Chapter 33: Kidnap and Revenge

It was Monday afternoon and Jim and Mary's car drove into their driveway. Jim got out and unlocked the front door of his house while Mary lifted two bags of groceries from the boot. Jim took one of them from her and they both made their way into the house, Jim electronically locking his car as they went.

Dolohov watched them from his van further up the street. They will be some time in the kitchen unpacking their groceries he thought as he emerged from his van and walked towards their drive way. As he passed it, he took out his wand, waved it and there was a hissing noise as the tyre deflated. It would not re-inflate as he had punctured it, and so they would be delayed in going to get their granddaughter. That should give him the time he needed to snatch her he thought.

Everything was going just as he had planned it.

It was Monday morning and Kingsley Shacklebolt was sitting in his office and thinking about the events of the weekend. Luna and Dudley had married and were now off on their honeymoon. Their daughter was staying with her Muggle grandparents and something about this was niggling him. Then he realised what it was. Luna had been responsible for exposing Dolohov, the dark wizard who had been raping Muggle children. The man she had married was the detective who was responsible for trying to catch him in the Muggle community and had passed the information on to Luna. Now if I was a dark wizard who had been caused so much grief by two people like them, I think I might just be tempted to seek revenge. The present situation Kingsley thought and the present scenario would be just right for him to exploit. Now would be the time to fulfil his own sick desires at the same time get back at those who sought to bring him down. Luna loved her new stepdaughter as if she was her own and no doubt her father did too. If anything were to happen to her they would both be devastated. Yes, I think if I were Dolohov, I would see a great opportunity here. With that he took out his wand and his Lynx Patronus shot from the end of it.

Mafalda Hopkirk the head of the misuse of magic office was sitting at her desk when the Lynx Patronus shot into her office and summoned her to see the Minister for Magic at once. She realised if she was being summoned by his Patronus it must be something very urgent. So she stood up and headed for his office at once. When she entered his office he beckoned her to be seated and then said,

"Marcus Dolohov worked in the office for misuse of magic do you think he was the type to seek revenge if someone badly upset him?"

Mafalda thought for a moment and then replied,

"I did not know him all that well minister, but I had a couple of occasions to rebuke him and he did not take it very well. As you know he is a pure blood and he thinks those of us who are not are lesser beings. As far as he is concerned we should be in no position to criticise those who are like him. I suspect if the dark lord had not been overthrown he would have been in the ranks of the death eaters. So I suppose the answer to your question would be yes, he is the type who would seek revenge. But why do you ask?"

"Luna Lovegood, sorry, I should now say Luna Dursley has really upset him by exposing him as a rapist and murderer and has caused him to be on the run. Over the weekend she married Dudley Dursley the detective in charge of the hunt for him in the Muggle community. Dudley has a daughter of nine who is already a very gifted witch and an extremely bright child. She is going to be one to watch in the future when she goes to Hogwarts. She may even outshine the achievements of Hermione Grainger, who like her came from an all Muggle family. She is the apple of her father's eye and already Luna loves her as if she were her own. They are currently on honeymoon and the child is staying with her Muggle grandparents and she went home with them after the wedding.

It has just occurred to me that if I were a dark wizard and a child rapist and had a real grudge against a child's parent, I would see this as a golden opportunity to strike back. If he snatched the child it would devastate both her father and her stepmother in one fell swoop and fulfil his own sick desires. Since he knows all this it seems to me that right now the timing for such a strike would be perfect for him."

"You are probably right, minister, I would never have thought of that, but what can we do about it.?"

"When I send someone on a mission for me then I am paid to think about the possible dangers they may be facing," Kingsley said. "I am sorry to say I am a bit late in seeing this coming, but there is still time to take what precautions we can and that is where your department comes in."

"How can we help?" Mafalda asked.

"Well you know she is an underage witch and you can spot when she does magic, especially if she is away from her parents and we know where it is likely to happen Kingsley said. Now Dolohov's modus operandi has been to snatch children from their school by using the Imperius curse on them and their parents and taking the child away in a white van. Now we know the location of the school and we can keep watch on that location."

"Yes, but an underage witch would only perform magic accidently if it burst out when she lost control, and there is no guarantee this would happen when the dark wizard tried to snatch her," said Mafalda

"Ah!" Said Kingsley, "that is where you are wrong. I have told you that this nine year old is a very gifted young witch. With the help of Professor McGonagall she has become probably the youngest ever witch or wizard to become a registered animagus who can transform herself into a dog. Now she knows what Dolohov looks like and if she sees him coming there is a good chance she may try to escape by using this talent and that is a powerful bit of magic which will register on our scales especially if we are keeping watch in the area where it is most likely to happen."

"That is true Minister," said Hopkirk, "but again we can't guarantee that we will get the chance to do so."

"We may have another ace in the hole." Kingsley told her. "Because of her status as an animagus we gave her special dispensation to carry a wand. Now as you rightly pointed out when she is at home with her new mother, we cannot differentiate who is performing magic in that household. We depend on wizard parents to control their offspring in this regard. Luna has a very gifted child and is very proud of her. I have no doubt she is preparing her for her eventual acceptance into Hogwarts, and she will have a very laissez faire attitude to that rule. It is my guess that she is coaching that child in all sorts of things including spells. It is also my guess that she has taken precautions and under strict instructions allowing the child to take her wand to school with her.

"I hope so anyway. So you see if she spots Dolohov there is a good chance she may try to defend herself. So I want a special watch kept on the area around her school and exceptional vigilance at the times when the school comes out. I want you to organise that and stress its utmost importance. You will inform me immediately if anything like that happens."

"I will do what you ask minister and I hope we are able to capture the beast," she said.

The school was out, and Petunia was waiting for her grandparents, they were late and everybody else had gone. She began to worry and was looking anxiously down the road but there was no sign of their car. She turned to look the other way just as a man emerged from a white van and started walking up the street towards her. Tunie noticed that he was tall, well built and hand blonde hair and she suddenly recognised him as the man in the picture that Luna and her daddy had drawn up. She did not wait, she turned and ran as two cars were coming towards her and she ran out into the road in front of them. The car in front braked and she got past it and as it moved on she knew that they would protect her from the man's wand until he had a clear shot. When the cars passed her she looked back and saw him lift his wand as he ran after her. She remembered the spell Luna had taught her and she reached behind her to where her wand was tucked into her skirt, she angled it away from her body and muttered Protego. The shield charm was just in time and Dolohov's spell ricocheted of it and spun harmlessly on. She ducked into the gate of the house where the big black dog lived and he came trotting round, recognised her fear and his hackles rose. She told him what was happening and the huge Newfoundland hound bounded off down the street. As the big dog bounded away, Tunie took the chance to transform and then the sleek Afghan bounded after the big dog. She knew it would be in danger if the man recognised it as a threat.

Dolohov saw the girl dart into the gateway of the house and thought, now I have her. He was so intent on the chase that he ignored the big dog racing towards him and suddenly a hundred and fifty pounds of dog flesh sprang onto his chest knocking him on his back and his wand flew out of his hand, his head hit the pavement and he was stunned. The dog's momentum carried it past him and as it was about to turn back and savage him the Afghan hound caught up and gave several loud barks. The Newfoundland turned tail and began to run away from the man. The Afghan made a slight diversion, picked up the wand in its mouth and sped after the black dog. Dolohov got to his feet slightly dazed and looked around for his wand. A man and a woman approached him and the woman said,

"We saw what happened and if you want to do anything about that dog we will be your witnesses. Dogs like that should not be allowed out on their own."

Intent on finding his wand Dolohov pushed her hard to one side and she overbalanced and would have fallen if her husband had not caught her.