Fudge was left scorched on the outside and stunned all the way through by Tom's rotten idea.
Invite the Acolytes in to help the Ministry get its work done? How was that any different from letting the fox guard the henhouse?
Then again, if he thought about it, this wasn't nearly that bad. Britain and the Acolytes didn't get along, sure, but Britain hadn't taken a real beating from them the way the countries on this Continent had.
Well, they had Dumbledore, after all.
But nobody could question the Acolytes' professionalism, especially when it came to the fringe branches of magic. Nearly every one of them had mastered some seriously nasty dark magic, plus all kinds of spells that twisted the mind.
They had Grindelwald's generosity to thank for that. He had taught them the real thing, and that was a big part of why so many Acolytes were so fiercely loyal. Charisma and a grand ideal were only half of it. Grindelwald was also extremely generous with resources and power.
Even a modest force, say a hundred to two hundred of them, would stabilize the situation in Britain overnight.
At that thought, Fudge felt a real flicker of temptation. But the moment it showed on his face, he smothered it.
Britain had no blood feud with Grindelwald, but publicly it stood shoulder to shoulder with the other European countries condemning him for seizing the Ministries of several nations. If he turned around now and invited the Acolytes in, there was no telling what kind of media storm it would kick up overseas.
And even if he wanted to invite them, would they just show up because he asked?
Tom glanced at Fudge. That one look was enough to read his mind.
"Cornelius, you're overthinking this." He shook his head lightly. "These days it's every man for himself. How long has that alliance of yours been working against Grindelwald? Any real progress yet?
"He's still running a few Ministries, living the good life. He was bouncing around Hogwarts not long ago, wasn't he? Did you see any other country's Ministry jump up and denounce you for that?"
Fudge blinked, then nodded. "You're right, Mr. Riddle. Honestly, the alliance is a bit of a sham. It's for show. But it's still a front we have to keep up, or the public mood turns against us."
Fudge might be slow on most things, but mention public opinion and approval ratings, and his IQ shot straight to the top.
"So as long as it looks fine on the surface, you're good," Tom said, waving a hand. "I said to bring the Acolytes in to help, but who said they have to show up under the Acolytes' name?
"If you don't bring it up and I don't bring it up, you think ordinary wizards can recognize every acolyte by name and face?"
"That's true!" Fudge's face lit up. "But how do I get Grindelwald to agree? He'll name a ridiculous price, and the Ministry only came to you because we're broke."
Fudge wasn't actually worried about the Acolytes shaking up the current balance of power in Britain. He'd fully resigned himself by now. Every ounce of his power came down to the mood of the boy sitting across from him.
If Tom wasn't happy, there'd be no need to let wolves in the door. All it would take was Tom hinting at it, and by the afternoon Bones and Greengrass would team up with the old fossils of the Wizengamot and shove him out.
Tom held up a finger. "Just bring up Dumbledore. Tell him you'll help stir up some trouble for Dumbledore when the time is right. A few dozen of the Acolytes' core members, plus every last one of their underlings? Easy. No problem.
"You have to understand, those two have been going at it for decades. Right now, what Grindelwald needs most isn't money or status. It's a chance to get under Dumbledore's skin."
With Tom's pointers, it all clicked for Fudge.
Watching him hurry out of the office, a smug little smile crept onto Tom's face.
No matter when it was, watching someone else have a bad day always put him in a good mood.
Let the tangled mess between Grindelwald and Dumbledore be a little seasoning in his daily life.
After sitting in the office for a while with nothing to do, Tom decided to see Guild Hall.
Besides the staff, wizards were streaming in nonstop to take on and post commissions. After nearly two years of operation, the Astra Abyssum Guild had built up a fairly mature system.
But Tom wasn't satisfied.
Astra Abyssum's necessity hadn't reached what he'd hoped for.
Sure, it made life more convenient for wizards and gave them a platform to earn some extra cash.
But at the end of the day, it wasn't a necessity.
Unlike the iCodex, Lume-Lens, and the Gringotts gold card, which had completely changed wizards' daily habits, Astra Abyssum was just a really nice "seasoning." Nice to have, but nobody would suffer without it.
What he wanted was for the Astra Abyssum Guild to become an indispensable part of the magical world, and it was missing one crucial thing: a universal currency.
Right now, the guild's commission rewards were mostly Galleons, potions, and a few materials.
But the wizarding world was close to a utopia. There was conflict, even war, but a wizard's basic daily life didn't actually demand much in the way of material goods.
He needed a new hard currency to jolt the wizarding world back to life and get all these people who'd gone slack to start hustling again.
He'd been turning this problem over for a long time, and it wasn't until Mystryl showed up that he finally had a real idea and a workable direction.
"Mystryl."
Inside the study space, Tom called out to the goddess of magic, who was flipping through a book.
"What?" Mystryl said without looking up, turning a page gently.
.
.
.