Roycroft rises and steps out from behind the edge of the desk, saying again, "Ellie, please, you shouldn't be here!" She frowns mightily and asks him why, and he tells her because she's not with the Petitioner. "Oh yes, she is," Malfoy says, and the Brother is clearly uncomfortable under everyone's steady gazes. "They've all gone through this...why haven't I had to?" He scrambles to find a suitable explanation. "Well...they're from beyond the Divide, Ellie, they--" she steps away from Malfoy and looks at Roycroft directly. "I was born in America, Roycroft, that's about as far outside the Divide as you can get." She asks Remus if Tonks had to go through it and he nods silently, then looks away as if the memory of it still stings him. She looks back at Roycroft and he looks at his shoes for a moment, just to not have to feel the intensity of her gaze. "They've killed. Or their actions have led to death."

She folds her arms. "So have mine." Malfoy looks from her to Snape, who sighs deeply and tells her gently, "Elsbet, Therion and I have both told you that you are not to blame for what happened." He reaches for her and she does give him her hand, but she resists his pull. "There's a lot you don't know yet," she says to him just as gently, and turns slightly to see Malfoy very concerned. She looks back at Snape and tells him, "he deserves to know...just...don't tell him when I'm around, please."

Elsbet moves to stand before the doorway and looks at Roycroft again. "This Oracle-Inquisitor lady will make me face myself, right?" He doesn't answer her, but Remus does. "Yes Ellie, she does, but this is not something you should undertake lightly." She tells him that she understands that it is a difficult and often traumatic experience. Roycroft sits back down and tells her she doesn't have to do it, that she already has Sanctuary, that she's already trusted, but she persists. "This isn't about trust or Sanctuary, Roycroft. This is about me. I can't grow, don't you see? I can't face what is ahead of me until I face what's behind me."

He doesn't need any more pushing.

"Ellie, if you can get that doorway to open, the Inquisitor will see you." She studies the wall for quite some time, touching it, looking for any markings, whispering words Therion thinks he recognizes but can't be sure. "What is it like inside?" Malfoy tells her it was pitch black, that he couldn't see anything, and Snape tells her it was a dungeon. Therion tells her it was a decaying crypt, and Remus tells her it was a starry, full-moon night. "What was Tonks' like?" He shakes his head and sits down on the floor. "The Department of Mysteries," he says sadly, and now Malfoy takes the seat between Snape and Therion.

"I get it," she says, "I get it..." She turns back to the doorway and says, her voice clear and steady, "Ennyn Durin Aran Moria: pedo mellon a minno." Therion rises immediately and tries to pull her back. "No, Ellie, not that. Not Khazad-dûm...don't take that in with you..." She squeezes his hand and smiles softly. "I would much rather face my past and my fears in a Moria mock-up than in anything that might be hidden up here," she says, tapping her head. She turns to the doorway once more and looks up at where the archway would be and says, "Mellon."

The wall seems to glitter as if an invisible hand writes along the edge of the expected archway, then splits and opens wide. Therion groans and Roycroft whispers, "the Inquisitor appears to have a sense of humor." Remus asks her if she sees what she expects, and she nods. He sighs deeply, Snape resists the urge to pull her back from the doorway, and she tells Therion not to worry: "I don't see the Balrog, so maybe I'm in luck." She chuckles, more to herself than to the wizards reluctant to let her go, and after two very deep breaths, she enters the Oubliette.

The last thing she hears before the doorway closes behind her is a very puzzled Malfoy saying, "Khazad-dûm? Balrog?" then Therion mumbling, "you, my bookshop, tomorrow morning at nine." She laughs even as she prepares herself for what she thinks is to come.