--May 25th, 1973; Platform 9 ¾.
"Aurora, before you go home," she winced at my usage of the term, "I want you to have this." Fishing around in my pocket, I drew out a small silver ring inlaid with a deep blue sapphire.
Taking it, she fitted it on her finger and looked at me suspiciously, "What the hell for?"
"Well," I looked away, "I know your situation is rough, and I'm graduating next year…so this pretty much ensures we know what's up. If one of us dies, it goes black, and if one of us is in trouble, it changes shade. It's not brilliant, but it's easy to pass off as something else. See," I held up my left hand to reveal a matching one, "I've got one too."
Eying the ring on her own hand, she nodded, "All right, I can understand where this might come in handy." Looking up, she gave me a crooked smile, "Oh, and Alastor? You're not bad for a Gryffindor with a gimpy leg."
Swatting at her, I laughed, "What's that make you? A Slytherin with a heart? That's got to be a major handicap over your way!"
At this, she fell silent and I feared I had crossed the line, but then she laughed weakly, "Yeah, I suppose it is, isn't it?"
"Not in my book it's not," I replied softly. At this, she started to say something, but then froze. Grabbing her shoulder, I looked around, "What's the matter Aurora?"
She winced, "I…have to go now." Following her gaze, I saw a tall, slender man with shagged black hair and burning pale green eyes set in a cold, mask-like face that bore a frightening resemblance to my friend's. I would later learn that the man was her father, Alexander Kapranos, but at the time, as Aurora followed him away from me, I didn't care who he was; I hated him all the same.
Over that summer, though I sent her several letters, only once did I receive a response back from her large pet raven, Aloysius, and even then it was not so much a letter as a small package containing a small, silver dagger emblazoned with the Kapranos family crest and decorated with an elaborate dragon motif.