?
Still, even as retarded as Neville was, he is the perfect minion to be the face of Harry's Pureblood schemes. At the moment, while not bullied like Hermione, Neville was still isolated and had no friends. Ron, Dean and Seamus were way to cool to hang out with Longbottom the Squib. The perfect time for Harry to swoop in and offer his hand in friendship and subtly moulding his character into a dependable minion.
The timing couldn't be more perfect as while Harry was not involved in the flying class drama, fate still seemed to want Draco to challenge a Gryffindor to a duel at midnight. Ron was only too eager to accept Draco's provocation and nominated Seamus as his second. With the time and place set, everyone dispersed except the worried Longbottom child that had tried and failed to be the voice of reason.
Harry had secretly witnessed the exchange and walked over to the distraught boy after he was alone to speak some insidious comments to bring him to his side.
"You know that this is just a trap for Ron to be caught out after curfew right?"
Not noticing Harry, Neville nearly jumped out of his skin in fright when he spoke.
"W-what do you mean? W-won't he be there also if they are to duel?" Longbottom managed to stutter out, not used to talking to others thanks to his Grandma's terrible parenting.
"Draco has no intention of turning up and will most likely just tell a teacher he overheard some Gryffondors planning a prank or something."
"But that's not right! An honour duel is a sacred tradition that would see Malfoy lose a lot of reputation if he failed to appear!" Announced Longbottom, his outrage managing to fix his nervous stutter.
"Ah, but there were no real witnesses other than you, and I doubt Malfoy put much faith in you calling him out when Ron and his cronies are punished. Plus, there were no oaths or penalties spoken, so it is more a schoolyard brawl than an honour duel. Draco is lucky his opposition is an idiot, or he could have been in a fair amount of trouble." Harry explained, his knowledge of wizarding laws and customs showing their worth.
If Draco had tried to do this to him, he would have made sure to work some penalties into the duel and recorded it so he could blackmail the brash young Slytherin.
"But I can still stop it! I can let Ron know that it is a trap!" Neville excitedly shouted when his brain overpowered his insecurity and the shock that Harry's words caused.
"Sure you could, but do you think that he will listen to you? I tell you what, let's make a bet. If you manage to talk Ron into not breaking curfew, I will help you study any class for a week. But if you can't, then you will owe me a favour equivalent to a weeks tutoring."
Neville's face turned thoughtful as he considered Harry's proposal. While he was a wimp, his Grandmother had at least given him a Noble upbringing, and a bet like this could be profitable. In the end, the stakes weren't high, and this was the most interaction he had had with a fellow student since school started, so he decided to accept. Plus, Ron couldn't be that stupid!
"Deal!"