[[!meta title="Ambition"]]

Finally, his plan had succeeded. Dumbledore had put up a good fight, but in the
end Tom Riddle had outsmarted and outmaneuvered him.

It had been a long and bitter conflict since his first defeat, shortly after
graduating from Hogwarts. Tom doubted that Dumbledore even realized exactly what
the first blow struck was, but he remembered. Everything he had done after that
point was in pursuit of this single, all-important goal.

The silly Lord Voldemort title. The curse on the defense position. His
followers, the blood war, engineering that stupid prophecy, even his death; all
had been orchestrated to lead Dumbledore into believing that he understood the
mind of Tom Riddle.

Dumbledore *thought* that he was here for the Philosopher's Stone. The idea was
laughable; what was mere immortality and riches, compared to what he had now?
He'd already died once to achieve this goal, and soon something far more
precious than gold would be walking into his classroom.

Little did Dumbledore know that Tom was *also* friends with Nicholas Flamel, and
that the Stone was taken to Hogwarts at his own request. Nicholas was
trustworthy, and Tom had long ago taken him into his own confidence. Nicholas
knew the Plan, and would support him.

And the idea that he was here at Hogwarts to take revenge against Harry Potter?
Absurd. Certainly, in a way, it was true that he was here for Harry. But he held
no grudge; he had seen to it that Lily Potter was given books on obscure
protection rituals from his spy in the Order, and he knew that she had prepared
her child before he attacked the house that Halloween.

It was vital to his plan that he die that night, after all. A shame that Lily
and James had to die as well, of course, but he had offered them a chance to
step aside. He couldn't explain the plan to them; too much risk that Dumbledore
would discover the truth.

Dumbledore would never have let Tom Riddle teach at Hogwarts in the flesh. But a
possessed teacher carrying the spirit of Lord Voldemort, bent on the desire of
revenge and lured by the promise of immortality? Snape, Tom's ever-faithful
servant, was easily able to convince Dumbledore that it was a perfect
opportunity to spring a trap.

Ten years was a long time to wait as a disembodied spirit, but he had used the
time productively. Ten years studying in ancient libraries; floating through the
stacks in search of obscure and lost knowledge. Ten years spying, watching
unseen so he could memorize every finest nuance of skill.

Ten years to build up Dumbledore's suspicions. It was vital that Dumbledore
believed him to be preparing a second blood war.

Tom felt he owed something to the child Potter, though. Harry had looked
malnourished the previous night at the feast. Perhaps he could find some way to
make the poor boy's home life a little more pleasant.

And something *would* have to be done about the third floor corridor. Tom had
expected much more subtlety from Dumbledore; keeping a Cerberus as the first
line of defense in a school full of children wasn't just reckless, it was
insane. But that's what wards and locking charms were for, and Snape would see
to it that none of the pupils stumbled upon something they weren't supposed to.

It would hardly do to have any of them harmed, after all. Not when Tom Riddle
needed them. Oh, he would turn them into something *great*, and finally he would
achieve his greatest ambition. Finally the world would see what he could do, and
recognize him for his true power.

He was going to go down in History. Not as some piddling Dark Lord, defeated by
a baby. No, he would be remembered for a far greater accomplishment.

Ah, here come the first class of students now. Give them a few minutes to find
seats and settle down. Savor the moment. Bask in their attention.

This was his time.

"Good morning, class. My name is Professor Quirenus Quirrell, and I'll be
teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts. You should know I was a Slytherin in
school; house of the ambitious. My ambition is to be the best Defense professor
this school has ever known, and I expect you to all do your own best and *not
let me down.* Now, let's begin..."

Oh yes, Dumbledore would regret turning him away all those years ago. When he
saw the OWL results from this year's students, he would understand just what an
opportunity he had lost in refusing Tom Riddle.

He would have to remember to floo Lucius that evening and ask if he was still
interested in teaching History. Binns really was *atrocious.*

> I don't dispute that Riddle is crazy. But I got to thinking, what if his evil
> wasn't motivated by blood? What if it was all just part of an incredibly
> intricate plan to get Dumbledore *exactly where he wants him?* I give you,
> InsaneEvilGenius!Voldemort right along with GoodGuy!Voldemort.
>
> After all, who else is better qualified to teach DADA? And somebody clearly
> has to; there are evil dark lords out there, and the students should be
> prepared!