I've been cataloging character encounters in the Hogwarts realm and I'm finding what seem to be different "versions" of the same characters, almost like they're being pulled from different fan interpretations:
Book Canon Snape: Thin, greasy, harsh but fair, clearly anti-VoldemortMovie Influence Snape: More attractive, more ambiguous morally, more dramatic presentationFanfic Dark!Snape: Actually evil, manipulative, potentially working with "deeper forces"Fanfic Redeemed!Snape: Tragic hero, more openly emotional, protective of students
The weird thing is that these don't feel like different interpretations of the same person - they feel like genuinely different versions who exist simultaneously. I've seen two Snapes in the same corridor who didn't acknowledge each other.
Same with Draco Malfoy, Hermione, even Harry himself. Multiple versions with different personality traits and moral alignments, all coexisting.
Are we accessing parallel fan-construction spaces? Is the realm so big that it contains multitudes? Or is something stranger happening?
I've seen this too! I call them "echo versions" - they seem to be generated by strong fan interpretations. The more people believe in a particular characterization, the more likely you are to encounter that version.
I think the realm is responsive to collective belief in a way that creates these parallel character instances.
That makes sense but it's also deeply weird. It means the realm contains not just the "original" fictional characters but also thousands of fan-created variations, all walking around like they're real people with real motivations.
This is getting into "we're playing with forces we don't understand" territory. If collective belief can create autonomous character instances, what else are we accidentally manifesting in these spaces?
Welcome to the fundamental question of fictive realm exploration! Are we discovering pre-existing spaces, creating new ones through collective effort, or doing something in between that we don't have good language for yet?
The fact that you can encounter multiple versions of characters suggests these aren't just "dreams of fictional characters" but actual constructed spaces with their own internal logic and consistency.