Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR. This disclaimer is meant for the whole story, so I won't repeat it every chapter.
Tom had thought, long and hard, had done research, and he had come to one conclusion.
Being a Dark Lord probably wouldn't give him that much power, if he didn' have a few other strings to pull on. It would probably be the best plan to use his other persona, Lord Voldemort, as an alias, and use the pureblood fanaticists while he ascended politically. It would be a dangerous game, Tom knew, but it had much better chances of success than being just a Dark Lord.
Of course, he did believe in pureblood supremacy, but it likely wouldn't give him any power, and if he had to chose between his own power and a cause, well, he was a Slytherin. Of course he would chose power. Especially if the cause belonged to those who had found it funny to tear up his homework in first year all the time. Tom could hold a grudge, and letting those who did that run into an open knife while at the same time playing the political game, could only do him good.
The... how should he name them? Death Eaters would start attacking just when he was ascending. Any plan of his would probably catch some of theirs, though he had to make sure to plan in a few failures, and their leader would prove untraceable and retract himself when he was Minister and his men caught. Then, a few bribes here and there in the Wizengamot, and the world would be at his feet.
There were a few issues, of course, but he still had quite a lot of time in school to spend on his planning.
Twenty years later, Minister Riddle, in the middle of his thirties, leaned back on his seat. The Death Eaters were all caught, their leader had "disappeared", and his own laws had begun to take effect. Of course, he had made a horcrux. It had been put into an enchanted fire- and waterproof container, spelt with the most powerful protection charms known to mankind - some of which Tom's Department of Mysteries had created. He'd thrown it into the Mariana Trench. He was pretty sure nothing could get to it there. He'd stopped theres, his research had shown that too many horcruxes might result in him losing all common sense, and he didn't want to risk that.
He was married - to a pureblood, of course - and quite grateful for it. His wife was beautiful, he had one child and another was on the way, and the noble line of Salazar Slytherin would continue.
He loved his life.