A/N: This is the first entry I've written for a potential collection-of-short-stories fic called "A Study in White", exploring various possible versions of Albus Dumbledore. I've got two more ideas in my head, though no idea if/when my muse will have me writing them up.

A Study in White

Chapter 1: Palpably Insidious

Far too few people properly appreciated the productivity of an early start to one's day, Albus mused as he stepped into the empty Wizengamot chamber. It was seven o'clock on a Sunday morning, a time when most Wizengamot members would still be asleep. Even those already up and going about their days had no reason to be in the chamber at that time, as the next scheduled meeting wasn't for another week and a half.

The war had been going, by all accounts save those of the Dark, very poorly. Voldemort and his Death Eaters continued to murder Aurors and Order members, their political opponents, those whose blood they deemed insufficiently "pure", and just about anyone else they felt like. In response, thanks in part to the relative uselessness of the Ministry's response, more and more people had flocked to Albus's banner, pledging their support to "the only man You-Know-Who ever feared".

Stepping up to his accustomed station, he tapped his wand on the striking board, producing a resounding BOOM throughout the chamber. "I hereby call this special session of the Wizengamot to order. The role shall now be called; please stand and announce yourself when your seat is called upon." It wasn't strictly necessary to follow all of the usual procedures and wordings - so long as the proper intent and meaning were there, he could have been speaking in pidgin Hindi mixed with an unhealthy amount of Cockney rhyming slang if he'd liked, given the lack of anyone to object. He just felt that the forms should be observed, particularly on such a momentous occasion. That, and it was more fun this way.

"The Seat of House Abbott?" Albus paused for a moment, before speaking again. "Present. Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, Grand Sorcerer, and Order of Merlin, First Class. Due to the recent troubles, the Abbott family has regrettably been slain with the exception of one member. As Ms. Abbott is presently underage and at school, her guardianship pro tem and thus her proxy falls to myself as Headmaster."

House after House he listed, noting quite a few as absent and giving the same explanation for many of those he called as present (though he only gave his full name and titles when he felt like it). Others got a slight variation:

"The Seat of House Diggory?" Again, a pause of just the right length. "Present. Professor Albus Dumbledore. Sadly, all members of House Diggory are deceased. Per the will of the late Amos Diggory, his House's Seat is to be transferred to Professor Dumbledore in order to assist in the fight against the darkness which threatens us all and which tragically claimed his family in recent years."

And so it went. To anyone that was counting (that is, Albus) it would be noticeable that exactly thirty-three of forty-nine Seats called as present, precisely the number needed to enable the passing of any form of decree, law, or other legislative act. Given that it was also well above the twenty-five required for a quorum, that meant that the Seats present for this session were enough to make any desired change to the laws of WIzarding Britain, and only a similar majority could legally undo these changes.

"Well then, as we have a quorum, this meeting is now in session. First order of business, the Seat of House Potter moves that we declare a state of emergency regarding the conflict with Lord Voldemort. The Seat of House Weasley seconds. All in favor?" He listed each of the Seats he controlled, giving an "Aye" vote for each. "The motion passes. The Seat of House Black moves that the Chief Warlock be granted emergency powers for the duration of the current crisis. The Seat of House Prewitt seconds. All in favor?"

"Thank you all for your support in this," Albus told the empty chamber. "I shall endeavor to live up to the faith you have shown in me, to work towards the greater good of Wizarding Britain. Now, to business..."

Over the next few hours, Albus proceeded to systematically and totally rework the legal structure of Wizarding Britain. He authorized the Aurors to check any citizen for the Dark Mark at any time, and made bearing the Dark Mark punishable by life in Azkaban and escape from Azkaban by summary execution. All assets of anyone caught bearing the Mark, past or present, were to be siezed in order to fund the war effort and to help offset the damage done by the war. The DMLE was to be expanded tremendously, with the number of Aurors and Hit Wizards on staff to more than triple. Leading this enlarged fighting force would be people utterly loyal to Albus, of course.

Speaking of loyalty to Albus, he would be carefully rolling out a new system of binding loyalty oaths throughout the Ministry. Oh, they'd be phrased innocently enough, enforcing loyalty "to the government of Wizarding Britain and to its lawful head". That "lawful head" would be Albus, though many wouldn't find that out until later. Once the entire Ministry was either sworn to his service or arrested (not merely sacked, after all refusing to swear loyalty could only be taken as a sign of disloyalty, right?), he would push a similar loyalty oath to be demanded of all citizens, couched as a way to cut off all further support for Lord Voldemort. At the same time, he'd start having the new First-Years swear their own oaths shortly after the Sorting Feast, a time when they would be at their most compliant.

Within the next few years, if all went to plan, Albus Dumbledore would be the supreme ruler of Wizarding Britain. With his tremendous authority, it would be no trouble to finally put down Tom's little rebellion, useful though it may have been to reach this point. Thanks to Nicholas's Stone (as if Albus would have ever actually destroyed such a precious item) he would have no shortage of funding to shape their society as he saw fit, and no shortage of time in which to consolidate and secure his holdings before looking to expand them. Poor, foolish Gellert had been too hasty, too greedy, always trying to grab more territory rather than ensuring he could hold what he already had. Perhaps he should pay him a visit soon, to let him know that Albus would be fulfilling their dreams of a better world. Yes, he was certain that knowledge would bring great comfort to his oldest and dearest companion in his waning years...

A/N: Obviously a nastier Dumbledore here, along with at least a few cases of fanon or outright AU overriding canon.

In case I didn't make the whole plan clear: Dumbledore deliberately allowed Voldemort's rise and softballed the war in order to let the Death Eaters wipe out families that supported Dumbledore enough to leave him their seats in the Wizengamot. As the war got worse, more people flocked to Dumbles' banner, meaning more supporters willing to leave him their seats. Other seats came under his control because the only heir of the family was an underage orphan, so he took guardianship of them and acted as their proxy. The goal was to become a one-man supermajority, with enough votes to enact any legislation he wanted with little to no check on that power. Throw in "emergency powers", and you've got an instant autocrat. Once he's got the power, he doesn't need Riddle and his followers any more, and thus can get rid of them, winning public acclaim and approval of his takeover.

The bit about the oaths was partly inspired by the fic "Sorry About That Harry" by Nigelcat1.

Imaginary cookies to anyone that figures out the source of the punnage in the titles.