It was five years before Malik's death.

Marik was practically abused by Malik, so he decided to stay with Ryou and Bakura. In all honesty, he didn't mind it a bit. Ryou was his best friend, after all, so he had a lot more fun than he would've with Malik, who was always telling him to do things, and then, what he was doing wrong.

Not like it was much different living with Bakura.

Bakura was a wizard, so he was able to make threats that Malik, a squib, was not. Marik still remembered that, several times, Bakura had forced his wand out of his hands, then trapped him in a room that required a key to unlock. Bakura would take his wand, point it at the door, shout "Colloportus", and leave.

Marik would be trapped in there until Ryou would retrieve the key for him. Sometimes, Ryou would just bring Marik his wand instead, and with a quick cry of "Alohomora", he was out.

It still infuriated Bakura. For years, he had been trying to be able to have Ryou do something when he needed him to, but he was defiant. Then, right out of the blue, Marik is able to do it. The sixteen-year-old was cunning, that much was true, but he was also weak in certain fields, fields which Bakura just couldn't figure out.

One particular day, Marik was trapped in the room again, and Ryou was asleep. Normally, when Ryou fell asleep, he was napping for two or three hours at a time, so Marik knew he would be in there a while. Then...

"Alohomora!"

The door opened. Marik knew the voice. It was Bakura. Bakura had never let him out before, it was always Ryou. Why would Bakura suddenly have a change of heart on him?

The door swung open, and Bakura was behind it. "Here," he said, throwing a letter at Marik.

Marik picked it up, and read the front of the envelope. Finding his name and address on the front, he quickly opened it with excitement. The paper inside it read:

Dear Mr. Ishtar,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

"Ryou got one, too," Bakura told him, seeing the excitement on Marik's face.

Marik squealed, and ran right out of the room. Ryou was on the floor of the living room, playing around with some small wooden blocks. Marik looked in fear, as Bakura came up behind him. "Of course, I may have to write back and explain... this."

"What's wrong with him?", Marik asked.

Bakura picked him up. He was surprisingly light for an 11-year-old. "I think a disorder of some sort. He's acting like a..."

"A two-year-old," Marik said.

Bakura shook his head. "Younger than that. I've never seen a two-year-old play with those little wooden blocks before."

Marik nodded, and Bakura handed Ryou to just smiled, and hugged Marik tightly. Bakura was holding a phone in his hand, and Marik heard that he was calling a doctor. Marik stroked Ryou's head, and hugged him.

"Don't worry," he told Ryou, "Bakura's gonna help you. We're going to get you some help."

He looked up at Bakura, who was cursing his mouth off. "They say they need to see him in mid-September. I won't have him, then. I think I'll actually have to write this letter by hand, and send it with you. Now, I anticipated that you and Ryou would receive your Hogwarts letters, so..."

He opened a closet, and inside were the supplies written on the list that both Ryou and Marik had, and things that appeared to be for later years. Marik looked at it in amazement. Bakura handed Marik two birdcages, each one with an owl in it.

"The black one is Ryou's, yours is the brown one. I have a white owl; I didn't want any of us three to get mixed up. If we did, we'd be sending the wrong letters to the wrong people, and that's not a very good thing," Bakura said. "I'll send your letters in reply, and you'll be on Platform 9 ¾ by the 1st of September!"

Marik could only smile. Ryou did, too.

"Well, this is it," Bakura said.

Marik could only stare at the Hogwarts Express, he had never seen anything like it in his life. He felt Ryou grip tighter onto his shirt, and Marik had let his arms droop to his sides as he came onto the platform. He realized it as he felt Ryou slip, so he helped him back up, and wrapped his arms around him.

Marik knew he would be with Ryou every step of the way. In the letter Bakura had sent to Hogwarts in early June, he explained that whatever house Marik was in, Ryou had to be in, too. Ryou would also have the same schedule, and if anything happened to Ryou, Marik would be the first person to be reached out to. Ryou was in good hands.

"Hello!"

Marik turned around. A girl. Marik just looked at Bakura. "Girls are wizards, too?!"

"Yes," the girl said calmly, a smile on her face, "but we are, of course, witches." She extended her hand. "My name is Akamai. Akamai Frether."

Marik put his hand to hers. "Marik Ishtar," he introduced himself.

"Pureblood, Halfblood, or Muggleborn?", Akamai asked.

Marik raised an eyebrow, and turned to Bakura. "Marik is a Halfblood," he answered. "His mother was a Pureblood witch, and his father was a Muggle."

Akamai nodded. "So, who's that? Is he your little brother?", she asked, pointing to Ryou.

"This is my best friend, Ryou," Marik told her. "He's got a disorder of some sort that makes him act much younger than he really is. So, he's with me."

"That one's Pureblood," Bakura said.

Akamai turned to face him. "Yami Bakura. It's been, what?"

"A year."

They hugged. Marik tried not to look.

"All aboard for Hogwarts Express!", a voice shouted.

Marik and Akamai shook hands, then rolled their carts onto the train. Marik was lugging two behind him, having to carry Ryou. Akamai was only carrying one. It didn't take Marik long to notice the black-as-night cat on her cart.

"What's with the cat?", he asked.

"You have an owl. Your friend has an owl. I have a cat," Akamai said.

Marik nodded, understanding it. He walked the opposite side of her to find a train car.

There were already two boys sitting in the train car Marik decided to sit in. One had short black hair, round glasses, and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. The boy next to him was just a little shorter than he was, and had unruly, bright red hair on the top of his head, and an excessively large amount of freckles.

Marik sat opposite them, with Ryou still on his lap. The two boys stared at this like it was the strangest thing they had ever seen.

"Hey. Why is he sitting on your lap?", the red-haired boy asked.

Marik looked up. "Oh. He's sick. Really sick. He's also just... really clingy," Marik explained.

"What's wrong with him?", the boy continued to ask.

"We don't know yet, but we'll figure it out," Marik told him.

"We?", the boy asked him.

Suddenly, Bakura came bursting in through the doors of the train car. "There you are! I've been all over this bloody train car looking for you two! 'Where the bloody hell is he', I wonder. 'He's probably being an idiot,' I suppose. And, look! You are being a...!"

"Bakura," Marik muttered.

"What?!", Bakura asked, furious.

Marik pointed at the two boys behind Bakura, and Bakura froze. He got red in the face, and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry for intruding in here like this," he apologized, "I'll just stay here."

Bakura sat next to Marik. Ryou began to moan.

"'Kura...", he moaned. "'Kura..."

"Here," Marik said, giving Ryou to Bakura.

Bakura laughed just a little as Ryou hugged him tightly. "There we go. That's my Ryou."

The two boys on the other end of the room looked nervous, watching the scene. Marik was able to detect anxiety when he saw it, and this was definitely it. Marik looked away from Bakura and Ryou in an attempt to change the subject.

"So, I'm Marik Ishtar," he said, extending a hand right in between the two boys.

The dark-haired boy shook hands with Marik first. "I'm Harry Potter," he introduced himself.

The red-haired boy went next. "Ron Weasley," he told Marik.

"The older kid who just came in here, that's Yami Bakura. He's a sixth year. Ryou Bakura, the kid in his arms, there, that's his younger brother. He's a first year, like me. What about you two?", Marik asked.

"First year," Ron said, raising his hand a little.

"Same, here," Harry answered.

"Well, looks like we'll be seeing each other every now and then," Marik said, smiling.

Bakura sat up, putting Ryou to his side. "We'll see. It all depends on what house you're sorted into," Bakura said.

"Where did you end up?", Ron asked.

Bakura smiled, and moved his arm to show off the patch on his Hogwarts robes. Green, with a silver snake on it. "Slytherin," he said proudly.

"Slytherin?", Marik asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There are four houses," Bakura began to explain, "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Your traits, qualities, and personality all help sort you. People in Gryffindor are brave, people in Ravenclaw are smart, people in Slytherin are Purebloods, and people in Hufflepuff are loyal.

"I have a feeling you're going to end up in Ravenclaw. If Ryou wasn't forever in the same house as you, he would join me in Slytherin, or be shoved in Hufflepuff."

"You know," Ron started, "They say that all bad wizards ended up in Slytherin. Who's to say you won't go bad?"

"I have Ryou," Bakura answered.

Marik could only smile at the comment as both he and Ryou passed out where they lay.

Marik woke up, with a smiling Ryou on top of him. "Marik! Marik!", he cheered with happiness.

Marik cuddled him tightly. "How long was I out?", he asked.

"A couple hours," Bakura answered. "We'll be there any minute now. Don't go back to sleep, and keep Ryou with you at all times."

Ryou giggled as Marik lifted him up. "Won't let go of him," Marik promised, doing a salute as Bakura nodded. Suddenly, a loud clank, and the train stopped.

"EVERYBODY OFF!", the conductor shouted. The students all stood up, and began to walk off. Marik followed Bakura, and Harry and Ron started to follow Marik. As Bakura walked off, there was a tall man with a long beard shouting "ALL FIRST YEARS COME WITH ME!" In all directions.

Harry ran up to him. "Hagrid!", he shouted in happiness.

Hagrid wrapped an arm around him. "Harry! Okay, you and your friends take that boat right there," he said, pointing to a boat on the river.

As Ron and Harry climbed into the boat, Marik looked at Hagrid. He quickly walked over to the boat, but paused as he felt a large, warm hand on his shoulder.

"It's nice to see you, Marik," Hagrid said. "What's going on with Ryou?"

Marik was astounded, but cleared his throat and tried to act casual. "He's sick. We don't know what's going on with him, but we're trying to find out."

"Ah, Bakura. Just, let me know how he's doing every now and then, heh?", Hagrid asked.

Marik nodded lightly, and ran to the boat that Harry and Ron were sitting in. He kept Ryou pulled tight to him; he did not want to break his promise of never letting Ryou out of his sight. He didn't want to face a punishment from Bakura if he were to lose Ryou.

As Marik looked at the boat, he noticed it was wooden and worn out. It looked like a rowboat, but it didn't have any oars. Suddenly, the boat started moving by itself, and Marik let out a little squeal of fear as he kept his right arm held tightly around Ryou, and his left hand held tight on the edge of the boat. Marik expected Harry and Ron to look back at him as if he was crazy, but he noticed that the two of them were gripping onto the rim of the boat for dear life, as well.

He took in a breath of fresh air as the boats stopped at a dock on the Hogwarts palace grounds. Marik took in another breath as he slowly walked into Hogwarts.