"If the prophecies can only be heard by those they apply to, then what is the value in keeping the eldest prophecies?" Voldemort peered down the rows.
He stepped down the first row and peered at the prophecy marker. "Intriguing." He wondered how it categorized his name. Would it be Lord Voldemort? The Dark Lord? He Who Must Not Be Named? Surely, not even this ancient magic would dare to refer to him as Tom Riddle. A ball of green light appeared in mid-air and began zooming up and down the rows looking for any markers that might apply to him. "What happens if someone to whom a prophecy does not apply tries to remove it?"
When he came to the first one--recorded mere weeks ago, he paused and after being sure he would be protected in case the prophecy was rigged in some way he picked up the prophecy. The same blackness that he used when creating horcruxes through which no light or sound or anything could penetrate ensconced him as he viewed the prophecy of his ascension. He was intrigued by how accurate this was.
When the blackness ended, nothing remained of the prophecy except dust. He continued following the green light in silence. It stopped and again there was blackness and Voldemort listened to Trelawney's last prophecy about him: "It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight...the servant...will set out...to rejoin...his master...."
When once more he emerged from the blackness, there was another pile of ash. He turned to Theo. "Your task, Mr. Nott, is to find out who these people are." A parchment appeared in Theo's hands containing the lines 'SPT to HJP' and 'SJL'. He had half a mind to destroy every prophecy in the room, but something gave him pause. Perhaps he thought it better not to interfere so much with the Department of Mysteries. Or perhaps he was afraid new ones would stop being recorded. Before they left the room, Voldemort ordered, "No one is to access the Hall of Prophecy without my express permission--save to check for new prophecies, is that understood?"