After this debacle,
Voldemort became determined to gain an edge over Harry. He remembered the prophecy that
Snape had overheard so many years before and decided to concentrate on solving
the mystery that was Harry Potter before re-launching his takeover. His efforts
centered on the official record of the prophecy known to be stored in the
Ministry of Magic’s Department of Mysteries. For this and other reasons,
Voldemort orchestrated the escape of ten high-security prisoners from Azkaban
Fortress in January 1996. Among the freed Death Eaters was Augustus
Rookwood, who had in the first war served as Voldemort's spy within the
Department of Mysteries.

The prophecy wasn’t an
easy thing to steal; attempt after attempt failed, and Voldemort’s anger
mounted. Eventually Voldemort tricked Harry into coming to the Department of
Mysteries and had a select band of Death Eaters led by Lucius Malfoy waiting to
snatch the prophecy orb once Harry found it. This plan failed too, for many
reasons, but mostly overconfidence. Malfoy didn’t get the prophecy soon enough
and it was destroyed in the battle. And even though his Death Eaters
outnumbered Harry and his school friends two to one, they couldn’t do what they
needed to before members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived to even the
numbers. In the ensuing battle between the Death Eaters on one side and members
of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix on the other, the
prophecy sphere was destroyed.

The battle seemed over
when Dumbledore arrived and deftly captured most of the Death Eaters, until
Voldemort then appeared and attacked Harry directly. Dumbledore found them in
the nick of time and drew Voldemort into battle. Eventually, Dumbledore wrapped
Voldemort in a suffocating mass of water, and Voldemort disappeared. For a few
seconds, it appeared that Dumbledore had won. When Harry broke cover, Voldemort
possessed him and dared Dumbledore to kill the both of them. Voldemort’s
possession was so excruciating that Harry became certain of death and his
thoughts turned to the loved ones he would soon see again. Unexpectedly, this
surge of love and longing was anathema to Voldemort and forced him out of Harry’s
body. Voldemort was able to touch Harry and possess him, but Harry’s loving
heart and acceptance of death proved to be inimical to Voldemort. The Dark Lord
had lost his chance to hear the whole prophecy, and nearly a dozen of his most
elite Death Eaters were captured and sent to Azkaban.

The Minister of Magic
publicly admitted that Voldemort had returned in an interview with
the Daily Prophet at the end of June, after the battle in the
Department of Mysteries. Consequently, Voldemort no longer has a reason to be
discreet in his activities to avoid public disclosure, as that is now
a fait accompli.