Antonin Dolohov

Antonin Dolohov was one of the original Death Eaters of Lord Voldemort who fought in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He is described as having a "long, pale, twisted face" and as "burly", although not as large as the "huge" Thorfinn Rowle. Having defeated many talented wizards such as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody and Remus Lupin, Antonin Dolohov appears to be one of the most dangerous and skilled Death Eaters.

First Wizarding War
According to Igor Karkaroff, Dolohov tortured many Muggles and non-supporters of Voldemort during the First Wizarding War. He murdered Gideon and Fabian Prewett, the brothers of Molly Weasley née Prewett. He was only one 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. He was the first Death Eater Igor Karkaroff turned in 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.

Escape from Azkaban and 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

In 1996, Dolohov, along with the Lestranges and several other Death Eater convicts, escaped Azkaban and rejoined Voldemort.

During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Dolohov was paired with Jugson. They tracked Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom, 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 nonverbally, 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.

Dolohov recovered by the time several Order of the Phoenix members arrived, and 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 attempted to use it again when dueling 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.

Height of the Second Wizarding War
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. Dolohov may have participated in the Battle over Little Whinging, but was not identified by name by any member of the Order of the Phoenix.

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. Dolohov bound Ron with conjured ropes and slammed an invisible Harry into a wall with Expulso, but just before Harry dropped his wand, Hermione placed Dolohov in a Full Body-Bind Curse. Dolohov and Rowle's memories were then modified by Hermione. 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 Number 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”.

Battle of Hogwarts
During the Battle of Hogwarts in May of 1998, Dolohov was seen fighting against Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil; the latter 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 dueling champion. He fell with a scream, making it unlikely that he was hit with the Killing Curse; however, it is possible he was killed in this encounter. Otherwise, Dolohov was presumably imprisoned in Azkaban once again.

Etymology

 * Dolohov is a surname of Eastern European 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. Since this individual's given name is not stated, it is not known whether he is Antonin Dolohov or a relative.
 * In the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Antonin Dolohov is portrayed by Richard Cubison. In the film, the Battle of the Department of Mysteries is considerably different from the novels; Dolohov is not shown to have cursed Hermione Granger, as occurred in the book, and he holds Ron Weasley hostage at one point, which did not occur in the book. He also attack Sirius Black and Harry Potter

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 Deathly Hallows