Antonin Dolohov is Petrified AGAIN
Has anyone ever realized that every single time Antonin Dolohov makes an appearance in the books, he is hit with the full body-bind Petrificus Totalus curse? And that often, he is hit multiple times in each instance? And that no other spell is ever used against him (at least that we are able to see)?
1--Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries
After realizing that Sirius is not in the Department of Mysteries and finding a prophecy with his name on it, a group of Death Eaters appear out of nowhere to take it from him. During the chase, Harry, Hermione, and Neville are separated from Ron, Luna, and Ginny and chased by Dolohov and Jugson into the Time Chamber. After breaking Neville’s wand (and nose) and using an unknown spell to silently knock Hermione unconscious, Harry uses the full body-bind curse on him. Later, when the Order of the Phoenix comes to the students’ rescue, Harry uses Petrificus Totalus on Dolohov again. So basically, he is revived from the curse only to have it used on him again.
2--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows during the skirmish at a café on Tottenham Court Road
When the Golden Trio escapes from Bill and Fleur’s wedding to a café on Tottenham Court Road, a mysterious pair of workmen who aren’t really workmen sit at a nearby booth. At the last minute, Harry recognizes them as two Death Eaters, Dolohov and Rowle, and Hermione is able to cast Petrificus Totalus on Dolohov while Harry stuns Rowle, and she then wipes their memories.
3--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows during the Battle of Hogwarts
On their way down to the Whomping Willow in order to find Voldemort and kill Nagini, the Golden Trio runs into a group of fighters on whom Peeves is throwing Snargaluff Pods. The three are covered with the Invisibility Cloak and therefore go unnoticed, that is until a Pod hits Ron and a few of the Death Eater fighters, including Dolohov, realizes that someone there is invisible. Parvati Patil takes advantage of Dolohov’s distraction and uses the moment to cast the full body-bind curse on him.
I just think that this little detail is really hilarious. It really doesn’t matter what a a person has to do to overcome a Death Eater, but the fact that one character is only ever and repeatedly hit by one particular spell is kind of funny and pretty clever on Jo Rowling’s part. It causes that moment of “Damn it, not again!” that we can all understand and relate to, and I almost feel a little bit badly for Dolohov.
Almost, but also not at all, because he’s a Death Eater and so deserves it.
