A different dimension.
Another Me.
Dumbledore was not Dumbledore.
Merlin above, she was only a third-year Little Witch. Why did she have to bear all this?!
Hermione struggled to process what she had just heard, fighting the urge to turn and run. Aside from "Merlin," she could no longer think of anything else to say—she had even forgotten why she had come to the staff table, or why Dumbledore had wanted to speak with her.
And Dumbledore was not finished.
"—Muggles have a theory called the 'Parallel World.' You should have encountered it as a child. Broadly speaking, it says that beyond our world, there are worlds both similar to and different from ours. Their Timelines extend forward simultaneously, yet like two parallel lines, they can never intersect."
The old wizard patiently explained his current state to the Little Witch before him. "You have used a Time-Turner, so you should understand what it feels like for two versions of you to exist in the same world... In a sense, that is the result of two Parallel Worlds intersecting... What I have encountered is somewhat more complicated."
At this point, he paused thoughtfully.
He seemed to be considering how best to help the Little Witch before him understand his current condition.
"—Simply put, within the shroud of time, there are countless worlds where Hogwarts exists. In some of them, there is no Voldemort, Harry, or Dumbledore, but there are more worlds where they do exist... Together with concepts such as Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade Village, these people form a vast and similar 'worldview'... Within this worldview, history may diverge in one way or another. For example, in some worlds, Grindelwald achieved his ambitions. Hmm, you know Grindelwald, don't you?"
"He seemed to have been a Dark Wizard from several decades ago,