Well, Orion's plan to save the Blacks led to the recruitment of Regulus. I guess that means it backfired.
Voldemort pointed Lucius at the current students in Slytherin. Specifically Regulus, but I have to wonder if this is when he renewed his acquaintance with Severus as well. His thoughts were obviously focused on maximizing his value to Voldemort and serving him as well as he possibly could. It's like seeing a few pebbles move and knowing the landslide will soon follow.

Nicely tied in. This case was the straw that broke the camel's back for Moody. In comic terms it's his origin story.
I'm actually a little worried about Orion. Maybe he's not a good guy but he is a strong ally against Voldemort. The enemy of my enemy may not be a friend in this case, but he's certainly got the potential to be valuable for their shared purpose. His weak heart will give out at the worst possible time, if I guess right.
And Rookwood is still fascinating. He's more devoted to his intellectual pursuits than anything else, but that seems to be in Voldemort's interest. Rookwood needs to understand why he failed and fix as much of the aftereffects as he can, not for his master's sake but for his own pride.

Rookwood's plan came close, although not close enough, but he seems to be incredibly disciplined. Another man might have panicked and fled, but he's trying to contain the damage of the botched plan while Voldemort's summons torments him more and more.
This was really an interesting sequence.

Not many familiar faces in this story arc but it's fascinating. A Black sharing information with Dumbledore out of self-interest. Aurors unwittingly helping the enemy. And a bit of background on the Order, or at least how one member was persuaded to join. Plus Alaster Moody. What's not to love?

This is how a secret organization should work, with careful plans behind the scenes as well as their more visible activities. Rookwood's cool observation before swearing himself to Voldemort makes him an anti-Bellatrix, who I imagine as wildly impulsive and passionate when she came to Voldemort.
Your conspiratorial aurors are a nice touch. It makes sense that there's more to the world than Death Eaters and the Order. Using them is a pretty smart move, truth be told.

I knew he'd suffer for speaking against Voldemort and this was awful. The Death Eaters' full blown terror campaign has begun. The one bit that didn't seem to match the memories depicted in The Path Not Tread was the statement that Voldemort was the torturer while his followers watched, while he actually kept Eimann watching while his Death Eaters did most of the torturing, then committed the murder himself. Was this misinformation or the reporter making a mistake?

I can see how this would not fit into your other story without disturbing the flow of the narrative. What it is, though, is a neat bit of world building and extra information on Voldemort's activities and their effect on the larger world. It's an interesting glimpse into how the Wizarding government works and I truly liked the fellow being interviewed, which leaves me a little expectant that a future article will cover his firing, disappearance or death. Call me morbid. He made it pretty clear that he isn't one of Voldemort's admirers, and Voldemort has really thin skin on that subject.
I suspect this won't be nearly as linear as a regular story but I expect that much of what turns up will be fascinating.