Preface ii

...The politician is a biped; but he is probably an aberrant form of hyena...
~ABRAHAM MILLER, Unmoral Maxims

England
1987-1992

Riddle's time in office for the first four years changed the United Kingdom forever. With the use of magic and colleagues like Bellatrix Black, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Rodolphus and Rebastan Lestrange, and Walden McNair, his term was a breeze. Tom spread his operation to South America when Argentina attacked a small island that is still considered British property. Known as the Falklands War, Tom had the Lestrange brothers infiltrate the country and confiscate land near Casa de Piedra for training camps. He had Lucius and Narcissa use questionable techniques to gain control of several profitable businesses in Buenos Aires . Bellatrix used her 'talents' to intimidate government officials to her way of thinking and Walden McNair was sent to recruit an army.

Of course, the United Kingdom didn't know of Tom's 'hostile' takeover. Business was booming and prices were dropping. Nobody knew of any reason why, but harvests were leagues better than previous years and the quality of life got better each year under Tom's term in office.

Argentina was starting to realize the benefits when Tom moved his team to the surrounding countries. Within two years of the Falklands war, all of the countries in South America, except Columbia and most of Brazil, were loyal to him. Only because Brazil took up most of the continent and Tom was slowly gaining control of the drug trade in Columbia. The Cartels make hundreds of millions in drugs a year. That income alone could sufficiently fund the training camps that were set up by the Lestrange brothers.

Tom relied heavily on a new team member from Bulgaria named Igor Karkoroff to take control of all South American drug trade. While Tom didn't like becoming a drug lord, he couldn't deny that when the time came, he could snuff out the weak who depended on them. They would not be welcome when he merged the muggle and magical world. Everything he did, good or bad, was to fulfill his dream; his undying passion to better the world. And yes, ruling it would be a major perk too.

In 1990, Tom needed a damn good reason to continue his tenor as Prime Minister of muggle England. He wasn't ready to introduce the two worlds yet, the people weren't ready for it. Using the entertainment industry, Tom funded everything from movies and T.V. to games and theme parks hoping to slowly get the muggles used to the idea of magic. They took to it beautifully, but by the time Tom planned his takeover on the oil business, a lot of the reserved population continued to hold back.

Tom Riddle had used some of his Middle Eastern contacts to try and take over oil rich countries like Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, they botched the whole operation. Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, became greedy and attempted to undermine Tom Riddle's plan, killing many of his supporters. He had to pull his 'A-team' from their South American conquest to Iraq and Kuwait for damage control. Tom used his silver tongue to encourage the United States to be the front runners in the conflict while he tried to regain what he could from the oil business.

Tom would have killed Saddam Hussein outright if it weren't for Peter Petegrew. The Americans would take care of Saddam anyway. Riddle's new associate, starting a year after Igor, was an animagus; basically a wizard who could turn into an animal if they had the talent for it. Peter's form was that of rat, which became extremely handy for infiltration. He was instrumental in blackmailing Saudi princes to split their oil shares with Tom. It wasn't like any of them could refuse, Peter would (and did sparingly) use the imperious curse and make them. Of course, only small percentages of the profits were taken and a hand full of princes were cursed so they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves.

Between the drug trade, the percentages in the oil trade, and the entertainment industry, Tom Riddle was literally swimming in cash. He allocated funds for his army in South America, bribes to political leaders, and research on using muggle technology in the magical world. Although it would take years to perfect, he was certain that the introduction of muggle entertainment would be his ticket to get the magical community's approval to abolish the Secrecy Statute.

When America was streamlining into the heart of Iraq, Riddle met with the other muggle coalition leaders to get a foothold into their countries. He knew he was running out of time and pushing boundaries running for a third term as the Prime Minister, so he had to enact his plan soon. Acquaintances would have to do for now. He shouldn't have been worried though, England had enjoyed eight glorious years under his rule, they would be fools to replace him. Hell, the Queen even knighted him!

Amazingly enough, or predictably enough depending on your point of view, he won a third term. It caused a lot of controversy within the government but Riddle wouldn't be denied. The additional income from the war, the payoffs of certain officials, and the success of his first two terms were examples of his leadership. Tom Riddle was becoming a household name in every country in the world.

While Riddle had the muggles singing his praises, Albus Dumbledore and several other wizards were keeping a close eye on him. The Ministry for Magic was concerned that Tom was bewitching the muggles to remain in office. Aurors were always lurking near Tom's offices and interviewing his muggle staff. They never found anything, but they had their suspicions.

Albus hadn't trusted Tom since their meeting before he was elected as Prime Minister. That kinda happens when you get blown into a wooden door by a magical backlash. Like the Ministry, Dumbledore didn't (and couldn't) obtain any proof. Even with his vast magical knowledge of spells, he couldn't come up with anything to tap into Riddle's information base. So he pulled together several trusted witches and wizards and formed the Order of the Phoenix. A secret organization that would assist in information gathering and possibly stand in Tom's way should he prove to be the dark wizard that Dumbledore claimed him to be.

...When a man once gets to start holding office, it is nearly always necessary to finally choke him off...
~ EDGAR WATSON HOWE, Country Town Sayings

March 1992
Dubai

After the Iraqi war, Tom pulled his closest associates together at the Kempinski Palm Hotel in Dubai for a meeting. The posh and luxurious surroundings were a testament to their accomplishments in the past years. His eight closest companions were driven to the ocean side hotel by limo and escorted to the top floor. Riddle discreetly bought out the entire floor for business and later on...pleasure.

"Good morning my friends" Riddle started as they each seated themselves around the large conference table. Once they were all seated, Riddle cast several wards to ensure privacy. He looked at each and every one of them before he started his speech.

Bella hadn't changed one bit. She still wore goth clothes, high heels, and had her curly black hair accentuating her heart shaped face. The Lestrange brothers both wore muggle suits that probably cost thousands. Both were a rugged sort of handsome, with light brown hair, trimmed goatees and wide brown eyes. Their only difference being Rebastan having a more muscular frame as opposed to Rodolphus' large imposing body. Walden McNair looked like a sports car salesman with his gray suit and slicked back blonde hair.

Tom glanced over at Igor and Peter, both had bronze tans from being under the hot sun for a few years. They also put on a few pounds and looked near overweight. Gold adorned their necks and fingers with flashy diamonds on each piece of jewelry. Tom noticed that Bella shook her head each time she looked over at them. Flashy clothes were not her style.

The Malfoys, however, exuded upper class even though they were only wearing their wedding bands. Lucius and Narcissa's posture spoke volumes about them. Both had their platinum blonde hair slicked back into a ponytail and a stylish bun respectively. Their chins raised slightly in confidence. They were used to money before Tom Riddle and it showed in their demeanor.

Tom didn't care what they did with their earnings, as long as they did their job well. He looked about the room and smiled wide, these folks worked wonders for him. Hopefully, they will do so again after this meeting.

"The years have been kind to us my brothers and sisters. We could continue our course and live in luxury if we so choose. We have our hands in almost everyone's pockets and our lips to the ears of most of the world leaders." Riddle paused for dramatic effect and seen as his companions smiles reached a little higher. "But, we have ulterior motives."

"I think we have prolonged our main goal long enough. In a few years time, I want the muggles and magicals joined as one", Riddle said slowly. He gauged their reactions hoping for their continued resolve in making the world a better place; and he was not disappointed.

"The Secrecy Statute does not apply anymore," he continued, "muggles are more susceptible to magic now more than ever. After our take over, it is imperative that we keep our union secret from the other countries until we have the government moving smoothly enough to either invade or convert them."

"Why is that Tom, we are going to be merging every country anyway. Why not do it all in one go? Or just reveal that magic is real and let the other countries put out their own fires. We could take over then." Rebastan asked curiously.

"We don't need muggle leaders getting nervous and we don't want them to have enough time to develop a weapon or gather a force that will stop progress. Mankind has a knack for making beautiful things, some are truly remarkable. But for centuries, the only thing that is as constant as time, is the fact that we build weapons that we can use to kill each other. From stones and bones to guided missiles that will wipe out entire cities and leave nothing but shadows. And each more impressive than the last." Riddle knew that they didn't need the history lesson. Sometimes, and especially being a politician, his passion would get the better of him and he would become very loquacious.

"We can't let them get spooked and push those buttons. This transition will be as peaceful as we can make it." Looking at the Lestrange brothers, " your armies will help with this. A show of force is needed to keep the others in check. To make peace, prepare for war brothers. How do they look? Tell me about them."

Rodolphus raised his chin with pride, "we have roughly 500,000 soldiers, about 500 tanks, and a little over 100 assorted aircraft. We", he spread his arm across the table to all of his friends," have decided to base our army around the effectiveness of small unit roles. Due to our armies size, our platoons have 200 people separated into smaller ten man squads. Each squad is divided into two fire teams with a role in automatic weapons, explosives, snipers, transfiguration, and magical defense." Rodolphus said in one breath; clearly excited about what he had accomplished.

Before Rodolphus could take a breath, his brother took over for him, "Automatic weapons to keep the enemies head down, snipers to take the enemies heads off, explosives to blow their ass to hell, and transfiguration to manipulate cover and concealment. We added magical defense mostly to cast solid object shields for the fire team as they moved along the battlefield. But, they also serve the purpose of blowing up, setting ablaze, or just harassing the enemy."

Bella smirked at the Lestrange brothers as they explained the make up of the army in more detail. While the main force took care of the 'nitty-gritty', her black ops soldiers would be mapping the battlefield with charms. With help from Peter Petegrew, these charms would map out the landscape and track troop movements in real time. Peter said he had experience with the charm because his friends Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin had made a map of Hogwarts that tracked all the people inside the castle. With a real time, animated map of the battlefield, commanders could distribute their troops more effectively in battle.

"Excellent my friends. Keep them training, the time will come to use the main force soon. I want to start deploying teams around Britain's airports, shipyards, and communication centers. When we need to black out international communications , they will be in charge of ensuring it stays dark. I want Lucius and Narcissa to start buying out the purebloods in the Wizengomot. Bella, I want black ops teams working on spreading propaganda around to the masses. Peter, I want you to use your talents to gain bribery information on difficult individuals. Igor and Walden, I want you going around the country preforming magic for small groups of muggles. Just a spell or two with untraceable wands to 'wow' them, then apparate away before the Ministry gets there. It will start a conspiracy that will get the public aware of something happening. Hopefully, they won't be too freaked out when the hammer drops."

...The goal in the end is not to win elections. The goal is to change society...
~ PAUL KRUGMAN, Playboy, Mar. 2012

England
1992 – 1994

After several days of ironing out details, Riddle concluded the meeting and told them he would see them back 'home'. He immediately started showing up in the magical community trying to get his face known to the public. He started meeting with prominent pureblood families and rubbing elbows with members of the Ministry. Riddle wanted to spread his influence face to face while his team encouraged the masses from behind the scenes.

After a few weeks, Riddle was constantly invited to talk at conventions and could be seen at the Ministry giving seminars on politics. It was tedious as hell trying to run the muggle world and be seen in the magical one, but it needed to be done. A year after the meeting in Dubai, Riddle started his campaign for the position of Minister for Magic. As Chief Warlock, Albus Dumbledore tried getting the Wizengomot to ban Riddle from campaigning, stating that he couldn't be the Minister of both worlds. It was met with halfhearted agreements until Riddle pressed his case and they took a vote.

If it wasn't for his team using underhanded tactics to sway the vote, Riddle would have lost. Albus Dumbledore took the loss personally and decided to run against Riddle. Albus didn't gain anything from winning the election, if fact, he had to give up his Chief Warlock position in order to run for Minister.

It took millions of galleons in bribes, assassinations, and favors, but Riddle was elected as Minister. When Dumbledore attempted to get his previous position back, Riddle refused him. There was no way he would allow Dumbledore to try and circumvent the progress he was gonna make in the Ministry. So, to keep him busy, Riddle created a board of directors to oversee the magical education at Hogwarts. Lucius and a few handpicked individuals would pass educational decrees to 'ensure higher learning' and at the same time, undermine Dumbledore.

It wasn't until 1994 when Riddle unveiled the magical world and named himself as Emperor to 'ensure a smooth transition' . He pulled thousands of people to farms and showed them the reason why harvests have been soaring. Of course, Walden and Igor's 'magic' shows helped big time. Wards kept the harvest in great shape as far a insect control, but Riddle used an 'Engorgio' charm to make fruit and vegetables four times their normal size right in front of the audience. He used a shield charm to block the rain from hitting large crowds, he shrunk cars and put them in his pocket, and used feather-light charms to lift tons of weight effortlessly.

The Wizengomot was freaking out when the muggles realized magic was real. The few traditionalists left wanted to overthrow Riddle but the damage was done. You can't obliviate an entire country overnight. So Riddle and his team continued making the muggles believe. After the wonder went away, muggles started to worry about their safety and privacy being taken from magical criminals. Rioting would have swept the country if Riddle didn't already have a department of wizards that put wards on peoples homes and businesses.

Riddle used his army from South America to keep the peace during the unveiling. He posted them on every street corner in full tactical gear in a grand show of force. He used television to address the muggle citizens concerning the changes to society and the new issues they would face. He made sure the muggles had free access to magical means of protecting their homes and family. He also combined the muggle Police force with the Aurors and hit wizards to round out issues arising with law enforcement. Stiff penalties were handed out to magicals that cursed a muggle since they had no real way to protect themselves from it.

The magical community was almost as paranoid as the muggles in the beginning. They were constantly wondering when the muggles would seek them out like the witch trials long ago. Riddle had to coax them out into the muggle world with technological 'treasures' he constantly introduced to them. After a few weeks, they stopped looking over their shoulders long enough to enjoy themselves.

Departments within both governments merged together with little difficulty. The only real problem was putting someone knowledgeable of both worlds in charge. That's where Riddle used squibs as department heads. They would run the departments for a year and become advisers later on for whoever takes over. The department of education didn't change much, but the superintendent did mention concerns about only having one magical school and the way the school houses were segregated.

The only department that couldn't merge completely was the Treasury Office. Until galleons and pounds were more mainstreamed into both societies, currency would remain separate. The plan to unite currency in a single form was in the works, the only problem was getting the goblins to go with it. Which wouldn't really matter because if they didn't Riddle was going to eradicate them. The goblins were greedy little creatures after all.

The economy in both worlds raised significantly. The wealthy muggles paid witches and wizards for security, entertainment, and transportation. Even though apparition sucks, muggles paid decently to travel a hundred miles almost instantly. Middle range income families paid the weakest magical a competitive amount to clean their homes and other benign tasks that usually takes up a Saturday. In the past, magic interfered with electronic devices, the trick was to cut all power off before magic was cast. The first week cost the muggles several thousands of pounds before that tidbit was realized and corrected.

Almost two months afterwards (as far as the general public knew), the magical researchers secretly employed by Tom Riddle finally found a way to use computers and CD players in magical areas. The cost was a little more since the wiring needed to be thicker and extra ground wires needed to be added. Riddle had a team of researchers working for years trying to come up with ways to use muggle technology. It was by the fall of the dice that they were successful during the merging period. After the announcement, magicals were quick to buy all types of items from electronics to pens and paper.

After several months of no communication globally, the International Confederation of Wizards and muggle leaders became suspicious. They all wondered why England was not talking to anyone even after they made several attempts. They also wondered why they were receiving weird stories about people forgetting why they were in England, what they did, and how they left. While Tom was content with the way the merging was going, he began to wonder if he misjudged the 'blackout time frame'. It couldn't be extended without having repercussions that are detrimental to his plans. 'It's a pain in the ass when someone ignores you, but it's a slap in the face when a friend does it and you know they can hear you', Tom reasoned. So he invited all of them to a summit and 'let the cat out of the bag'.

Presidents, kings, and dictators alike knew the existence of the magical world. They bore witness to it when they got in office. But the I.C.W couldn't get over being in a meeting with them, such a thing was unprecedented. When Riddle told them how he merged the two worlds, they all exploded. There was so much shouting, the walls seemed to be vibrating. After a few minutes, Tom used a 'Silencio' on them so he could continue with the speech. They weren't very happy. They also weren't very supportive either and absolutely refused to join their two societies. Riddle showed them proof of how well it seemed to be going, the wizards didn't want to hear it. 'Money well spent with the bribes', he thought sarcastically, thinking of the millions he had spent to sway opinions.

The muggle leaders were very interested in magic, not the merging just the magic. Tom read some of their thoughts using legilimency and shuddered. Thoughts ranged from battle magic to more nefarious sexual desires. They wanted to merge for the wrong reasons, but at least they wouldn't start witch hunting...yet. The more level headed politicians thought more about their citizen's sense of fear and response to magic; like they should. They looked over the data Riddle had given them, and they were on the fence with it. If Riddle had more alone time with them, they would have agreed. Unfortunately, Dumbledore, Chief Warlock for the I.C.W, made a scene on why the worlds needed to be separate.

Dumbledore basically told them that magic belonged to magical beings as a birth right. "Wizards are trained to handle the power that comes with wielding magic. But there are some, that would use it against the muggles to get whatever they wanted," Dumbledore said. When they asked for examples, Dumbledore cast several low level curses that changed people's appearance. Some sported boils, some had antlers, and the others had fingernails that wouldn't stop growing. They all hollered at Dumbledore to stop. "What are you going to do about it," he said, "shoot me and you will never change back. Everyone take off their pants and then maybe I'll change you back."

When the muggle leaders looked outraged enough to storm the podium, Dumbledore changed everything back and said, "what if I asked for a million dollars. Would you give it? What if I wanted your car, your home, or your wife? What would you give, just to change back?"

Riddle countered by telling the leaders that basic information about magic was available to the muggles in England. "Curses like the ones Dumbledore demonstrated can be lifted by another wizard. We have merged our police force with the non-magical force to prevent things like that from happening. In the past few months, we have actually cut back on crime in both worlds using a combination of techniques that Investigators and Aurors employ."

"Ah, but you are neglecting the Imperious curse," Dumbledore said. He turned to the audience, Riddle and him were preaching to a crowd, just like they did during the campaign for Minister of Magic. He looked at the assembly, "there are many very despicable curses out there that would turn the stomach of any man. The Imperious curse controls the mind of individuals who are naturally weak-minded. There is no defense for it in our world, therefore it is illegal. The Cruciatus curse overloads every nerve ending in a person's body to the point of permanent madness if they are under it too long. We have curses that break bones, expel organs, and shred your lungs. Trained wizards barely know a counter curse, how will a non-magical?"

"So how do we protect ourselves from you," asked the American President. "And likewise from us?"

"You can't! WE, for the most part can't! That's why a Secrecy Statute was created and maintained. What Tom Riddle did is very dangerous and could very well tear down our country. I implore you to help me change it back."

"YOU WILL NOT CHANGE ANYTHING! DUMBLEDORE!" Riddle said elevating his voice. He had enough, they was no way he would let them tear down what he created. Taking a deep calming breath, he looked out into the audience, "there are horrors and demons in both worlds. If you are implying that I have unleashed Pandora's box in my country with little thought to the differences of both sides, that is a little unfair. I have been thinking of this merger for years. I've been planning every intricate detail for all possible scenarios."

"If we play the 'who is more dangerous game', nobody will win!" Riddle pointed to the American President, "to say that your people are not as dangerous as mine is a lie. Our gifts are unique and they come with advantages... yes. We can do things easier than you can in certain aspects...yes. But the horrors and capabilities in the wizarding world have never produced anything that can level large cities...or render miles of land inhabitable from radiation...or chemicals designed to liquefy legions of soldiers."

"It can still be done...," Dumbledore interrupted, " not as easily, but it can be done."

"The wizarding world and the muggle world are essentially the same," Riddle continued, "only you use technology in place of magic. Technology is a magic in itself. The wizarding world is outdated. Before I changed things, they were still using sheets of parchment to write on. Candles and wax to light their homes. Hell, fashion was non-existent because magicals are still wearing robes for crying out loud! And wizards like Albus Dumbledore, wholeheartedly believe in their wizarding pureblood nobility. The system was outdated and corrupted by the time I took office..."

"There is NO corruption in tradition," Dumbledore said cutting in.

"Witches and wizards are being persecuted for their lineage as opposed to who they are or what they can do" Riddle said.

"Suppressing muggleborns, who are not used to magical power, is not persecution! They must learn the way the magical world works before gaining public office."

"There is an actual law proclaiming pureblood dominance..."

"Outdated and overlooked by Ministry officials," Dumbledore said heatedly. "Every government has a law that becomes so old that lawmakers forget it is still written."

"Believe me when I say that we are not so different..."

"And yet we are. Our people will not be able to coexist with the type of harmony you hope to achieve," Dumbledore said in his 'grandfather' voice. "Your goals are ambitious Tom, but it is too much, and too soon. And these documents you provided are not evidence of achievement, such forms could be faked or modified to suit your needs. I do not believe, NOT for one minute, that muggles and magicals are existing together without one trying to dominate the other. Or abusing the other. Or taking advantage of the other."

"Unity can not be obtained by pushing two groups of people together and telling them to 'get along' ," Dumbledore continued. "It is in human nature to fear what we do not know. And if the new British Ministry is any indication, it will be chaos. Co-workers fear each other...you can actually smell it in the air. The atmosphere has changed from 'business as usual' to a scene resembling the floor of the American stock exchange. This will blow up in our faces if we DO NOT nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand."

Tom Riddle looked out into the crowd. He could smell something alright...bullshit! He could argue his case until he was blue in the face. He could tell that the I.C.W would vote against him; old fools. 'If they could just see what I see every time I walk into the Ministry. Yeah, the decibel level is higher and people are running around like decapitated chickens,but actual work is being done. What other government could say the same! Certainly not the Americans. Besides, new laws and regulations to protect citizens of both societies were being written and enforced. People were getting along just fine!'

Muggles were prepped for magic, their imaginations overcame their fear due to his manipulation with their entertainment and recreation locations. Speaking of the muggles, Tom once again looked into the eyes of their leaders. Instead of thinking of clean renewable energy and producing crops to feed their citizens, he 'overheard' their real thoughts. Weapons of a greater scale, scientific experiments on magicals, ways to boost their private income, and the still ever popular...sexual fetishes.

'This is what England would have been like if I did not coax them into merging. Dumbledore was right about one thing. You can't throw too much at one time into a civilization.'

Tom nodded his head. In the background, Dumbledore continued to spit out half truths about the 'dangers and responsibilities' of being a wizard. His mind sent, Tom pushed one of the microphones close to another to emit a piercing screech. When he had their attention, he fixed it back. "I understand now that this was a mistake...," he started solemnly.

"...it's about time you seen reason Tom," Dumbledore cut it. "Let's..."

"No, let me finish Dumbledore," Riddle said. "This meeting that I invited all of you to was a mistake. I had hoped to show you the beauty of unity and harmony. But as I look upon you, I can see you will not have it. You are not ready for it." The delegates started to talk over each other, hollering, affronted that Tom thought he knew best. Speaking over them, Riddle hollered into his mic, "I don't need your approval! MY country will continue as we have been doing. Do not call upon us for aid, as we will not give it; in any way shape or form."

The delegates were pissed off now, their hollering doubled. Cries of "who the hell do you think you are" and "you can't do that", echoed throughout the conference room. Riddle paid attention to none of it. Dumbledore raised his wand to the ceiling and produced loud bangs to regain order.

Once settled, he looked at Riddle, "I believe that everyone in this room is against you Tom. They...WE... will stop you and set this right." Dumbledore's words were low, sorrowful even. Yet, every man heard it as a declaration of an ultimatum. 'Stop or we will fight you!'

Agreements were mumbled among the crowd. Majority vote.

In the same tone of voice as Dumbledore, Tom responded, "Any act from a nation to upset the order I have installed will constitute as an act of war. Or, in your case Albus, treason. Such actions will have severe repercussions for transgressors. So, to be blunt, if you come looking for a fight...expect to have your asses handed to you!"

With that statement made, Tom Riddle walked out of his own conference to the uproar of the crowd. 'Plans will need to be altered a bit', he thought. Too bad all the money went to waste bribing international dignitaries and prominent I.C.W members. And so much for having their lips to the ears of world leaders; they had shunned him. 'The only way to merge the two worlds now was with force', Tom thought, 'because there is no way I'm waiting another twenty years for a plan to come together.'

Albus Dumbledore watched Tom leave with a look of panic on his face. War was not the resolution he was looking for, and Tom basically declared it with his challenge. 'I have to salvage this before things get out of hand', he thought. Regaining everyone's attention took a few minutes even with magical sounds and colored sparks.

"Instead of troops on the ground", Dumbledore asked, "sanction Riddle with international violations. Embargo trade with the United Kingdom and block supply routes. The people, for some misguided reason, love the fool. But if they were met with hard times and warships in their harbor, they might reconsider."

'It's saddens me that the citizens will suffer for your incompetence Tom, and I will do my best to undo what you have wrought'.

When the conference convened, Dumbledore gathered the American, French, and the Russian leaders. He held a more private meeting to discuss espionage and requested their help and resources. He also told them about his secret group that he created to help him against Tom. While the witches and wizards in his group were skilled, he lacked funding and supplies to keep up with Riddle. When the leaders agreed to assist Dumbledore, he told them he would contact them soon.

Knowing full well that he would be committing treason, Dumbledore made plans to rile up the citizens, gather intelligence, sabotage government efforts, and eventually...kill Tom Riddle. The secret group known as The Order of the Phoenix expanded their repertoire to include guerrilla warfare; and after awhile, they came to enjoy their job too much.

...Politics determine who has the power, not who has the truth...
~ PAUL KRUGMAN, The Australian Financial Review, Sep. 6, 2010

England

Little did Dumbledore know, the United Kingdom didn't need foreign trade thanks to magic and Tom's international contacts. Supplies found their way into the country one way or another. It drove Dumbledore mad.

After a few months, Riddle exposed Dumbledore and his merry band of traitors. Half of the Hogwarts staff, several Aurors, a few healers, and about fifty magical citizens went 'underground' to prevent execution. Eventually, the mentality of being 'the bad guys' seared itself within some of the group's brain. They began bullying muggles, humiliating weak wizards, stealing, raping, and murdering.

To be fair, they had been doing the same stuff for Dumbledore in order to humiliate Tom Riddle. It took a few years, but being half starved and living 'unclean' caught up to them and it finally changed their lives. By 1999, about five years after the I.C.W meeting, Dumbledore's group disbanded. Half stayed with Dumbledore, the other half split up into smaller 'clicks'.

The United Kingdom remained alienated from the rest of the world. While at first frightening, they quickly got used to it. For them, nothing had changed except the world hated them. They could live with that, magic had improved their lives that much. Quality of life trumps anything that is out of sight, out of mind!

The only problem they had was random gang violence and ignorant muggle and magical people being killed in accidents from dealing with something unknown to them. For example, one witch was decapitated when she stood in the median of a highway with her wand in the air to catch the wizarding Knight Bus. Unfortunately for her, a real double-decker bus came by and didn't stop. The bus' side mirror took off her head and threw her into oncoming traffic.

One muggle, who was new to Diagon Alley, wandered about the shops browsing when he walked down a dark stone path. For some reason, the light didn't seem to shine in this part of the shopping district. He could tell that he was in the 'seedier' parts because of all the vagabonds littering the street corners. He walked in a shop called Borgin & Burkes to look at some interesting items in the window. He looked at all the weird artifacts until he came upon a black necklace adorned with green gems. Seeing the hundred galleon/ pound price tag, he thought the necklace could be resold for a larger profit. 'This has to be a thrift store, no way they would sell this so cheap', he thought. He picked the necklace up intent on buying it. But before he even think twice, the cursed jewelry captured his soul. Pieces of his flesh were found all over the store and his horrifying screams could be heard all over Knockturn Alley.

Internationally, the same coalition that fought in the Iraqi war reformed to surround the British Isle. Citizens of those countries were told that Tom Riddle was equal to Saddam Hussein. When embargo's didn't work, they tried cutting off the trade routes to the mainland. Portkeys and floo travel solved that problem until the I.C.W warded the coast. But Tom had a dummy company buy land for hotels on the French beach front. After canceling the I.C.W's wards, he used muggle repelling charms and the Fidelius charm to hide his makeshift shipyard.

The Americans were so pissed about the outcome of the I.C.W. meeting that they tried to get Navy Seals into the country to assist Dumbledore's sabotage efforts. They were quickly found and executed. Bellatrix Lestrange sent a bloody American flag patch to Dumbledore via owl.

Tom immediately sent a message to Igor Karkoroff. Being the drug kingpin in South America, Tom had Igor stop production of all major drugs and lace what was already made. Product that was shipped out was mixed with lethal levels of fentanyl. The rest of the Colombian stock was burned and the land was salted. Peter Petegrew used his rat animagus ability and gained access to the American President's retreat house. 'Keep an eye on the news and handle your own', was the message Peter gave him. Naturally, everything went on lock down as they wondered how Peter penetrated their defenses. But scaring the President was not the plan.

Within a day, reports trickled in from undercover D.E.A agents concerning the laced drugs and the lack of shipments into the country (per their undercover agents). Within days, bodies littered the American streets from the bad drugs. After a week of nothing to take, drug addicts started snorting anything they could get their hands on. 'Tweakers' ran around the streets in a rage from excited delirium. Jails quickly filled up with law breakers. Riots broke out because law enforcement couldn't stop the violence. Gang wars tore through the streets trying to get their hands on supplemental 'product' to sell. After a month, the last of the hard core addicts died from either severe withdrawals or taking unknown substances. It was not uncommon to see dead bodies on the street baking in the hot sun.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, not all of the 'dopers' were dead. In fact, small time manufacturers made millions. Of course, they were eventually taken out by local law enforcement.

The Americans backed off for awhile after that. They had more internal problems than they knew what to do with anyway. During the 1999 Presidential campaign, citizens screamed for change; they had enough! Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, a voting scandal during the election only fueled their fire setting off more riots within the cities.

Without the U.S leading the charge, the other coalition members took a back seat and kept the war with Britain on a political level. They still had a rotation of destroyers and submarines positioned just in case. But they never attacked, just watched.

Riddle was not idle during these times. The coast was warded with alarms in case of attack and new ways of smuggling goods were being built. He had his own coalition of officials and high ranking members in each country on his pay roll. Bella was given leadership of the armies residing in Britain. Lucius and Narcissa organized the smuggling trips from a shipyard in France. Walden McNair handled acquisition and delivery from the mainland to the Malfoys. The Lestrange brothers returned to South America to run the other half of the army. If war did break out with the Americas, that army would be tasked to wreak havoc all the way up to Canada.

After the voting scandal and drug market shut down, Igor Karkoroff migrated east and used his contacts within the Russian Mafia (through the drug trade business) to infiltrate, bribe, and assassinate many Russian political opponents.

While Igor had his hooks into the eastern hemisphere, Peter Petegrew had his rat claws deep within the American government. While he didn't outright kill anyone, he created scandals within the American population to keep their focus off Britain. Peter bought out the Fox News station and had the editors spin most of the news to his tastes. He would use it to create a public uproar from random acts of violence. He used videos taken from law enforcement officers, and would spin it to show excessive force, even if it was warranted. He suppressed most of the black on black crime, and focused on white on black crimes. Normally, crime is crime. People get shot and killed all the time. But Peter's spin to it would ignite riots across several cities with citizens screaming about civil rights.

For five long years, from 1994 to 1999, Tom Riddle ruled the United Kingdom as Emperor. For the most part, he had achieved his goal of unifying societies. It took him over twenty years to pull it off, but he was successful. It wasn't enough though; for true harmony he would have to include the rest of the world. Hard to do when they believe the lies their countries are telling them about his Empire. He needed an opening to start an invasion. Unfortunately, Bella used the only opportunity he had to send a message to Dumbledore via bloody arm patch. He wasn't mad though, if anything, he was patient.

But patience has a price too. Riddle's plans will hit a snag in the form of a forgotten victim from the beginning of his muggle Prime Minister career. An assassin trained from childhood, a master of transfiguration with magical power to rival Riddle's own. Harry Potter.