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The Theory of Many Worlds

Slowly Ron opened his eyes and tried to ignore the thudding headache that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He was lying down and quickly recognised the familiar feel of the bed sheets of the Hogwarts infirmary, outside the drawn curtains he could hear raised voices.

"But sir this is impossible!" yelled Harry his words thick with emotion, "The person in that bed can not be Ronald Weasley!"

Dumbledore's soft tones carried easily through the thin material divide, "I'm sorry Harry but that is Mr. Weasley." At Harry's disbelieving humph the curtain was pulled back to reveal a row of empty beds, it seemed that the only people present were Harry and Dumbledore until something at the back shifted and Ron realised that Hermione seemed to be hiding in the shadows keeping as far away from him as possible. There was no sign of Madam Pomfrey. "Good evening Mr Weasley I'm glad to see you've awoken from Mr Potter's enthusiastic stunning."

Ron's head was in turmoil. Harry had stunned him. His best friend had bloody knocked him out and was now saying that he was some kind of impostor!

"Professor... what's going on?" he mumbled trying to clear the confusion.

The head teacher looked down on him sympathetically, "Mr Weasley could you please tell me what you were doing down that corridor."

"I was looking for him," Ron said pointing a glare at Harry before returning his eyes to Dumbledore, "Harry had disappeared again," obviously his anger at being stunned meant that he really didn't care about getting his friend into trouble, "and we were looking for him. Ask Hermione."

At this the figure in the shadows shifted uncomfortably but Harry diverted all attention. "That isn't true!" he yelled, "Me and Hermione were down that corridor discussing-"he shot a glance at Ron and changed whatever he was really about to say, "...things when there's this blinding light and suddenly he appears. This has got to be some kind of cruel joke." Harry almost whispered the last part and seemed to deflate as he collapsed into a chair beside the bed. "A really cruel joke."

"This is no joke Harry this is in fact all very real." Everyone in the room turned to the old wizard awaiting an explanation, "What do you know, Mr Weasley, of muggle scientists?" A flash of puzzlement appeared on every face around the room.

"Er... I know that they try to work out how things in the muggle world work, like ekeleckricity." Ron was half surprised when Hermione didn't jump in with a dictionary definition of a scientist's vocation.

"One area of science is quantum physics where muggles of intelligence study subatomic particles." At the blank look from Ron, Dumbledore explained how muggles believed that the universe was made up of atoms of protons and electrons- Harry and Hermione knew something of the science from their own muggle heritage but they were almost just as lost. "To summarise, he continued, there are some scientists who believe that these particles exist in a way that creates parallel universes. Some call this the 'Many Worlds' theory, and Ron when you stepped through that door you proved that theory- you are in an alternate universe."

"What?" interrupted the two boys in unison and disbelief.

"Imagine that every particle has the choice of x or y and that in that instance it duplicates itself so creating a parallel world where the only difference is that decision. Of course that can create other consequences later on."

"I still don't understand," said Ron shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm saying," said Dumbledore, "that for every decision taken in this world another is created so that both conclusions can take place."

"So there's a world out there where Tom Riddle never chose to become Voldemort."

"Harry there is a world out there where there is no evil at all."

"So the room I walked into..."

"Was the Room of Many Worlds and I'm sure that it's a place that many physicists would love to explore," smiled Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

Ron thought for a moment," So does that mean that back in my world the others


could be having the exact same conversation that we are." finished Hermione. The difference being that she and Harry were sitting in Dumbledore's office, without Ron, and that there was an odd timer sitting on his well used desk.

"Indeed Hermione they probably are."

After the shock of Ron's disappearance Hermione had headed to Dumbledore's office as fast as her legs would carry her. On the way she ran into Harry and dragged him along without explanation eventually reaching the Headmaster's room where she'd stumbled upon the password and raced up the rotating staircase, there she'd somehow stuttered out the story of what had happened. Curiously Dumbledore had seemed to know the past events even as she staggered through the doorway.

"So there's a doorway to ever world out there... or here... or in the same place?" spoke a still slightly confused Harry.

"Not all worlds," explained Dumbledore, "In some Hogwarts was never created, in others no magic, there will be places where no world exists at all and so nowhere for the doors to connect to."

"But Sir why did the door itself disappear?" asked Hermione.

"This world and whichever place Mr Weasley is currently visiting are now connected together, the doorway will reopen as soon this timer reaches zero." He drew attention to the antique machine on his desk. The timer was a rectangular shape about thirty centimetres long and filled with seven individual black wooded rollers that had the numbers zero to nine written on, except for the first that only had two to zero. As each second passed the rollers moved, it seemed that the number had already decreased by several hundred since the unobtrusive object had caught Dumbledore's eye when it had reset and begun to tick. "Ronald Weasley may return home in thirty days time."

"A month! Do you mean to tell me that he's going to be stuck in a world that we know nothing about for a month!? Not once in Hogwarts a History are such rooms mentioned, why do such horrible rooms have a place in this school?" The sudden loss of Ron had shaken Hermione to the core especially as the last words they'd shared were filled with anger.

"Hermione has a point sir. How come this hasn't happened before?"

"How do we know that it hasn't?" spoke Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "Remember that though it may not have happened here during our lifetimes it does not mean that two other worlds have not been connected or that our own door hasn't been used since the time of the founders. Such a room could be used in the wrong manner. I have often found during my time here that sometimes Hogwarts has its own reasons for doing things."

This didn't satisfy any of the trio- no matter which world they were in.

AN: Thankyou to all my lovely reviewers- I did have u all listed individually but i'vehad to reload this chaapter and I havn't got enough time now.

Just some answers then:

this fic will be updated every friday and you can see the progress on my authors page (for those that don't know click on my name at the top)

I do now have a wonderful beta nattieb, I'd like to thank her for her help and also thank all those that offered- but i'll never turn down constructive critism.

finally i'd like to add that this theory actually exists- but there's a little more maths to it and you wont find it at Hogwarts... hmm... or maybe there is a Hogwarts somewhere out there.