Now that the Ministry was
under his control, Voldemort set about creating a police state. Propaganda was
disseminated promoting suspicion and fear of Muggle-born wizards to justify
stripping them of their wands and their rights. Everyone had to prove
their ancestry and neighbors were encouraged to inform on neighbors.
Voldemort also encouraged wizards to use magic openly against Muggles.
Voldemort’s regime is best symbolized by the Ministry’s new motto “Magic is
Might” and the statue installed in the Ministry’s entrance: a gargantuan black
carving of a witch and wizard enthroned upon masses of naked Muggles.

Voldemort had another
problem to solve: how to find a wand that would be effective against Harry. He
had known for several years that due to the twin cores that his own wand of yew
and phoenix feather wouldn’t work, so first he tried Lucius Malfoy’s wand, but it
was destroyed. Then, by torturing Ollivander (a captive of Voldemort’s for over
a year), Voldemort learned of an invincible wand called the Elder Wand,
the Wand of Destiny, or the Deathstick, and he set about trying to find it. He
tracked it first to the European wandmaker Gregorovitch, then to Gellert
Grindelwald, (still imprisoned at Nurmengard), and then, to Dumbledore.
Voldemort went to Hogwarts, split open the tomb, and took possession of the
wand from Dumbledore’s dead hands.

When Harry, Ron and
Hermione broke into Gringotts and stole the Hufflepuff cup from the
Lestrange family vault, Voldemort finally realized that Dumbledore and Harry
knew about the Horcruxes and frantically began to visit all his hiding places
to no avail: the ring was gone, as was the locket. Counting the diary and the
cup, four Horcruxes were gone, leaving only the Ravenclaw diadem and Nagini
between him and ignominious death (or so he believed). Voldemort gathered his
army and attacked Hogwarts where the diadem was hidden, but Harry got to it
first.