Disclaimer: Haven't we been through this enough? I don't own Harry Potter or any of his little copyrighted friends/enemies/teachers/people in the books that he doesn't even know!!! I'm just trying to write a story. And in this story, Blaise Zabini is a girl. I realize that in the books, Blaise is a boy. I don't really care. She's only a minor character at the moment anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

I don't own the Smithsonian Institute either. Nor have I been there unfortunately.

Chapter 7

Knighthood

Mandy was first to arrive at the statue. She stared at it for a while. The griffin's feathers had been carved in intricate detail. It almost looked alive. She promptly began a staring contest with the statue to pass the time while she waited for the others. It was better than thinking about their organization's future. She had recently found that in all the books she read the heroes always kept their mind on their task instead of grimacing at their future. She had also noted that the heroes who were best at this died terrible deaths, but she decided to ignore that last fact.

Her eyes began to water. She almost blinked. She imagined how she must look, standing face to face with the statue trying hard not to blink. At this she laughed. Unfortunately, she also blinked. At that she laughed harder. And that was how Draco found her: laughing her head off at an imposing statue of a griffin.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Well, I was having a staring contest with the statue to pass the time, and . . ." He stared at her with a "are you nuts?" look on his face. "Never mind," she muttered, hoping that she didn't seem too crazy. Being a little crazy was perfectly fine, especially considering the fact that they were visiting a man known far and wide to be eccentric, but there was a definite limit to good insanity. "So have you thought of any possible new members? Or, even better, a place for our meetings?"

Draco shook his head. "Sorry."

"Oh, well. Maybe Dumbledore will have some ideas."

"I certainly hope so," responded Draco, "because we're starting to run out of them."

Mandy nodded sadly. She was thinking of what her parents would think of her latest quest. Her mom would probably think that it was a fantastic idea, but her dad would most likely wonder what she was doing helping people that, as far as he was concerned, were evil. She sighed. "I hope he agrees to do this. He might even be able to help us with the rest of it. You have to admit: he'd be a valuable resource."

Draco nodded. "Even my dad would be scared of him. You-know-who is."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Yeah. He probably went to Hogwarts and had Dumbledore for a teacher."

Mandy was still contemplating this when Hermione walked up to them.

"You're early," she said, pointing at them.

"So are you," Draco pointed out. "And it's rude to point." Hermione lowered her finger quickly. "Besides, I wanted to get away from Crabbe and Goyle as soon as possible."

Hermione stared at him. "You mean they're not really your bodyguards?"

"They're his dad's spies," explained Mandy.

"So you're trying to escape . . . oh," she said as though she understood.

"He doesn't beat me, if that's what you think," Draco said quickly. "He's just an extremely manipulative Death Eater."

"My deepest sympathies," said Hermione, looking uncomfortable. And thus they waited in awkward silence, until Neville arrived.

"Am I late?" asked Neville.

"No, we're just early," Mandy assured him. "So what's the password?"

"Sherbet lemon," he said, calming down a little. The griffin statue turned and rose, revealing a stone staircase. They hurried up it into a room that could have been a museum for all the strange objects inside.

"Do we wait here or go inside?" asked Hermione, pointing at the wooden door in front of them.

"I don't know," said Neville. The tiny bit that he had calmed down was now swallowed up by his usual nervousness times ten. "Usually the door's open."

"Well, we can't just stand here," said Mandy impatiently. She strode up to the door and knocked.

"How rude!" exclaimed the door. Mandy jumped back nearly a foot. "Did it ever occur to you that I have feelings? That for some inexplicable reason I don't like being hit by a little brat in a tacky uniform?"

"Hey!" interjected Mandy. "I hate to break up your little pity party, but we didn't know that you were alive. Excuse me if we're used to doors just sitting there all day without talking or yelling or ranting! We're just here to see Professor Dumbledore." Mandy did not like getting called a brat, and she certainly didn't like being called little. She was short for her age, and she hated it when people pointed it out.

"Oh, you're here to see the headmaster," said the door happily. "Why didn't you just say so?" The door opened.

"Who else would we be knocking for?" asked Mandy. She was still mad about being called little, and no amount of sucking up would make her feel any better about it.

"Oh, I forgot what strange customs you humans have," the door said, as though shrugging the whole incident off. Mandy opened her mouth to say something else, but Neville clapped a hand over her mouth. The children hurried in before Mandy incurred the door's wrath once more.

"And tell him that Gloria says hello!" cried the door before closing behind them.

Neville removed his hand from Mandy's mouth. "Of all the—" She looked around the room. "Whoa." If the last room had been like a museum, this one must have been the Smithsonian of rooms. On a shelf to their right was the Sorting Hat, which appeared to greet them in its own strange way. To their left was a phoenix sitting on its perch. It started singing when it saw them. Draco guessed that it was calling Dumbledore. The others just listened and stared in awe, almost forgetting why they had come.

"Hello," said Dumbledore.

"Hello, Professor," they answered.

"Sir, we were wondering if you could knight us," said Mandy. "We started this group called the Knights of the Chamomile Leaf, and we thought that you could knight us, seeing as you're the headmaster and all." For once, Mandy appeared nervous. Usually she was too busy thinking or being mad at doors or starting staring contests with statues to even consider being nervous.

"And what exactly is this group going to do?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, we were planning on helping other students deal with problems at home or with teasing," answered Draco. "Sort of like a support group that does more than just listen."

"As long as you stick to the rules, I have no problem with it," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It sounds like a noble idea."

"And we were also wondering if you would be able to refer students to us that we could help or would like to help," continued Mandy. "We're also looking for a meeting place, so we don't have to keep meeting in the library or by the lake."

"I'll be sure to be on the lookout for students who would like to join your organization," answered Dumbledore. "As to a meeting place, there's always the Room of Requirement."

"The what?" asked Mandy.

"Neville can show you," answered the ancient professor. Neville nodded proudly. He liked helping the others. It made him feel like he was smarter than everybody thought he was. "Well, then, I think it's about time that you were all knighted," the headmaster continued, pulling out a sword. "Who wants to go first?"

Everybody looked at Mandy. Draco pushed her forward. "You are the mastermind behind this all," he said when she gave him a look.

"Okay, then," said Dumbledore briskly as Mandy knelt. "Do you, Mandy Brocklehurst, swear loyalty to this school and its students?"

"Yes, sir," she responded.

"Do you swear to help these students in any way you can?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you swear to protect these students in the face of danger?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then, I dub thee Sir Mandy, Knight of the Chamomile Leaf." He tapped her shoulders and head with the flat edge of the sword. "Serve honorably and well." She rose.

Next went Neville, because being knights had been his idea. After him came Hermione, because she had insisted on being knighted. Last went Draco.

"So you are all Knights of the Chamomile Leaf now," said Dumbledore. "Do you feel any different?"

"Not really," admitted Hermione. The others shook their heads.

"Because you aren't," explained Dumbledore. "You're just official now. You'd be surprised how often people make being official into a bigger deal than it is." The students nodded. "Now, you should probably be getting back to your dormitories. Here are a few shortcuts." He pointed at some doors behind them. Each was marked with the name of a different house. "They will bring you in front of the entrance to whatever house it says on the door. Good night."

"Good night, Professor," they answered as they walked through their different doors.