There had been quite a lot to get out of the way before Jack Crawford could resume the task of investigating the Blake-Smiths' deaths, not the least of which was keeping him from killing Dr. Lecter.
At Dumbledore's insistence, Crawford allowed both Dumbledore and Dr. Lecter to sit in on his interviews with Harry concerning his experiences with Voldemort. Crawford insisted on going back over every single one of Harry's contacts, both physical and in dreams, with the former Tom Riddle, Junior and his known minions. It didn't take long before Crawford, whose sheer professional sense had gained the upper hand over his anger, was allowing Lecter to control the course of questioning. Jack was reminded, yet again, of why he had been forced time and again to seek out the doctor's aid when it came to catching criminals; Crawford was brilliant, but Lecter was simply in a whole other dimension, one no other mortal shared.
Two things greatly enhanced their efforts: Harry's newly-created memory palace, and the use of Dumbledore's Pensieve. With the information in Harry's head neatly organized in the mental construct of the memory palace, the retrieval of said information was made quite easy. The Pensieve made it easier to analyze Harry's retrieved thoughts and memories, even the painful ones.
A basement room of Offhand Manor was turned into an FBI-style evidence room. Artifacts of Voldemort and of various known Death Eaters, together with the magical photographs and videotapes Crawford took of Harry's thoughts as they floated in the Pensieve, decorated the room.
There was a picture of Professor Snape's arm, showing the Dark Mark, as he bared it to a disbelieving Fudge. Another showed Professor Quirrell in front of the Mirror of Erised, trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Yet still others showed Peter Pettigrew, both as human and as Wormtail, and Crawford hoped to use them later to help prove that Harry's godfather Sirius was wrongly convicted. This was rather handy, as Sirius turned up again shortly after Crawford arrived at Offhand Manor. Other photographs showed things such as Barty Crouch, Junior, both as Alastor Moody and as himself.
Added to all this were reports coming in from the Ministry of Magic surveillance teams that had been sent out to keep watch on the known Death Eater families, such as the Notts and the Malfoys -- and most especially the Malfoys.
If Harry had been told two months earlier that he would soon be capable, not merely of remembering his most horrible memories with crystal clarity, but of having the detachment to pore over them willingly in the search for clues concerning his enemy, he would never have believed it. But the professionalism of Dumbledore, Crawford, Lecter and Starling had rubbed off onto Harry; he knew that all four of them had seen horrors at least equal to the worst of his own experience, and yet had the ability to deal with them with a clear and objective mind.
It was the shared and considered opinion of Dumbledore, Crawford, Lecter and Starling that Voldemort's hand had been forced prematurely, and that Voldemort might soon be compelled to act much sooner than he wished, simply because he was about to be flushed from cover in any event. With thousands of law enforcement personnel, Muggle and magical, combing the British countryside in the wake of Bruce Blake's murder, it would be very difficult for an operation as large as Voldemort's to stay hidden for very much longer. Accordingly, Arthur Weasley and Alastor Moody were alerted to be ready for a major move on Voldemort's part.
The question was: Where would he strike?
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Igor Karkaroff's eyes were glazed over with fear and the anticipation of a painful death.
Despite his best efforts at concealment, somehow, he had been discovered and brought to Voldemort.
A very angry Voldemort.
Karkaroff had spent the interval between his capture and his being brought before Lord Voldemort in the crafting of the speech he planned to recite, explaining how he, Igor Karkaroff, had only pretended to turn traitor. But his plan evaporated within seconds of seeing Voldemort's newly-reembodied self; Karkaroff knew, as he tried to meet that terrible stare, that nothing he could say or do would save his miserable hide. And, as he glanced around the cavern and met the stony faces of his former comrades, he knew that he could expect no mercy from them, either.
It was that horrible knowledge that caused him to lose his self-control, staining brown the bottom part of his robes even as he groveled on his hands and knees in one last, desperately hysterical attempt at appeasing Voldemort through abject self-abasement.
Nagini hissed mockingly as Karkaroff cowered before Voldemort, all shreds of his dignity gone even before the first whispered Pain Curse left Voldemort's lips. This was going to be most enjoyable, she thought. A pity he looks to be such a weakling; he might die of sheer fright before we have a chance to fully enjoy the recreation he provides.
And indeed, Karkaroff did indeed die of fright, a mere hour and a half into the festivities. Voldemort's disappointment at this was so strong that it woke Harry up from what had been a very sound sleep.
Yet another memory went into the Pensieve; yet another photograph was added to the evidence collection.
And on both sides, the waiting and plotting continued.