Disclaimer: I od ton nwo Yrrah Rettop. J. K. Gnilwor seod. Fi uoy nac daer siht, uoy era yleritne oot derob.
Yay, disclaimers! Also, yay reviews!
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ChoklatCheriCheesekuchen: Yay, I'm someone's favorite!
HannahCimsGwendolyn: yes, he is becoming nicer… the entire point of Becky's attempts is to—oh my gosh, you almost made me tell! You'll just hafta wait!
Strange Principles: don't fall! Yes, I thought Voldie-poo needed puppets :) and here you are, getting mentioned again!
Strangle Principles (again!): I'm an old bean! (giggles happily) just don't fall off your seat! Also, are you a Wallace and Gromit fan? I noticed the "m, cheese!" comment. Wendsleydale?
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Chapter Eight
Becky loved waking early in the morning. She walked slowly out the front door, savoring the early morning air. It was mid-summer, of course, so it was pleasant this early in the morning. The sun was just creeping sleepily over the hill, but birds were already twittering madly away in the trees. The leaves rustled up in the trees, making a soft, pleasant sound that greatly appealed to the crafty young lady. She walked a couple yards away from the house of evil and sat down on the soft, wet grass, staring off into the beautiful morning sky. A very daring butterfly who was apparently not afraid of Voldemort's vast estate and the dangers of fluttering on it floated past Becky's face. An American Sketchers sneaker set itself next to Becky's light brown sandal. The shoes sat in contentment for a moment, and then, very suddenly, Becky became aware that she was not the only person enjoying this beautiful morning. She turned in the direction of the shoe.
A beautiful young girl was sitting next to her, smiling and staring off into the sunrise like Becky had been doing just a moment ago. A flowing cream-colored shirt was hidden from view by a veritable wave of long wavy hair, brown as rich chocolate. The girl's fair skin had no blemishes and was reflecting the early morning sunlight, lighting up her face in much the same way her wide smile did. Her brown eyes sparkled with warmth.
After a moment, the girl spoke. "Hi," she said, still looking off into the sky. "Mama's coming in just a bit, but she sent me on ahead with a portkey." She turned to Becky for the first time and held out her hand. "I'm Kali Melantha Destin, and this is the first time I'm meeting Uncle Tom. What's he like?" Her smile grew wider, and in that moment, Becky knew that this girl would be perfect to help her with her plans.
The short young lady grinned. "I'm Becky Annemarie Carslin," she said cheerfully, taking Kali's hand and shaking it warmly. "Your name is beautiful. What does it mean?"
Kali grinned a somewhat evil grin. "Beautiful goddess of darkness," she said in a low, soft voice. "Mama says I've really lived up to that." Becky raised an eyebrow, and Kali laughed a rich, husky laugh, her head thrown back and shaking with mirth. "So what's Uncle Tom like?" she repeated, still grinning widely. "Mama says he's funny but has a short temper. You hang with him more, so you probably have a better idea. How would you describe him?"
Becky laughed her own high laugh, which sounded incredibly high indeed compared to Kali's low one. "He's got a short temper, all right," she said, grinning herself. "He's pretty smart and evil, and he won't pay much attention to you. However, I'll tell you something your mom will probably not know or may even deny. I know for sure, so I'll tell you, since Tom will completely deny it. He's loves to party. He likes to dance and play cards, and even…" Becky stopped for a moment. She thought back to the thought she had had the night before, the totally impossible idea that had seemed like it couldn't be done without certain death. However, this girl could help her. If what Volders had said was true, Debbie couldn't be harmed… and nor could any of her descendents. Kali would be perfectly safe. "The other thing he likes to do," she said, with an evil grin to match Kali's, "is… to get drunk."
Kali's mouth dropped open. "To get drunk?" she asked in shock. "Like, to drink wine?" She frowned, disbelieving Becky. Then her eyes lit up. "You're plotting something," she said, grinning again. "You're trying to mess up my uncle. You're not a Death Eater, are you? You're a nice person! You want to get my uncle drunk so that you can help defeat him!" Kali was a little breathless from arriving to this conclusion, but she sighed. "That is sooooooo cool!" she said.
Becky showed all her teeth. "I'm glad you approve," she said with a twisted grin and a gleam in her eye. "Now, this is what I'm going to—"
Suddenly, a bright flash of orange, pink and yellow flashed in front of them about ten feet away, and the giant this let out a huge huff of air. As this was on a hill, it began to roll downward towards the cemetery.
"Excuse me," Kali said, sighing and getting up. "That's Mama."
Becky looked upward, then bounced up as well. "Is your father not coming?" she asked, walking with Kali down the hill toward the rolling Debbie.
Kali looked at the ground, seeming to admire her navy-blue Sketchers. "Baba died," she said softly. She sighed a very small sigh again, then immediately brightened up. "It's OK, though. I don't remember him. Mama misses him a bit, though." Becky was saddened, but saw how optimistic Kali was and tried to be the same. The weight of what she had to tell Debbie, however, was keeping her down.
Finally, the orange blob that had to be Debbie stopped rolling, and it hunkered up onto its feet. This was the first time Becky had gotten a good view of Debbie, and she was startled. Debbie was tall and round, and she seemed to have a bubbly personality. Her clothes were entirely made up of bright colors and went beautifully with her hair done up in a tight brown bun. This was set apart from normal buns by the placement of two thick orange sticks pushed, Japanese-style, through it. The sticks were supporting a huge plastic butterfly. Her wand was drawn, but it was grubby and fingerprint-covered. Her shoes were brown, plain, and worn. This was the most interesting person Becky had ever seen (no one said she went out much!) and she liked her at once.
"You must be Becky!" Debbie cried out, grinning and stumbling over to her. "Oh, I've been looking forward so to meeting you! Tom told me all about you! So, how are you faring so far? Do you need anything? Kali's always ready to help," she said, smiling sternly down at her daughter, who glared up at her mother none too sourly, "and I'll help with all the cooking and decorating for the big event. What have you gotten for my favorite cousin?"
Becky noted somewhere in her subconscious that Debbie, Lord Voldemort's cousin, was the most cheerful, bubbly, and optimistic person she had ever met. "Well," Becky said, smiling and sounding almost nervous, "I've got a… surprise of sorts for Tommy."
Kali grinned. "She's gonna make him stop being the Lord Voldemort!" she said excitedly.
Debbie frowned slightly. "What are you going to do?" she asked worriedly. "You aren't going to… kill him, are you?"
Becky laughed. "Oh, no, Mrs. Destin. I'm just going to, er…" Becky suddenly wasn't so sure if she could tell Debbie exactly what she was planning to do. I mean, how could she tell Debbie, the one person in the entire world, and possibly beyond, who honestly seemed to care about Voldie-poo, that she was trying to force him to go senile?
Debbie blinked, then seemed to understand. "I see," she said with a soft smile. "You don't want to hurt him physically, but you want to put him out of the job. To do that, you have to impair his mental facilities. Am I correct?"
Kali looked up. "If that means that she wants to drive him kooky, then yes," she said simply.
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R&R, please!
Also, the next chapter is going to be long, just a warning! In the next chapter, we meet a new supporting character, who is going to help Becky convince Volders to dance the Chicken Dance. We also set up the party and Volders makes his big, dramatic entrance. Hold onto your seats, fellas! We're almost at the long-awaited party! I'm so excited!
