After the Ministry of Magic shamelessly joined forces with the Daily Prophet to announce that "the deaths of the head of the Department of Magical Transportation's Floo Powder Office and his wife at home" had actually been "a misunderstanding," and that the skull with a snake in its mouth had actually been an oddly shaped depiction of an Occamy specimen, the previously panicked Wizarding World actually settled down a little-proof that there were plenty of people adept at deceiving themselves with flimsy excuses.
Meanwhile, after discovering that the number of Horcruxes he could control had become a troubling "mystery," Voldemort, hiding in the shadows, seemed to have lost his nerve and quieted down considerably. But Brian knew this peace was only temporary. According to Dumbledore's reliable information, the number of Dark Wizards appearing in the streets had plummeted recently, and several areas frequented by Werewolves had barely heard a howl lately. Clearly, Voldemort had summoned them to serve as fighting forces.
This was bad news, because there was still a great horde of Dementors in Azkaban that could become Voldemort's allies at any moment. If Dumbledore had not set up special wards there, they might already have done so-to defuse the ticking time bomb of the Dementors, Dumbledore had recently devoted all his energy to replacing Azkaban's guards.
According to Dumbledore, the matter was making progress, and Little Dragon, Little Tree, and Soldier, whom Brian had lent him to help with the research, had played important roles. He refused to explain exactly how, though, merely keeping Brian in suspense. That old codger really could be-ahem-
In short, Dumbledore had been busy lately, and Brian was just as busy, his energy still focused on the "Brian Egg." But haste made waste, and taking one's time did not necessarily bring success either-even