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Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Back in the alternate world Dumbledore knew that certain precautions would have to be taken. "Mr Weasley I regret to inform you that I cannot have you running around this school and terrifying my students."

"So your going to keep me locked up for a month?" Ron quailed. Who knew what weird ways they had in this universe?

"Nothing quite so drastic," the headmaster smiled, "just a little change of identity." As he spoke Dumbledore waved his wand over Ron's still prone body and muttered an unfamiliar incantation. Ron felt as if someone had dripped ice cold water onto his head and reached up to touch his hair trying to shake off the odd tingling sensation. "There we are," Dumbledore spoke as he stood to leave the room, "no one will recognise you without that distinctive red hair, its amazing what people will not see when they do not want to. Your name is now Robert Millings and your parents have enrolled you into Hogwarts from a wizarding high school in Staffordshire, it is not an odd occurrence in the present climate. Harry, Hermione," he nodded to the teenagers, "I suggest you look after Mr Millings here and stop him from saying anything inappropriate. Goodnight, I suggest that you all get some sleep. Stay here for tonight and return to your dormitories tomorrow, you will not be disturbed."

If Harry and Hermione were confused by the old man's ominous comments they didn't show it, in fact just the opposite as their faces suddenly became stony with seriousness. Ron could only hope that his questions would be answered soon as Dumbledore left the ward shutting the door with a quiet, but definite, thud behind him.

Instantly the room became thick with tension as the three 'friends' regarded each other, desperate to break the silence Ron spoke first, "So what's the mad man done to my hair then?" The comment wasn't really funny but it managed to restore some sense of normalcy.

"Worried about your hair Ron, not turning into Malfoy are you?" Harry joked also trying his best to lay some foundations.

"Just give me a damn mirror will you."

Harry quickly glanced around the room to no avail but Ron's attention was drawn to Hermione as for the first time that evening she came near to him and handed over a hand mirror she'd had in her book bag. He wasn't sure what surprised him more: the way she retreated as quickly as possible after handing it over, that she hadn't commented on his swearing or that she was carrying a mirror.

Ignoring the disconcerting feeling growing in his stomach Ron looked at his reflection. Every stand of shocking red hair had disappeared under a drenching of black; he also made a mental note to grow his hair longer when he got home, as it seemed to suit him. If Bill could get away with it then he certainly could. The only other difference he could see was that his freckles had faded to fit in better with the new colour.

"So what do you think?" he asked and dramatically lifted his hands and ran them through his new hair. But the other two were no longer looking at his head but at his arms where the sleeves of his robes had riled up- where the scars showed.

"How did you get those?" Harry asked obviously confused and sounding slightly distressed, "What happened?" Hermione had also drawn closer.

"Oh nothing. So what's the quidditch like here? " he deflected and tried to pull the material down to cover the unattractive marks still boiled into the skin after last year.

"Ron! Don't even try to change the subject." Hermione may be quiet in this world but that didn't stop her from knowing him way to well.

"Fine," Ron gave up. "They're from last year when we- I mean my Harry and Hermione- went to the Ministry of Magic at the end of last year."

Harry leaned in closer and sat on the end of the bed, intrigued by the story, "What were you doing at the Ministry?"

"Saving Sirius of course. Well that was until it turned out to be a trap."

"Sirius?" "Trap?" Harry and Hermione asked respectfully and at the same time.

Ron heard Hermione's question the clearest and promptly answered, "Harry had been seeing You-Know-Who in his dreams, being him or watching him I'm not sure."

"Same thing here carry on," Harry prompted.

"Well You-Know-Who decided to use it against my Harry by deliberately sending him dreams of rooms which he later recognised as being part of the mystery experimental part of the ministry. But that still didn't get him there so You-Know-Who set a trap by sending images of someone he cared for being tortured. We all went. Oh, he tried to stop us of course but if you leave Harry alone he'll try to play the hero- no offence. So we got there, and well, we didn't lose but we didn't exactly win either. "

"I don't understand," asked Harry, "Why did Voldemort want me- him there?"

"To get a prophecy. Didn't work though because it got broken in the fight and no one heard it."

"No one?" Hermione said looking slightly surprised.

"Nope. We have no idea what it said."

"Why didn't you just ask Dumbledore?" she pressed.

"Dumbledore?"

"Yeah he told me as soon I told him about the dreams I'd been having in the middle of the fourth year."

"Fourth year!?" Ron leant his head back in shock, breathing deeply, "Maybe in our world it couldn't be gotten from the Ministry."

"Ron you dolt he was there when it was made, Dumbledore has always known what it said." Harry explained.

Something at the back of Ron's mind was clicking into place; an explanation for his friend's behaviour was just beyond the line of comprehension, "So just what does this prophesy say?"

Suddenly Harry shifted uncomfortably and couldn't look him in the eye.

"Harry what does it say?"

"It says... it says..."

"It says that it's him or Voldemort," Hermione cut in, "for one to live the other must die, that's why he's been after Harry from the beginning."

For the first time in his life that he could remember Ron was speechless.

"Of course it may be different in your world," Harry tried to console but Ron's head was full of memories from last year: the avoidance of Dumbledore, the cutting off of his friends- suddenly it all made sense.

"The stupid -! He knows." Ron called out in epiphany and stared directly at Harry, "You mate, are an idiot."

"What?"

"You kept it to yourself."

"No your Harry did that."

"Actually Harry," Hermione interrupted, "You almost did do that. The only reason any of us know about the prophecy is because we wouldn't leave when Dumbledore told us to. In fact if I remember correctly you cut yourself off for a couple of months during the last part of fourth year in fear of Voldemort hurting someone close to you. That was until Ron knocked some sense into you- literally."

Ron was intrigued, "What happened?"

"You, I mean my Ron, hit him. Told Harry here that it didn't matter how hard he tried he wasn't going after the- now what was it," she paused in remembrance," ah yes- 'dark, evil git' alone."

After the little anecdote from this world it seemed that the floor was much more interesting than what rested on top of it as Hermione wouldn't look Ron in the eye. She wouldn't look at him at all and still kept her distance.

For the first time Ron realised what was wrong with this picture- it wasn't wrong at all. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Infirmary," Harry replied innocently.

"No. The other me, the other Ron. Where is he?"

Suddenly Harry seemed to find the floor very interesting as well.

Ron felt his temper flare with annoyance, "There is nothing at all interesting about that bloody floor now tell me where this world's Ron is!"

"He's dead! Deceased! Six foot under!" Hermione spat, "Happy now? You've got your answer now. Harry you can answer the rest of his questions, I can't be here right now." She quickly fled the room slamming the door behind her.

"What just happened?" asked a shocked Ron.

Harry got up and ran his hands through his hair, "How would you feel if your best friend died six months ago and then when your chatting to your other best friend suddenly there's this flash of white light. Next thing you know Dumbledore's telling you that your dead friend has come back to life."

"That's why you hexed me."

"Yeah, I thought you were a trap, a trick, something evil anyway."

"And now Hermione hates me."

"I honestly don't think that she could never hate you mate but... well it may have been worse for her. Not that it wasn't bad for me," Harry quickly backtracked.

"Nice to know you care mate." Ron gave a weak smile, which Harry returned.

"Just don't joke about this around Hermione." Ron nodded his consent while Harry disappeared into the bathroom over the other side of the rectangular room. "Well, looks like I'm sleeping here tonight according to Dumbledore. Someone's got to keep you out of trouble and it doesn't look like Hermione's going to want to do that any time soon," Harry called out over the sound of running water.

The previously redheaded teenager remembered Dumbledore's earlier cryptic comments, "Hey, what inappropriate comments am I not meant to make?"

"I'll tell you in the morning," Harry mumbled as he climbed into the bed beside him, "but not asking where Ronald Weasley is would be a good start. Goodnight Robert Millings."

"Good night Harry."


AN: I would now like to thank all of my patient reviewers. I love you all!!!

Tinker1704-I got the idea for this story from the Many Worlds theory so I needed it in here somewhere and I really didn't want to make it complicated in any way but still mention something from where it comes from- and are you clear about the Ron situation now? Don't worry there's more coming up on that.

Jewel- see I've thought about that little problem

MyLuckyStars

Meeee- There is more coming

emanym

Karla Marie- Updates will be on Friday, blame fanfiction and time differences if it doesn't get there till Saturday.

Grimm Sister- I hope that it's slowly getting clearer

Hey,I'mTalkingtoYou

loonygrl90

Broken Rain

Trevorthetoadsmybestfriend

BrodyLuverGirl

BrownPryde

And finally a huge thank you to nattieb my wonderful beta.