CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE PREPARATION

"We basically have the next thirty hours to work out where this Seal is," Hermione said quietly as they ate dinner, surrounded by the rest of the Hogwarts students. Thankfully, everyone else was too preoccupied with discussing whatever the latest gossip within the school was.

"What happens if we don't find it?" Ron asked curiously. "I mean, if…when Buffy gets through all the trials, what happens if the Seal isn't destroyed?"

The others glanced at each other. It wasn't the most optimistic thought, but it was one that had to be considered.

"I think it just becomes an impasse really," Hermione replied, though she wasn't entirely confident in her answer. "It can't devour Buffy's soul, because she passed the trials, but it still has access to this realm."

"Which would mean another set of trials," Buffy added softly. She knew that she would be spending the next twenty-four hours holed up in the Room of Requirement, meditating for whatever was to come next. "It's a long time to be out of action."

"But where would the Seal be?" Draco asked.

He was met with silence, blank stares going around the table. It didn't look too promising. Plus, there was also the fact that Buffy would need to be able to destroy the Seal within the given time frame. Thirty minutes was not a lot of time.

"We'll bring it up to Professor Giles and Dumbledore after dinner," Hermione suggested. "They might know a bit more about it."

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Giles, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco continued their research, wanting to know anything more about the Seal, and where it may have been constructed. Dumbledore was sitting aside with Buffy, trying to explain as much as he could about a ritual that very few people had ever partaken in, and even fewer had managed to come out alive from. There was nothing written about what the trials could actually be, only that it would be a mental battle, rather than a physical one.

"So, it'll show images to me?" Buffy asked. "Like what the Dementors tried to do to me last year?"

Dumbledore hesitated, pondering her question. "Something like that, but, at the same time, the exact opposite."

Buffy couldn't help but be baffled by his cryptic response.

"Splainy?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly and ran a hand down the length of his beard.

"What the Dementors leave people with are their very worst memories, their fears, their most awful experiences," Dumbledore explained. "I believe that what the First will attempt to do is the very opposite of that. It will try and make you believe that it is capable of giving you the very best of fantasies. What you must remember is that It cannot give you anything, no matter what it tries to tell you."

"So, all I have to do is remember that the First is a complete con-artist, and I'll be okay?" Buffy asked.

"Simply put, yes. However, six hours within your inner psyche, your unconsciousness…you'll quite probably forget where you are and what you're supposed to be doing. Time has almost no meaning within the mind. The only thing that cannot change while you're inside your mind will be your outward appearance. You will appear to yourself how you appear now. Nothing will change that," Dumbledore explained.

Buffy nodded. She may not have understood how it all worked, but she understood the basics of what was being said.

"Having said all that, the ritual is for you alone to undertake. When the time comes, the Room will split in two. We will be able to observe you, but you will not see us. The First will only be allowed in your portion of the Room so that you can complete the ritual and the trials. When the trials are completed, we shall know the outcome, and then move swiftly and expediently to destroy the Seal," Dumbledore explained. "With what little information there is about the trials, I can only say this, those who overcame the temptation all mentioned being tempted three times. It's a rather significant number in the magical and mystical world, so I'll hazard a guess and say that you will be tempted with three things."

Buffy was suddenly thankful that she'd spent so many years around her Watcher, or else she may not have actually understood any of what Dumbledore had just said.

"Now…it's probably best for you to sleep for a while. The trial will begin in exactly ten hours, and I'd like you to sleep for at least eight, and meditate for the remaining two," Dumbledore said.

Buffy nodded, and watched as the Room shifted to incorporate a bed in a darkened corner. She headed over, kicking off her shoes, and curling up beneath the blankets, wishing that Harry was with her.

At the table, Harry gave his curled-up girlfriend a longing look that Hermione, Ron and Draco snickered at. Harry glared at the trio and shook his head in annoyance.

"I think it would be best if you four also were off to bed," Giles instructed. "You'll be no good to us half-asleep. Come back as soon as you are able, but be back before the ritual begins. The Room will block any entrance after the ritual begins, and unless you wish not to be in attendance, then be back in ten hours."

"We have to stay for all six hours?" Ron asked incredulously.

"We'll be taking turns to watch the ritual. We'll rotate in groups of two, taking two hour shifts. As we've seen, the Room will provide us with any and all requirements we may have, so we should be well entertained when we are not making sure that Buffy is safe," Giles explained.

Ron nodded, and the others all seemed to agree with the proposed idea. Hermione, Ron and Draco all left the Room, but Harry lingered, looking longingly at his girlfriend who had already fallen asleep.

"I'm fairly certain that if you wish to join her, Harry, all you will need to do is wish for a wall to cordon off that corner," Dumbledore whispered.

Harry's cheeks flamed bright red, but he nodded and moved across to join his sleeping girlfriend. Walls immediately appeared as soon as Harry had removed his shoes and his robes. He gently lowered himself onto the bed, his arms automatically wrapping around Buffy, who shifted in her sleep to accommodate her boyfriend. Harry sighed with contentment, thankful that his girlfriend was back in his arms. All they had to do now was make it through the next forty-six and a half hours, and they'd be home free.

They could wait until they'd slept for a proper talk, but for now, they were completely content in each other's arms.

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"I come to challenge a darkness in this realm,

I come to lay claim, and drive out the First.

I come to be challenged as a presence in this realm,

I come as a Variable, a second Champion of Light.

I come to this trial with only mind, heart and soul,

I come having quenched neither hunger, nor thirst.

I come, having fasted, through day and through night,

I come with the intention of being triumphant for Light.

I come to challenge a presence in this realm,

I come to lay claim, and drive out the First."

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Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco all looked on curiously. Giles and Dumbledore were watching with a critical eye, both of them hating that there were so few details about what the trials truly entailed. It was dangerous allowing the Slayer to complete the ritual and the subsequent trials, but there was no stopping Buffy when she put her mind to something. And no matter what the outcome, it would be finished. It was a fatalistic view, but correct nonetheless.

"Now what happens?" Ron whispered.

Dumbledore chuckled softly and turned to the redhead. "You do not have to whisper Mr Weasley, she cannot hear us, and you cannot break through the wall between us. Just because you can't see the wall separating our rooms, does not mean it isn't there."

Ron nodded, slightly embarrassed. Hermione gave him a small encouraging smile and he felt better for it. He took hold of Hermione's hand, squeezing it gently.

"And now…we wait," Hermione said, settling down into a comfortable chair, a book on the Seal of Danthalzar in her hand.

"And now we wait," Harry repeated, wishing there was more that he could do other than sit and watch as his girlfriend went through trials of temptation. He sighed softly and vowed to keep watch the entire time. He wouldn't leave her. Not again.

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So, I seriously have had far too many things to do lately, and have been unable to update for some reason or another, and it doesn't look like it is gonna slow down anytime soon. So…cos this fic is finished, you're gonna get the rest of it. Four updates in one. Enjoy!