Chapter One – Dolohov's Downfall

Harry was dashing forwards in pursuit of the Death Eater. With Kingsley Shacklebolt right on his heels, urging him forward, he turned a corner into a deep, dark forest. It was here that he hesitated for a moment. He knew all too well that the few remaining Death Eaters used this forest as a sneaky hideout, away from the prying eyes of the ministry, and in particular, the Auror Office.

Shacklebolt reached him quickly, and without a moment's hesitation, overtook him and plunged into the depths of the disorientating forest. With an obvious note of incredulity in his voice, he called back at him, 'What are you doing, son? Get a move on! We can't afford to lose Dolohov again!'

Suddenly, a thought sprang to Harry's mind. This was the man who had murdered Lupin; Remus, the last living remnants of his father's life, besides him of course. Remus Lupin, who had taught him in his third year, who had cleared Sirius's name, and who was the last existing Marauder.

Bearing this thought in mind, Harry charged into the mysterious, endless tangle of trees and bushes that was the cowardly hideaway of Voldemort's last pitiful followers. 'Lumos,' Harry whispered to his wand. Immediately, it lit up, illuminating the dirty path before him. He began to sprint through the trees, making many turns here and there, penetrating the secrecy of the forest.

Running at a fast pace through the intertwining branches, taking very sharp intakes of breath, Harry reached a dead end. He quickly twisted around and ran back the way he came, again taking many turns. This time, instead of making a sharp left turn, he took an eventual right turn, which led him into an eerie clearing.

He heard an abrupt cracking noise. Hastily spinning around, heart racing, he saw that it was merely Kingsley, but then he saw his worried expression. It was then that Harry realised something disturbing: Shacklebolt's wand had broken. This meant that Harry was the only armed Auror.

'How did you manage that?' Harry said, attempting to stay level-headed, but without much success.

'I dropped it,' he said. 'And I stumbled onto it when I saw that.'

Harry saw that he was pointing at a particularly dirty patch of earth. He followed his arm, and pointed his wand tentatively at the bit of ground.

'Oh!' he exclaimed.

He was looking at something he most definitely did not expect to be seeing. It was, to his amazement, Mad-Eye Moody's eye. This worried Harry very much, as he had buried it sometime before he had defeated Voldemort.

He voiced his uncertainties. 'Kingsley,' Harry said with an aura of worry about him, 'I have no idea how that got there.'

'It must have been one of the filthy Death Eaters,' replied the deep, calming voice that Harry knew so well.

'But how did they find it, and why would they take it?'

'We'll have to ask Dolohov when we find him.'

'Okay.'

'Now we'll have to split up. I have no wand. I should go back.'

'Alright.'

After replying, Harry took a step forward, about to continue on his journey. Kingsley also took a step forward, and then twisted around and began to head back the way they came, out of the large, gloomy clearing. Since he had no wand, he really wasn't much help to Harry. He heard a resounding 'pop', and realised that Kingsley had disapparated, probably with the intent of returning to the office to notify them of their situation.

Now alone, he hurried onward, out of the clearing and back onto the filthy, deserted path. He wondered how the eye had gotten there, and why it had been taken. Many theories formed themselves in his mind's eye, yet he pushed them all aside, as he had to remain alert.

Suddenly, he became fully aware of his situation. He realised that he was alone, with a single wand, in a forest containing several ex-Death Eaters. Also pushing these thoughts aside, Harry persisted into the knots of leaves and vines for what seemed like an hour.

Finally, after being scratched and bruised countless times by low hanging branches, he heard hushed voices. Determined to eavesdrop and discover what they were secretively talking about, Harry moved silently towards them, like a predator towards its victim. He stood purposefully behind a large tree, hardly daring to breathe.

'–and did you hear about Lucius?' a thuggish voice whispered.

'How he was sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss?' a soft, greasy, emotionless voice replied. 'I don't care for him. He deserves what he was sentenced to. So does his wife and the boy, Draco. They were unfaithful to the Dark Lord, and they're merely receiving the punishments that he himself would have dealt to them if he hadn't been destroyed.'

'But they were on our side.'

'No, they weren't. They may have been standing by our sides physically, but they really only wanted to be hiding away like the cowards they were.'

'Well did you hear of Draco's fate? Or Narcissa's?'

'Yes. And I said before, they received their just desserts. Now move along. You might think we're alone, but I feel as if someone's watching.'

'I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happened to the Malfoys. I deserve to know what's happened, I'm a Death Eater.'

'Step aside. I'm moving whether you like it or not.'

'Why?' said the voice, now with a tinge of anger.

'I've told you. I think we're being watched. Homenum Revelio.'

As the words left the Death Eater's lips, Harry jumped back from the tree and moved swiftly backwards. He held his wand in front of his torso in a defensive position, ready to fight if he had to.

'Well, well, well. I was correct, wasn't I?' said the soft, slippery voice. He had emerged from behind the other side of the tree, a nasty smile on his face. 'I told you we were being watched, Dolohov.'

At the sound of this name, a surge of fury coursed through Harry's body. This was the man who had taken Lupin's life. He hated him. He had wrecked Teddy's childhood, even his entire life. And he had destroyed the life of the man who had known his own father. As Dolohov walked slowly out from behind the tree, Harry realised that he wanted revenge – more revenge than he had wanted on Sirius Black when he had thought that he had betrayed his father.

'Expelliarmus!' Harry yelled into the night. The slippery-voiced man's wand shot out of his hand and into the sky and arched towards Harry, and he was able to catch it.

Immediately, Dolohov launched himself forward, the recent quarrel with his peer suddenly forgotten. 'I have him, Selwyn!' he snarled maliciously.

'No you don't!' Harry shouted. 'Expelliarmus!' he screamed again.

Dolohov blocked the spell, and Selwyn dove into the cover of a particularly large bush, as he no longer had any other form of protection.

With the intent to make a counterattack, Dolohov aggressively shouted something odd-sounding, and a streak of purple flames issued from the tip of his wand.

Harry jumped aside in fright, and fell to the ground, rolling into a spiky bush. He knew these flames very well. In the battle he had fought in while in the Department of Mysteries in his fifth year, Dolohov had struck Hermione down using them.

Standing up indignantly, Harry thrust his arm before him, 'Expelliarmus!'

Again, Dolohov blocked the spell with ease. It was ministry protocol to attempt to disarm an opponent before beginning to attack. After failing twice, Harry decided that now was that time.

'Incarcerous!' he cried.

To Harry's utter frustration, Dolohov deflected the spell. Resorting to more primitive, cruel spells, Harry began to attack endlessly. At this, his opponent became enraged and began to attack more aggressively.

Very soon, bursts of wand fire were shooting back and forth, constantly being blocked by each wizard.

'Locomotor Mortis!' Harry yelled, this time mustering as much force as he could. To Harry's absolute relief and delight, the spell hit his opponent's legs. Right away, they snapped together, and Dolohov fell flat on his back with a loud thud.

Harry cautiously moved towards him, wary of the fact that he was still armed, and could easily attack him. But it looked as if he had hit his head on a branch on his way towards the ground, and was unconscious.

After quickly pulling Dolohov's wand from between his fingers, Harry spun around so that he was facing the spot where Selwyn was cowering. Aiming unknowingly into the bush, Harry shouted, 'Stupefy!'

He heard a wild rustle of leaves, and then nothing. Moving closer to the bush, he investigated Selwyn's hiding place. His eyes were open, and his body unmoving. Harry took hold of his wrist and heaved him towards Dolohov. Clutching both of them, he disapparated with a loud 'pop'.