Professor Babbling left him at the orphanage that day with a very positive image of him in her mind. She literally told him as much while encouraging him to read up on runes so that they could continue to chat like they had that day when he would take her elective two years from now.
The days until the fated ride in the Hogwarts Express were spent reading or rather browsing all of his mother's notes almost religiously. His mother clearly wasn't the most gifted witch who revolutionized magic with her understanding, but her incredibly neat handwriting gave him many simple to understand anectodes for harder to explain concepts.
As such, Talion especially focused on the charms and the transfiguration notebook while noticing Selena should have had a particularly great talent at the latter. He could hardly wait to become as proficient as she was, possibly even eclipsing her and doing what the marauders did and becoming an animagus.
When Patrick appareted him to the King Cross Station, or rather a nearby alley, Talion was in high spirits to see how the magical world would turn out to be with all these minor and major changes to the original story. The age difference for enrollment alone should have some pretty obvious consequences as muggle-born students were halfway through their education as opposed to barely stepping out of elementary school.
More mature, more level-headed, and sadly for everyone, right at the very start of hormone-overload puberty, many iconic characters should behave very differently from the story. Harry was abused for three more years, possibly breaking his innocence fully, which could result in him simply not caring if he does get sorted into Slytherin. Talion could admit to himself that he was eager to see whether or not Dumbledore's machinations would fail at the very first step his savior took.
Hermione spent more time isolated from her peers and was likely even more socially awkward as she already was. Or maybe she learned what she did wrong, matured, and became a social butterfly?
Ron had to endure three more years at home, likely having even more inferiority and superiority complexes than he originally had. And that meant the twins and their pranks would be more refined or - much more likely - gain a certain level of cruelty that was far from harmless fun. Unless, of course, Molly Weasley spent those three extra years teaching her kids some manners.
Neville either had even less self-confidence than he did in the books, or the survival of his bedridden mother changed him completely. If he was anywhere close to what he was in the books, Talion was sure to try and befriend the kid. Neville, despite not knowing about his last life, was one of Talion's favorite characters, if only just because of the spare-child-of-prophecy's remarkable character development.
And then there was Draco Malfoy on the other side of the coin. Three more years of brainwashing by his father either made him actually cunning instead of downright obnoxious or even more overbearing. This thought in particular also brought him pause, wondering how the kids of all these death eaters would react to his existence should his true parentage be revealed.
Would they label him a blood traitor because his mother's action even earned his loyal grandfather, one of the OG death eaters according to Patrick, a lethal dose of prolonged suffering via torture from the dark lord? Or would they welcome him with open arms to keep him amongst their fold?
When Talion entered platform 9¾, he was among the first because he didn't feel like waiting at the orphanage. Not feeling like talking to anyone out of the blue, he also immediately found an empty box on the train and made himself comfortable. He was dressed much more sharply than he was during his stay at the orphanage with a perfectly ironed, fitting white dress shirt and dark, charcoal-colored trousers with sleek dark brown leather shoes.
It showed of his lean build, though it also made him look a little wiry. He had never put much stock into physical exercise, hoping his magic and his studies would result in a method to gain a perfect physique without the hard work needed. Nonetheless, his current appearance showed him as nothing but a refined young man.
As he was reading the notebook with his suitcase overhead and his concentration totally bound to his mother's writing, he initially didn't notice or rather ignored two girls and a boy entering his compartment. The three kept oddly quiet and regarded Talion with fascination. The young man had clearly felt their presence, though he was perfectly fine ignoring them a little longer.
Eventually, as the train started moving, Talion couldn't take it anymore and looked up. He was pretty confident in knowing who those two girls were, but the name of the boy remained a mystery for the time being.
"Hello, since introductions are still open, I'll do the honors. My name is Talion Macnair, soon-to-be first year, orphaned magical and sadly raised in the muggle world," Talion greeted, tailoring his greeting to what looked like three pureblood scions.
"Ah, terrible for you, mate. Any relations to Walden Macnair?" The boy asked with a curious expression, but one of the girls elbowed him in the side.
"Ignore Terry, my name's Parvati, this is my sister Padma Patil. We likely can't hide it from you, so I'll admit it. We are twins. Shocking, I know," Parvati, the future Gryffindor, and more outgoing of the twin sisters introduced.
As outgoing as she appeared to be, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff were her only options if the Sorting Hat worked purely on stereotypes, so her sorting likely wouldn't change. She would also become Harry's dance partner for the Yule Ball if nothing changes - though that kind of seemed unlikely if everyone was more mature. Or maybe it was even more likely? Parvati and Padma were stunning... for fourteen year olds. In fact, neither he nor they looked like 14. Thanks to magical maturation, all students he could identify - himself included - looked sixteen at minimum.
"Terry Boot, pleasure," the boy finally greeted as Padma gave Talion a nod in greeting since her sister had already introduced her.
"You'll be a claw then like those two dorks?" Parvati asked with a smirk as she looked at Talion's notebook.
"Hey, I'll be proud to honor the tradition of us Boots. For hundreds of years, every Boot was sorted into Ravenclaw!"
Somehow, this declaration only earned him a snicker from Parvati as she faintly mumbled 'us Boots' in derision.
"Can you tell me more about Ravenclaw? Professor Babbling who guided me and Madam Malkin both told me I'd do well in that house and since I'm otherwise not knowledgeable about anything, your information could prove to be quite valuable," Talion politely inquired, though Parvati looked at him like he grew another head.
"Mate, didn't you say you were raised in a muggle orphanage? Why are you talking like that?"
'Huh, three years outside of Hogwarts apparently made her a tomboy instead of a more refined pureblood lady with roots in India?'
"Alrigh', sure bruv. Fink den, wanna tell me 'bout the 'ouse of dorks?" Talion asked once more, doing his best to bring out his authentic Londoner accent, which earned him an approving nod from Parvati but made the boy inwardly cringe at the likely wrong accent. He grew up in the very outskirts of London among proper church going adults, after all.
And, from there, Talion gained a tentative relationship to the Patil twins and a future Ravenclaw. The long trip toward Hogwarts was spent in pleasant company as Talion learned more about them and told them of his yet unknown heritage, stating he only knew his mother's name and that he was related to the 'true' Macnair family, courtesy of his ability to enter the family fault.
There were no interruptions on the road either safe for the trolley lady offering them sweets to buy. No Neville and Hermione searching for Trevor the frog. No Draco looking for THE Harry Potter.
So it came as a little shock to Talion when he first saw the infamous boy-who-lived near the towering half-giant Hagrid gathering the first years. Intelligent, emerald-green eyes with the, messy dark hair, just like in the books. Decidedly shorter than anyone else and on the thinner side, just like in the books. But his eyes didn't express innocence and wonder, no. They showed quiet calculation at every interaction. He stood visibly apart from everyone and had his hands in his pockets, and his brief smile toward Hagrid as he gathered the first years was the first real emotion Talion could see on the boy's face.
Other than that, Talion could admit that the original actor was an excellent casting choice for him if it wasn't for actor's eye color. Same with most of the more famous characters that were repeatedly shown in the movies - well, the golden trio and Hagrid so far.
After the boatride, the whole introductions by Professor McGonagall, the scare by the ghosts and their entry to the Great Hall to get sorted, the young wizard with memories from another life could confidently say that most key characters of this school year behaved entirely different than in the books. Harry was quiet and distant, speaking no words to Ron and ignoring Draco calling for 'Harry Potter'. Hermione was much the same. She certainly didn't tell anyone about her fascination about the enchanted ceiling that she read about in a book.
And Neville and Ron? Both were somehow confidently socializing with a few peers they apparently knew before coming here.
'Such a big group... did I miss inquiring about a pre-school these young wizards and witches go to before Hogwarts starts? Is that why they seem to know each other? Maybe like a group tutoring / daycare kind of system?'
As the sorting started, the first few known characters were sorted exactly like they were in the books with the first two witches called forward, Hannah Abott and Susan Bones, both were sorted into Hufflepuff.
The first turn from canon was with Michael Corner, who instead of Ravenclaw was sorted into Gryffindor. The boy himself was inconsequential as far as Talion knew, merely acting as one of Ginny Weasley's future dates, followed by a brief mention of him dating Cho Chang some time after Cedric's death.
Weirdly enough, Stephen Cornfoot, who was equally as forgettable as Michael, was entirely absent from the sorting.
Then there was Hermione Granger, who got sorted into Ravenclaw after conversing with the talking hat for several minutes.
Neville Longbottom walked forward upon getting called and showed nerves for the first time since Talion saw him. And he, too, was sorted in a different house and ended up in Hufflepuff as opposed to Gryffindor. If Dumbledore was indeed an evil pupeteer, his plan had already entirely derailed at this point. No Neville as a spare savior, no Hermione to counter-act all the ignorance of the two boys in the golden trio... canon events that Talion felt confident might happen despite the three year time gap now were completely derailed.
And with such a feeling, Professor McGonagall finally called, "Talion Macnair!" once, Isobel MacDougal was sorted into Ravenclaw just like in the books - even if you couldn't be sure if Isobel and Morag were one and the same. In any case, here she was called Isobel.
With confident strides and decidedly not looking at any of the professors after seeing that all those he suspected to be here were there - like Quirrel, Snape and all the others, Talion sat down on the stool and placed the hat on his head. He especially dodged Dumbledore's eyes in case his emotions about the man would bubble to the surface.
"Ohhh, this is new," the hat exclaimed after several quiet moments. "Memories from a past life aren't new to me, but this is something else. Horcruxes, eh? And you have a plan for four of them? Good luck, lad!"
'Can you hear me? Test test - is this thing on?'
"Come on, lad. You're messing with me, are you not?"
'Hehe, excuse me. So, are you bound to keep my secrets, or can I expect Dumbledore to take apart my mind in a few days?'
"No worries, boy. Godric was very particular about it, I will not tell a soul without your express permission. And I'll know if you're influenced to give it."
'Uhhh, I'll trust you and my acquired fan fiction knowledge then... any chance to get Gryffindor's sword out of you when nobody is looking?'
"First of all, no. Unless, of course, you end up in the chamber of secrets like I've seen in your memories. Second of all, you're not looking to get sorted into Godric's house, are you?"
Talion sighed in defeat, 'Can't blame me for trying. And no, thanks. I'd rather you put me in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Are either of the two single bedroom dormitories? Send me there if only one of them does.'
"Slytherin has single bed dorms. How about that?"
'Ugh, no thanks. I'd like to be off of Dumbledore's radar for as long as I can before I break apart his benevolent image and tarnish his reputation forever.'
"See, you even talk like a Slytherin. But please keep your schemes to a level that Hogwarts can survive without total loss of reputation. No revealing rumors that the headmaster was able to strip all the security wards that prevented assaults from happening or one of those other dark plots you read in these 'Dark Lord Dumbledore fanfics'."
'Well... that depends. Was he able to change the wards for the worse?'
"Indeed he was. But not to the extent you're imagining and definitely not with such evil goals in mind. Through all his faults, he does care about the well-being of the students. I can tell."
'Fine, I'll adjust my methods. Anything I can get in return?'
"Haha, you sure you don't want to be a Slytherin? You have the ambition and the ruthlessness required. You even got the bloodline that would allow you to mingle well in the snake den."
'I'll stay by my conditions and decisions earlier... so I'll get nothing then?'
"Fine! You know about Rowena's room already. Just wish for my presence thrice and I'll appear. You'll get one non-sword favor, and you can't use it to ask for more favors."
'Nice doing business with you!'
"Everyone's already looking, lad," the hat told him in his mind, and Talion looked around. Indeed, the people present were looking at him like a zoo animal. And he was wavering a little when he saw a mop of bright pink hair at the Gryffindor table instead of the Hufflepuff table.
'Tonks is not in Hufflepuff? Shocker.'
"Tonks? The metamorphmagus? She was indeed suited for both houses, but she had a crush on a boy and followed him to Gryffindor. He turned out to be a dense bookend, though, and broke her heart..."
'You gossip? Wait, didn't you say you had to keep secrets?'
"Of course, I gossip! You think me and the portraits just wait around with metaphorical thumbs up our bums until we're useful? We know everything going on in these halls! And that wasn't a secret. Her crush was quite literally painted on her face because of her ability."
After a brief contemplation, a small grin formed on Talion's face.
'Hehe, I already know about the favor then, I'll need every single piece of-'
"Better be... RAVENCLAW!" The hat suddenly shouted out loud and interrupted Talion from asking for anything as outrageous as he just tried to do. Hopefully, he would mellow out a little later on and use the favor on something more reasonable.
Since his conversation with the talking hat was among the longest in recent history, the sorting was met with brief silence that turned into excited cheers from the Ravenclaw table. Whatever that conversation was, most students were convinced Talion had to be someone special to talk to the hat for that long.
With an apologetic look toward the transfiguration professor who looked at him with a stern, disapproving look for 'dawdling' for so long, Talion moved to the Ravenclaw table and sat among an entire array of cute young women. The ratio was heavily into the gentler gender's favor, with almost three witches for every wizard in the later years.
For his year mates, while the sorting wasn't done and a sure bet with Padma still missing, there were currently four boys with him, Terry Boot, Kevin Entwhistle, and Anthony Goldstein, who would later become prefect in canon. Opposed to that, there were already four girls despite missing two from canon: Mandy Brocklehurst, Hermione Granger, Isobel MacDougal, and Sue Li. If nothing changed, Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin should still both be sorted into his house.
And indeed they did, but not before fate kicked Talion in the shin. Harry Potter, too, was sorted into Ravenclaw.
When the hat announced that, a chill ran down his spine. Was he supposed to form the Golden Trio with Hermione and Harry while in Ravenclaw in one of Dumbledore's schemes? How did Dumbledore adjust for Harry no longer being instilled with Gryffindor values that made him the perfectly willing, self-sacrificing martyr?
...would the headmaster instead try to influence Harry with academic curiosity or even direct tutoring that would enable the boy-who-lived to fight back instead of resigning himself to the prophecy?
'There are too many possibilities. Why did he have to come to freaking Ravenclaw!? Why didn't I see it coming from his distant behavior regardless?? I should have gone to Hufflepuff!'
"Hey, Talion, right? There are so many weird names here for a muggle-raised witch like me... is your name latin?" A quiet voice asked from the left of him.
Talion looked and was shocked. He completely missed that he sat down beside Hermione Granger on one side.
Seeing that the sorting was done with Blaise Zabini as the last Slytherin and Ron Weasley becoming a Gryffindor just before that, the feast started shortly after a short speech from Dumbledore that didn't change from canon at all. Right down to the four weird words that many fanfic writers thought were the names of the house elves responsible for one of the house tables.
"Indeed, I'm Talion, and I highly suspect it comes from 'talionis'. You studied latin in school, Hermione?"
A small smile crept on the girl's face for the simple fact that he remembered her name.
"Uhuh, I did. I... my parents are dentists and while I originally planned a different career, medicine was high on the list of possibilities," Hermione calmly explained, making sure her voice didn't interrupt anybody else - to Talion a likely sign that she suffered from bullying or at the very least bullies that took offense to her voice in some form.
"I see. Well, without trying to offend you, you look like someone who could accomplish that," the young wizard retorted.
"You know what a dentist is, then?" Hermione asked, completely glossing over the compliment or insult for the moment. "You were raised with muggles, too?"
"Yep, fourteen years in an orphanage in London. Though, my parents were very likely magical. At least that's what I concluded from bits and pieces in people's behavior toward my name," Talion replied with a reassuring smile to show that he did indeed not try to insult her before.
"Yeah, he is. Macnairs are super into pureblood superiority. No way that whoever his father was didn't bang a pureblood witch," a rude voice interrupted from the side.
One that belonged to Anthony Goldstein.