C004 - Sorted into...
"I take it you have bad blood with one of my family members?" Talion calmly asked as a few more people started to listen in at the table.
"You bet! My dad worked in the ministry's department for the regulation and control of magical creatures, same as that monster Walden Macnair! For years, that sociopath abused my father and his other colleagues every chance he got. Good riddance that he finally kicked the bucket!"
Talion ignored the gasps at the table and shook his head a little before calmly retorting, "Not only have I never met the man because the matron at the orphanage told me I joined them mere days old, I have no frame of reference for anything you just said. I inherited a small vault that Walden Macnair was too cheap to pay any services for, and that was it. Apart from knowing my mother's name, that's the extent of my knowledge about the Macnair family."
Most girls immediately started glaring at Anthony for being such a douche toward an orphan and misplacing his anger toward someone who had nothing to do with his, or rather his father's, grudge. But more than that, a lot of people were now intrigued by who his parents were. This did start with him talking about his parents and their likely heritage, after all.
Honestly, Talion would have thought constantly talking about your bloodstatus would come off as tacky, but unless you are in the presence of pureblood bigots, the topic seemed pretty exciting to young magicals. He had shared his peerage or rather his supposed peerage earlier in the train as well under the insistence of Terry Boot, and the Patil twins quickly shared their heritage as well.
"In any case, I wouldn't know who Selena Macnair 'banged' or not to conceive me, the matron only knew my mother's name from whoever placed me at the orphanage with a letter telling her my name in the dark of night," Talion calmly finished and answered many unasked questions from those listening in.
Revealing his mother's name openly would put a target on him from the death eater faction after what happened to Walden Macnair after Walden's daughter, his very mother, 'defected'.
But it would happen anyway. His name couldn't be changed, not before reaching Hogwarts. So the cat would come out of the bag shortly anyway. Better do it now and be done with it instead of looking over his shoulder every day, wondering if someone figured it out or not.
Talion turned back to Hermione, who by now was a little uncomfortable at all the attention her seat neighbor received and the two continued where they left off.
"Going into medicine is a noble calling. I heard that it might be possible to get taught in the healing arts by Poppy Pomfrey, the mediwitch of Hogwarts if your grades are excellent for a few years," he said with a smile as he looked toward the staff table for the first time to look at the healer in question who was easily identified because of the red cross on her hat. How a red cross of all things was the symbol she would use to show her status as a healer was a question Talion would likely ask her at some point in the future.
Hermione followed his gaze and could barely make out who he meant before turning back to Talion with a certain glint in her eyes.
"You plan to get excellent grades?" the bushy haired witch inquired with a curious tilt of her head. So far, even in the school her parents later sent her to where others should have strived for academic excellence, Hermione felt alone among her peers. She was isolated because of her poor social skills and standing out with 1-plus-grades instead of the regular 1's everyone else received somehow increased the distance between her and her classmates even further.
"Uhhh, I do, but not to get into healing. Sure, first aid spells like closing a bleeding wound is something I'd gladly learn. But no, from my initial exposure to the magical world, I'd like to learn more about dueling and warding," Talion answered while scratching the back of his head with an unsure expression.
And he meant it. These were two topics he was deeply interested in. That also played a major part in why he wanted to go to Ravenclaw in the first place. It all depended on how good a relationship he could establish with Filius Flitwick.
"I see," Hermione answered with a small smile slowly forming on her face.
'Studious and competitive, but not vindictive or bossy. Three more years in muggle school really did a number on the 'Gryffindor-book worm', huh?' Talion thought and continued with some friendly chats with the people sitting close to him until the end of the feast.
After another warning from the headmaster not to go die on the third floor, which was of course a reasonable note to give your students at the start of a school term, the prefects gathered the first years and brought them to their respective common rooms.
The knocker guarding the Ravenclaw dorm would get old very quickly if the best it could come up with was:
"I run but never walk. I murmur but never talk. I have a bed but don't sleep. I have a mouth that never eats. What am I?"
Not only was this riddle needlessly long if you needed a quick tinkle or just needed to grab some supplies you forgot, it was also way too picturesque a question. Where was the hard logic if you're just doing word games with rhymes?
In any case, the answer, of course, was 'river' and most of the first years got the answer pretty quickly. A few like Anthony and Kevin did look like they would think of this like a major annoyance in the near future - but Terry and especially Hermione looked intrigued. Who knew how long it would take until they, too, got bored of the constant logic puzzles and magical riddles?
The male prefect of Ravenclaw was some tight-lipped half-blood wizard named Robert Hilliard who let his colleague do all the talking after he introduced himself in as few words as possible. Just like before, for some unbelievable reason, he revealed his 'blood-status' unprompted. Talion would have to look up why that was eventually because he was pretty sure only people like Draco Malfoy brought it up in casual conversation like that in the original story.
The female prefect, just like in canon, was Penelope Clearwater, potential future girlfriend of Percy Weasley, and according to her, the best student of her school year four years and counting.
Coincidentally, the young witch looked almost like a little sister of Professor Babbling, even wearing her blonde hair in a ponytail with wavy bangs framing her face just like the runes professor did. Her frameless, round reading glasses were a stark difference between the two apart from their age, but other than that they were both equally pretty and they had similar temperaments from what Talion could gather in the short time she talked.
As she gave them a rundown of the rules and the Ravenclaw common room, which did in fact feature a library with many notes left behind by alumni of the house, the boys hung on every word that left her lips. Talion was sure that if Penelope wanted, she would have a great future as a teacher or professor - unless, of course, the boys only listened or pretended to because she was quite the looker.
"Any other questions?" She eventually asked as they stood near the entrance with the notification board once more.
Seeing that nobody raised his hand, Talion did and asked his question.
"I overheard a few people saying there was some kind of frog choir, a gobstone club, and of course Quidditch... but are there any other clubs? Specifically for certain subjects or prep courses for professions?" Talion inquired, since after-school activities were barely covered in the original works. "I also heard Professor Flitwick was a decorated dueling champion - how would one go about getting his instructions in the subject?"
Penelope seriously considered for a moment before answering, "There have been a few clubs organised by the professors, but they only announce the clubs they host after the first week of the school year. The details will be posted on the board behind all of you. As for Professor Flitwick's credentials, you indeed heard correct. Our head of house is a remarkable wizard with many achievements, including dueling like you mentioned. He hosted the frog choir and a survival club with Professor Kettleburn, the professor for Care of Magical Creatures, last year - but no dueling club. In the survival club, he teaches you nifty charms to make an unplanned night in the wild easier."
"And I will do so once more this year if Professor Kettleburn hasn't lost his last limb somehow over the summer," a cheerful voice interrupted from behind the gathered first years. "Thank you, Penelope, for guiding our new little birds."
A few older students nearby started smirking when the diminutive charms master called others 'little', but nobody laughed at the professor who was only slightly taller than Patrick, Talion's house elf.
"In case you have not yet guessed, I am Filius Flitwick, your head of house and future professor for Charms. I am delighted to have you with us in the illustrious House Ravenclaw, and hope that you all become a glowing boon to all of us, just like your predecessors. In Ravenclaw, we value wit and creativity. Earning house points, in my opinion, is secondary as long as each of you strives to become the best wizard and witch you can be during the school year as you apply yourself to our teachings and magic itself," the small half-goblin cheerfully announced after he climbed on top of a pillow and levitated himself into the air to be able to see every student.
"And Mister Macnair. While I may not be able to teach a full club for dueling due to certain restrictions made by the board of governors and the headmaster, I will consider sharing a few anectodes or even tutor you fully, if I deem your efforts worth my time," the Charms professor offered with shining eyes as he regarded the boy with the faint scar over his nose standing next to the boy-who-lived with the much more dangerous looking lightning-bolt scar carefully hidden behind the savior's bangs.
"Thank you, professor," Talion politely responded with a barely perceptible bow to show his appreciation.
For his plans, being able to wield combat magic was paramount - he couldn't leave being able to learn under someone like Flitwick to chance and his second choice, Professor Snape, was much, much harder to persuade even with all the background information Talion had on him.
Simply blackmailing Snape was a surefire way to cut his path to revenge short, after all. And since Severus Snape's true allegiance was to himself despite being a double-spy for both sides, young Macnair would need to constantly act and mind his words in the presence of Hogwarts' potion master. Flitwick was the far superior choice for him.
"In that case, all that's left for me to do is tell you my open office hours and the direction toward my classroom," Flitwick concluded since nobody else had anything to ask - which baffled Talion - and the half-goblin did just as he said. Twice a week, in a room right next to his classroom. That's when he was available for casual requests and talks.
If they needed something urgently, the students were allowed to 'bother' him anytime they needed. His quarters were on the same corridor as the common room entrance on the fifth floor for that exact purpose.
All he did after that was take the illustrious Harry Potter with him for some one-on-one talks. How they communicated to plan that escaped Talion's notice, but him leaving with Flitwick was noticed by everyone - courtesy of being THE celebrity of the wizarding world or Magical Britain at the very least.
"Then, all that's left for me and Hilliard to do is bring you to your dormitories," Penelope said with a small smile and started walking towards the back of the room. "They are seperated by gender and you won't be able to enter the girls' side, boys - unless you want to be petrified and brought to the foot of the stairs for everyone to laugh at you."
Hilliard, eventually, wordlessly, brought them to a set of stairs clearly marked as the male entrance to the dorms and started walking upwards. Talion contemplated if magical escalators would be his first big project when he saw the first years were placed in the highest tower, having to move up another three sets of stairs just like second years.
Instead of big group rooms, the five boys would be divided into three rooms, two in each and one lucky guy who would get to sleep on his own. The names were engraved on the doors, and his door was the first in the short corridor... but his name was not the only one on it.
He would have to share it with Harry James Potter.
'God damnit, Dumbledore...'