Ludus: Love focused on fun, and sometimes also on conquest, with no strings attached.

Chapter 3: Changing Neville.

Draco Malfoy was curious about Neville Longbottom, Hermione looked like she liked him, but Draco didn't understand why. He wasn't rich like him, or intelligent like Hermione, or pretty like Pansy, Neville was weak and stupid.

'Are you listening to me?' asked Hermione.

Draco nodded, 'Zabini hexed Longbottom and you don't think is funny so I have to stop laughing' summarized Draco with a last laugh, Longbottom only could talk in limerick poems until Madam Pomfrey discovered how to finish it.

'Can you tell your friends to stop this?' asked Hermione.

Draco laughed 'Zabini is not my friend, we only know each other'

'But I guess if you ask him they will stop messing with Neville,' replied Hermione.

'I can do it' he said 'But I don't' wanna do it' he didn't say, instead he said 'But he wouldn't stop, they are two sorts of Slytherin, who hate follow orders and who only follow orders, Zabini is the first'

'Can you try to make them stop?'

'I can do more than that,' he said 'I have a better solucion' or at least a funnier solution.

There is an ancient proverb "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime." and Draco wasn't only planning to make Longbotton suffering end, he was planning to make Longbotton himself end all his own problems and become a wizard that he will wanna be.

Why?

Because changing Longbottom from a coward that everyone messed with to a confident wizard would be a demonstration of his own abilities, because Longbottom will be so grateful that voluntary will become his minion and have another of his housemates against him will make Potter angry and because 'why not?'

Speaking of which, he found Neville doing tap moves in the corridor.

'Hey, Longbottom, how are you?' he said, Longbotton saw Crabbe, Goyle and him and tried to run away, but it was very difficult when he was forced to dance 'I guess you are under the "Tap curse",' Malfoy came closer, Longbottom corner himself when he tried to scape 'very annoying but very easy to end.' Draco yanked out his wand.

'Please, Malfoy, I don't want to be…' started Longbottom before noticing Malfoy made the anti-curse 'Oh, neat… thank you'

Malfoy smiled 'Don't mention it, I'm not messing with you, Do you remember it?' Malfoy put his hand on Longbottom's shoulder 'Who did it, Zabini, Pansy'

'Nott' replied Longbotton shily.

'Nott… Look at this he will specially hate you or if he cursed you, he usually is too lazy to move his wand after classes' Malfoy explained.

'I never did anything to him' said Longbotton.

'It's not about what you did, it's about how you are'

'What does it mean?' asked Longbotton, confused.

'I will be honest with you Nev, can I call you Nev? of course I can' Malfoy walked around him, cornered him 'Slytherin house is like a piranha pool, they saw weakness and bite, bite, bite, you are dead, guts hanging out'

Longbottom glup.

'But you are lucky, you have three Slytherin in your side,' Maldoy said cheerfully.

'I have?' Longbottom asked.

'Of course, silly boy,' Malfoy said. 'Us' He pointed at them.

Longbottom stepped back 'Is it a kind of trap?'

'Of course not, New, I'm offering you the chance to be a great… man, I can't become you a great wizard that is our teachers job and you job of course'

Longbottom eyes twinkled 'When… When can we start'?' stuttered Longbottom.

'Tomorrow at six, be on time'

'WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!'

Malfoy knew that the last thing Longbottom was waiting for on a sunday at five o'clock in the morning was the sound of a french horn just at the side of his bed, naturally he fell off his bed.

'What are you doing here?' asked Longbotton on the floor 'and how do you came into the Gryffindor common room?'

'I said the training will begin at six. You don't forget it, of course,' Malfoy replied 'And Hermione told me how come into here'

Longbottom looked at him with fury.

'Great, I can work with this negative vibe'

'I don't tought you were talking about the five in the morning, I'm not even dressed' he said.

'I can see it. Are you really wearing heart underpants? After this I will choose a better wardrobe for you' Neville covered his body with his hands, Malfoy continued 'Well, get dressed and don't make sound after you left your bed I putted a silent spell in your curtains, I didn't wanna wake up anyone more, I'm not an asshole'

Longbottom training was very exhausting, three laps around the castle, boxing with Crabbe and Goyle and swimming in The Black Lake for thirty minutes.

Draco obviously wasn't doing anything of that, he only was observing Longbottom. Draco actually wasn't doing any effort, he always woke up at five o'clock so he could have warm water in the showers and be dressed.

'How this will make the Slytherins stop messing with me?' asked Longbotton in his rest after running.

'Like I said, I can't make you a great wizard, but you can become strong, look at Crabbe or Goyle, nobody messes with them' Draco responded.

Longbotton muttered something.

'Sorry?' Draco asked.

'Nothing' he responded shily.

'You obviously said something' he responded 'Tell me'

'I said that I don't see how…' he muttered.

'Louder'

'I was saying…' he said

'Louder! Shout if you need to!' Draco said 'Nobody will hear you if you don't talk louder!'

'I DON'T SEE HOW THIS CAN WORK!'

'Well it's working you are shouting me,' Malfoy pointed 'You force me to hear you, you make me respect you'

'I did it?' Longbotton asked, confused.

'Yes, you did it' he responded 'I'm proud'

These days Draco was observing him carefully. Not only the Slytherins made fun of him, and cursed him, his Gryffindor classmates didn't like him, they didn't want to stay with him, and they only seemed to care about him when some Slytherin cursed him or insulted him.

The only Gryffindor that looked like she cared about him in general was Hermione.

'I'm worried, Neville looks awful' she said, one day.

'That never bothered me' He responded, eating his sandwich (Turkey, cheddar cheese and lettuce).

'You know what I'm talking about,' she said, annoyed 'It began after you started "helping him"'

'You are accusing me, how dare you, you offend me' he said dramatically, Hermione raise an eyebrow 'Ok, maybe my '"life training" is exhausting him a bit but it's necessary, when I will finish nobody will mess with him'

'"Life training"? What are you making him do?' she asked.

'Summarizing it, I'm improving him,' Draco responded, after take a bite of his sandwich 'Teaching him how defend himself'

'I don't think you are doing a good work,' she responded 'He looks miserable, today he shouted Lavender and made her cry only because she said if he can move from the sofa'

'It's better everybody messing with him and making fun of him?' Draco asked.

'Not, but he is not okay' Hermione responded.

'Tell him that he needs to sleep more, he will be very explosive if not.'

'Draco, do something!' she shouted.

'Nev, we have to talk 'said Draco later in a corridor 'I heard you became a bit explosive'

'Lavender told you?' he asked, he obviously needed to take a nap, his brown eyes had eye bags and were barely open. 'I didn't want to shout at her, I only exploded.'

'It's not your fault, It's my fault, I pressed you too hard, I will understand if you don't want to continue' Draco apologized.

'Thank you' Neville responded 'I'm grateful with what you tried to do, but I really want to stop'

Draco smiled 'Okay, see you, Nev'

Hermione saw Neville seated alone in a coach in the Gryffindor common room, he looked so tired, she decided to talk with her… friend? She didn't know, obviously she would like to be Neville's friend, he is a nice guy, but she didn't know if Neville thinks she is his friend. Is it possible to be friends with someone that didn't think you are his friend?

'Mental note: Look for a book about friendship'

'Hi, Neville' she said looking him at his eyes, he didn't looked good 'I heard about your training'

Neville looked confused for a second 'Oh, yeah, I forgot, you and he are friends… you don't have to worry about that…'

A problem with Hermione, she didn't know when someone finished talking, that sometimes made her interrupt the people and look rude, like in that moment.

'But I worry, Neville, I care about you' Neville looked surprised 'It's awesome you try to improve yourself, but you need to sleep'

'You think it's awesome?' Neville asked.

'Of course, it needs a lot of courage to do something like training everyday for improve yourself,' she responded.

Neville cheeks turned red 'Well, thank you, but… there is someone that I have to talk with'

Draco was happy, Neville decided to continue training with him, he warned that after that he can't abandon it again, but he didn't care.

All according to plan.

'Draco, do something!'

'Hermione, I really want to lower the intensity of that, but he begged me to not do it' he lied.

'Why would he do that?' she asked, confused.

'I think he has enough of everyone hexing him and trying him like a joke' he said, grimly, then he looked Hermione and made his best 'Eureka face' 'You know he will hear you, you always are nice with him' Malfoy considering telling her that Longbottom probably had a little crush on her, but he didn't wanted make his friend vomit.

'Everyday this is becoming easier'

Author note: And this is the story of how our 'hero' manipulate a kid to make him his minion, I don't know how this could go wrong

In the next chapter: Consequences.