AN: I really don't like the upload system here, especially the mobile one. That one eats my spaces.

Divine Privilege

I'd once heard one of the ways people react to being victimized was by going all in on self-protection, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. To which I said, what, precisely, did unhealthy even mean, really? I'd rushed completion of my Anti-Mental Manipulation Rune Cluster and knocked myself out for a day once I'd fired the runes. I hadn't thought they'd need so much power to start up, but once they were active, the drain became very slight.

Plus side, I was now probably very resistant to all kinds of mental manipulation, other plus side, my eyes glowed a beautiful burning red, as did the tattoo on my arm under which I'd hidden my runes. And the tramp stamps. Those also glowed constantly now. I wasn't as happy about that effect.

I'd woven improved version of the protection clusters I'd used on my costume into all of my clothing. All of it. My panties were bulletproof. There was a joke there, somewhere, but it wasn't coming to me. Unfortunately I'd sacrificed the minor spell protection of the first cluster in favor of greater physical protection, but then that's what the fuck your mental manipulation effect was for.

I'd healed remarkably well from having a cut opened on my forehead by my shattering mask (which Elias had mailed back home, whereupon I'd repaired back into one piece it but left the visible shatter lines for a really cool effect), the graze on my right arm had also healed well, and Ducky had dropped by again to remove the stitches.

Elias, on the other hand, didn't return home that night, but he called to let us know he was taking care of some problems. Judging by the sobbing I'd heard in the background before Mama had taken the phone, he was getting acquainted with my would be kidnappers. One night turned into one week and one week into a month and a half, but he called every night to let us know he was okay.

Halfway through the first week I was going spare at not having a killing machine keeping us safe at home, so I enlisted Tipsy's help transporting rune clusters home from the manor. I may not be very good at custom jobs, but I knew how to follow a schematic, and the schematics for standard Obscuring Wards were not difficult to follow. Before long, the Gunnarsdóttir home was hidden from Ministry sensors and people looking to do harm to its inhabitants. Sure, any halfway competent magical with ward-breaking experience could bring them down, but those were thankfully few and far between individually, much less combined.

I'd received an owl from Father- from- from Halwyn Alstreim, confirming our attendance to the Ministry Yule Ball. Mother had confirmed too, though she'd called on the phone, like a normal person. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, other people and I didn't mix, but I didn't get that many opportunities to see my sire, and I had a feeling I would get even less chances to see Mother after this.

I prepared a kimono like the one I'd worn on Halloween, though a tad more elaborate. And blatantly magically. There was something to be said for holographic neon red streamers floating all over the place. I had ideas on how to take them from mere pretty lights to defensive hard light spell constructs. Maybe even offensive. But that was in the future.

Mother got home the night before, and we slept together for what felt like what would be the last time in a long time.

At least Mama and Elias would always be there for me.

Halwyn got to the manor an hour before the ball was due to start.

We flooed into the Ministry atrium just on time. I wasn't sure what people saw when they looked at us. We cut quite a picture though, that I knew for sure. A combined total of ten tails was a lot of power, even if two were on a child and the mother wasn't a nine tails yet. Lord Halwyn Alstreim was an acknowledged power in the magical community, with a living natural disaster ostensibly at his beck and call, and a growing one set to take the reins of the family after his death.

It wasn't true, of course, Mother would do exactly what she wanted and nothing more, and nothing my sire said or did could force her to do something she didn't want. But I would take over the family one day, an immortal Lady for a noble house that would never return to the fold of the pureblood agenda. Whatever else may actually be the truth, what they saw was change.

We were a destabilizing force they couldn't get rid off without compromising their own power base. Yeah. They definitely hated us. You know, entirely independently of the fact that as far as they were concerned, I wasn't human. Far less than human really, and the less said about what they thought of Mother, the better. Or my sisters. I wasn't sure which of them they'd hate more, the Awakened ones or the one who were like Mama, whose kitsune blood was dormant.

They likely saw my sad frown as a cold glare and Mother's sad smile as a haughty smirk.

So I wrapped myself in illusions as soon as I had a chance to vanish from view of as many people as possible. I was reckless, not stupid. That's how I walked around the security checkpoint without actually being scanned. No way was my wand ever becoming known to the world before it was absolutely necessary.

We were led to a ballroom in Level One by a very nervous looking young man. He kept shooting us glances like he thought we may turn around and eat him alive. Ridiculous, of course. About the only thing even remotely appetizing about him would be his blood, and he had entirely too much of it for him to really miss a little of it.

Ah well. Now I had several hours of doing my best to hide from the people at the party. Maybe I could hide in Mother's tails. They were certainly voluminous enough. Then a trio of blondes stood in front of us before I could disappear.

"Ah, Halwyn, good to see you," said a man with long blonde hair. He had a cane in his gloved right hand. "I'm sure you remember my wife, Narcissa."

He gestured to the woman standing beside him. She was very pretty, and like most every adult human being was taller than Mother. Somewhere around Mama's height, maybe. Then he pointed to the kid standing between them.

"This is my son, Draco."

"Pleasure to see you again Narcissa, and pleasure to meet you Draco. And Lucius, how have you been, man? I'm afraid I still haven't found a lead on that thing you asked me about. Who'd have thought an old book like that could be so hard to find, eh?"

My sire shook Lucius fucking Malfoy's hand like they were old friends and ol' Lucy wasn't like Head Cheerleader of the We Hate Subhumans Club, where subhumans meant literally any human being that wasn't a pureblooded wizard.

"This is my consort, Asami von Hohenzollern, and my daughter, Izumi."

I'd stopped listening around the time my sire called Mother "von Hohenzollern," as in the royal family of Prussia. What. How the fuck had that happened? Right. You know what? I was done with tonight. A few illusions and application of fluffy tail got me a tumbler of Firewhiskey.

"Here's to terrible ideas."

And drank it in one go.

It was electrifying.

I wove illusions everywhere, and then I spiked the punch. I hid myself from view as best I could, grabbed a bunch of Firewhiskey tumblers, and levitated them into the punchbowl. That's how I found myself face to face with Albus fucking Percival fucking Wulfric fucking Brian fucking Dumbledore. He was about to get his own glass of punch. My modifications didn't stop him either. I admit I couldn't keep from giggling in his face. Scariest fucker this side of Voldemort and the idea of being caught spiking the punch at a Ministry function only made me giggle harder.

"Ah, to be young again. Do be careful, dear girl. I daresay many people wouldn't be happy with you if you were to be caught."

I wandered around the ballroom after that, messing with people's clothing and other miscellaneous little things. I'm not sure how it happened, but I ended up with Draco Malfoy of all people following me around while all of this was happening. Suffice to say he was spooked as hell by the time I sat down to rest a little. Ten minutes later I had wrapped a tail around one of his arms and was poking him with an index finger.

"Hey, hey, Blondy, I'm bored."

"My name is Draco, not Blondy!"

"It's kay Blondy, don't worry. Hey, hey, you want to go on an adventure?"

I'd seen labels on the elevator that'd gotten us to the ballroom, and I was interested in seeing what the Department of Mysteries was up to. I didn't let him answer and just dragged him away to the elevators. Level Nine, here we come.

Everything was pretty abandoned, and we made it to the elevators without encountering a single person. The doors opened to a long stone hallway lit by torches, and a door. I made for the door, dragging Draco behind me, and went through the door into a room with many more doors that then spinned super quickly. For the record, a spinning room is not good for your first time drinking alcohol. I had to sit down for a moment.

"What's the most interesting room you have?"

Predictably, I got no response from the room, but I had this feeling that there was something to see in the door directly to my right. Obviously I went through the door, and then I cursed everything I knew.

We were in the Hall of Prophecy.

So I went right back out and slammed the fucking door closed. If some stupid fucking "destiny" or "fate" or whatever bullshit wanted to give me a message, it could fucking get in line and deliver the message along with the rest of my fucking nightmares and visions about the future. Fuckers.

"Next."

The feeling persisted.

"No, fuck you, next."

The feeling got even more insistent.

"Who are you talking to?!"

Blon- err, Draco was understandably upset.

"To the world, of course. Who else would I be talking to, Blondy?" I looked up and said, "And fuck you, no. Next."

Finally I found myself attracted to a different door.

"Come on Blondy, this looks interesting."

"They all look the same!"

"Only if you're looking with your eyes."

"What does that…"

Opened the door to my left and stepped out into infinity. The Space Room. We floated off and I was pretty sure I saw fucking Nibiru somewhere off past Pluto. I felt so fucking free! I giggled and just floated around in the freedom of the void, though I made sure to wrap a tail around Draco. Wouldn't do to lose him.

We managed to land on the relatively miniature version of Jupiter. Well, okay, I landed on it, Draco more or less flopped onto it. It felt very comfy, almost like home. I jumped onto Saturn next, and it also felt very much like home. Hm. Maybe Pluto? I jumped onto the last official planet because fuck the future International Astronomical Union's ruling on the matter. It was so comfy I wanted to fall asleep on it.

A bunch of other planets felt like they'd be super comfy too, but they were so far away and Draco probably didn't appreciate flopping all over the place, so I just stared out into infinity. I could seriously see a tenth planet flickering in and out of existence out in the vastness of space.

"Can we go now?!"

"Hm? Oh. I'd forgotten you were there."

He didn't answer to that, at least not verbally, but I figured the inarticulate sound of frustration was response enough.

"Fiiiine. Hey, hey, how do we get out?"

I got a feeling telling me to simply walk out the way I'd come.

"No, no, how do we get out faster?"

Same feeling.

"Ugh, fine. Come on Blondy, out the way we came."

"No, waaaaaaiiiiiit!"

And I jumped towards the door back to the spinny room. Really, getting back to the ballroom was as easy as getting into the Department. I feared for our national security. I let go of Draco once we were back in the presence of "responsible" adults.

I went off to get some punch and it was as I was serving myself that I felt the spell hit. It was the oddest feeling ever. Everything was slow and disconnected, and I was pretty sure it made me hear the casting after I'd actually been hit.

"Confundo."

I'd felt the sheer amount of power behind the spell. It'd hit my defensive seal and shattered upon it, but had kept enough power have an effect anyway. I swayed in place. I hated it with a passion. I needed to upgrade.

"Imperio."

The Unforgivable Curse hit and punched through the weakened defense seal. I'd heard some drugs felt like floating on a cloud of happiness and calm, especially some more than others. If they felt anything like this curse, I could understand why addicts fell prey to them, and why so few people could fight the curse's effects.

Go to Level Six and wait at the Portkey Office.

Can you say panic? I couldn't. Because I was under the Imperius Curse, which was a big part of the panic. The other, bigger part was being told to go to a place from where I could be made to vanish off the face of the Earth. Yeah, panic.

I pulled on my magic as best I could in my mind controlled euphoric state, pushing it towards the defensive seal on my arm. It pushed against the magic of the curse, eroding it, weakening its all consuming control. I became aware of my surroundings inside of one of the elevators, finger inches away from the button to the sixth level, slowly moving to press it. I flexed my magic, pushing more into the seal and into my body until the curse snapped completely.

I was going to remember that voice, and I was going to murder the person behind it next time I heard it. In the meantime, I would improve my defenses, and the next time that fucker tried to Imperio me, I would rip him limb from limb.

At least I had a nice night before it. I made my way back to my parents and stayed next to them for the rest of the night. Let's see whoever had cursed me try it in Mother's presence.