Antonin Dolohov

"There was Antonin Dolohov. I - I saw him torture countless Muggles and - and non-supporters of the Dark Lord."

- Wizengamot interrogation of Igor Karkaroff.

Antonin Dolohov was a wizard and one of the original Death Eaters of Lord Voldemort. He fought in the First Wizarding War, during which he tortured many Muggles, and wizards and witches who were not supporters of Voldemort. Along with four other Death Eaters, he participated in the murders of Fabian and Gideon Prewett. Dolohov was caught and convicted of these crimes, and sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. He escaped after Voldemort's return and the start of the Second Wizarding War, in the mass break-out of 1996, and participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where he was re-captured and incarcerated. By the summer of 1997, Dolohov was at large again. He and Thorfinn Rowle attacked Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley at Tottenham Court Road, but they were defeated and his memory was wiped. In 1998, Dolohov fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, during which he killed Remus Lupin. At the climax of the battle, he engaged Filius Flitwick in a duel, and was defeated. His ultimate fate is unknown.

First Wizarding War
"Then if I were to go to the Hog's head tonight, I would not find a group of them - Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov - awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed, to travel this far with you on a snowy night, merely to wish you luck as you attempt to secure a teaching post."

- Albus Dumbledore to Tom Riddle.

Antonin Dolohov was one of the early followers of Tom Riddle and served him even before his master began open hostilities against the rest of the wizarding world. He was among the Death Eaters who travelled to Hogsmeade, along with Nott, Rosier, and Mulciber, when Voldemort attempted to take the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, ostensibly to "wish him luck."

According to Igor Karkaroff, Dolohov tortured many Muggles and non-supporters of Lord Voldemort during the First Wizarding War. With the help of four other Death Eaters, he murdered Fabian and Gideon Prewett, the brothers of Molly Weasley née Prewett. He was not the only participant in the act, though, since Mad-Eye Moody informed Harry Potter years later that it took five Death Eaters to kill the two wizards, whose murders were described as "brutal."

After the fall of Voldemort in 1981, Dolohov was captured and sent to Azkaban prison for his crimes. His was the first name Death Eater Igor Karkaroff turned over to the Wizengamot in an attempt to get himself freed from Azkaban, only to be informed that Dolohov had been captured around the same time as him.

Second Wizarding War
Early in 1996, Dolohov, along with the Lestranges and several other Death Eater convicts, escaped Azkaban and rejoined Voldemort. It was speculated in the Daily Prophet that the escape was aided by Sirius Black, but that was refuted in the aftermath of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries
"...the Death Eater had ripped off his mask and was pointing his wand directly at Harry, who recognised the long, pale, twisted face from the Daily Prophet: Antonin Dolohov, the wizard who had murdered the Prewetts. Dolohov grinned. With his free hand, he pointed from the prophecy still clutched in Harry's hand, to himself, then at Hermione. Though he could no longer speak, his meaning could not have been clearer. Give me the prophecy, or you get the same as her..."

- Description of Dolohov's confrontation with Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries.

On 17 June, 1996, Lord Voldemort lured Harry Potter to the Ministry of Magic precipitating the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. During the battle, Dolohov was paired with Jugson as the Death Eaters searched for the five students who had come to the Ministry with Harry Potter. They tracked Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom to a room off the Time Chamber, hitting the three of them with Impediment Jinxes. When Dolohov began to alert the other Death Eaters as to their location, Hermione silenced him to prevent it. He retaliated with an unnamed curse which, despite being weaker than normal, because it was cast non-verbally, severely injured Hermione. With a kick, Dolohov broke Neville's wand and nose and then cornered Harry, wordlessly threatening him. However, he was momentarily distracted, giving Harry the chance to Body-Bind him.

Before several Order of the Phoenix members arrived, Dolohov recovered, and after defeated Alastor Moody in a duel. He then attacked Harry with the same spell he used on Hermione, but most of the harm was blocked by Harry's Shield Charm. He tried to use it again when duelling with Sirius Black, but was incapacitated by Harry before he could follow through.

Presumably, Dolohov was captured in the aftermath of the battle by Aurors and returned to Azkaban.

Death Eater plans
By the summer of 1997, Dolohov was again at large following another Azkaban break-out. He attended the Death Eater meeting at Malfoy Manor that summer and was seated by Yaxley; he was impressed when Yaxley announced that he had placed Pius Thicknesse, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, under the Imperius Curse. He, along with other Death Eaters, laughed when Voldemort insulted Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoy family.

Skirmish at Luchino Caffe
Shortly after the Death Eaters took over the Ministry of Magic and placed the Taboo curse on Voldemort's name, Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle tracked Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley to a café on Tottenham Court Road. During the skirmish that ensued, Dolohov bound Ron with conjured ropes and slammed an invisible Harry into a wall with Expulso, but just before Harry dropped his wand, Hermione hit Dolohov with a Full Body-Bind Curse. Dolohov and Rowle's memories were then modified by Hermione. This spell did not work very well, but seemed to, as the three friends found out later. It is implied that they were punished by Voldemort for this by being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse.

Dolohov may have been among the Death Eaters assigned to keep an eye out for 12 Grimmauld Place, former headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix and temporary hide-out for Harry, Ron and Hermione, as one of the Death Eaters mentioned watching the gap between houses 11 and 13 on the first of September was “the man with the twisted face”. The Death Eaters were able to find out Harry, Ron and Hermione's location because Lord Voldemort's name was Tabooed. This means that anyone who said his name would be traceable, the assumption being that anyone who dared to say the Dark Lord's name was part of the Order of the Phoenix.

Battle of Hogwarts
During the Battle of Hogwarts on 2 May, 1998, Dolohov was seen fighting against Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil; Parvati shot a Full Body-Bind Curse at him in defence of Dean. Dolohov also killed Remus Lupin in a duel. The nature of Remus's death was not revealed, but his body was peaceful-looking, suggesting that Dolohov used the Killing Curse or his own curse, as neither leaves visible marks. After Voldemort called a retreat and gave Harry Potter one hour to turn himself over, Dolohov and Yaxley stood guard in the Forbidden Forest. Harry followed them to the Death Eater camp to confront Voldemort.

When the battle later resumed, Dolohov was defeated by Filius Flitwick, a former duelling champion. He fell with a scream.

Physical description
Dolohov is described as having a "long, pale, twisted face" and as "burly," although not as large as the "huge" Thorfinn Rowle. He has also dark hair.

Personality and traits
Dolohov was loyal to Lord Voldemort and was a merciless Death Eater who was willing to commit murder, torture and other atrocities without hesitation or regret. He showed no remorse about wounding the fifteen year old Hermione Granger; in fact he was grinning about it as he tried to persuade Harry Potter to hand over the prophecy they were fighting over. Dolohov was a very smug man and when he defeated Alastor Moody in a duel he was very pleased with himself. Dolohov also displayed a cocky and highly self confident attitude and had developed a habit of engaging more than one opponent at a time or challenging very powerful wizards such as the Prewett brothers, Moody, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Filius Flitwick and it was not mentioned that he tried to escape when Albus Dumbledore joined the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Dolohov was on friendly terms with his fellow Death Eaters, as he seemed to consider Yaxley a close friend. When Voldemort spoke of how Charity Burbage supports Muggle rights and would permit breeding with them, Dolohov smiled in a confused fasion as if he literally thought that the idea of doing such a thing was insane, showing that he, like other Death Eaters, hates Muggles, Muggle-borns and most likely people who are Half-blood and Blood traitors. He referred to Rubeus Hagrid as a "headcase", suggesting that he hated Half-breeds as well.

Magical abilities and skills
Dolohov was a highly dangerous Death Eater who focused his magic solely on harming others.
 * Master duellist: Antonin Dolohov was an extremely skilled duellist and was one of the most dangerous and skilled Death Eaters. He participated in the murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett, two powerful and skilled wizards, during the First Wizarding War . During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he duelled Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom single-handedly, despite a Silencing Charm forcing him to use all nonverbal magic to do so. He incapacitated Hermione and broke Neville's nose and Harry only managed to defeat him because another Death Eater with the head of a baby distracted him. Shortly afterwards, he defeated and injured Alastor &quot;Mad-Eye&quot; Moody, widely considered to be one of the best Aurors in recent times (but by then retired), in a duel. When he and fellow Death Eater Thorfinn Rowle ambushed Harry, Ron and Hermione in 1997, Dolohov lasted longer than his partner, defeating Harry and Ron in the process and was only defeated by Hermione Granger due to a sneak attack. In the Battle of Hogwarts, Dolohov duelled and killed Remus Lupin, a powerful wizard who was an expert in Defence Against the Dark Arts and capable of wandless magic. Dolohov was eventually defeated by former duelling champion Filius Flitwick.
 * Unforgivable Curses: Dolohov attempted to cast the Killing Curse on Hermione before he was stopped by Harry, it is said that this curse requires lots of power to cast properly. Since he was arrested for torturing Muggles and other enemies it can be assumed that he was skilled with the Cruciatus Curse.
 * Conjuration: Dolohov was able to conjure ropes from his wand.
 * Nonverbal Magic: Dolohov was highly skilled at nonverbal magic as shown during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries when he was hit with a Silencing Charm from Hermione Granger. Despite being unable to speak, he fought Hermione, Harry and Neville all at once, incapacitating Hermione. He was also able to cast the Incarcerous spell Non-Verbaly.
 * Signature spell: Dolohov's signature spell involved using a slashing movement with his wand which would shoot purple fire at his victim. He used this spell several times during the battle of the Department of Mysteries. Dolohov was the only known practitioner of this unidentified spell and may have even invented it himself.

Etymology

 * Dolohov is a surname of Russian origin. It is the name of a minor character in War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. This Dolohov is brave, but cruel and vindictive, though he is caring toward his mother and sisters.
 * Antonin is the French or Czech version of the name “Anthony.” The name is derived from the Latin Antonius, the name of a prominent Roman family whose members included soldier and politician Mark Antony. They claimed to descend from Anton, a son of the Greek god Hercules.

Behind the scenes

 * In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it is mentioned that "Dolohov" was among Tom Marvolo Riddle's followers when he asked Albus Dumbledore for the Defence Against the Dark Arts position sometime between his graduation from Hogwarts in 1945 and 1970. He had to be at least done with wizarding school to join Voldemort. Since this individual's given name is not stated, it is not known whether he is Antonin Dolohov or a relative.
 * Arben Bajraktaraj portrayed Antonin Dolohov in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and will reprise the role in both instalments of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Ron Weasley expresses a desire to kill Dolohov, most likely due to Dolohov's hand in the deaths of his  uncles. Hermione uses the memory charm on him instead, but not before showing great hesitation before doing so.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)

Notes and references
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