Very nice chapter and the contrast between the investigation and the behavior of that one cognivore (anyone care to bet it's a nowhere-near-thoroughly wiped Karkaroff?) makes for a stimulating dissonance. I'd be prepared to wager that the cognivors that levitated out of the tank was/is the same as the one stalking Hermione and family.
Meanwhile, on the domestic side, you can see the two families growing together and starting to blend. We can hope that the blending will eventually fully bring Harry & Hermione together.
Author's response
Hmmmm, how to answer this without giving away major plot points?
Spoiler alert
Yep, Sasha Karkaroff wasn’t exactly “erased.”
One of the floating cogs attacked Ron at the DoM.
That one is stalking Hermione.
The two families, predictably, will blend until they can’t see the boundaries anymore.
There will be sweet, sweaty snuggle bunnies in Harry and Hermione’s future.
Bad things will happen to good people.
The price of gas will increase over the summer.
N!