John Dawlish

"Don't be silly, Dawlish. I'm sure you are an excellent Auror — I seem to remember that you achieved 'Outstanding' in all your NEWTs — but if you attempt to — er — bring me in by force, I will have to hurt you."

- Albus Dumbledore after Minister Cornelius Fudge ordered him to seize Dumbledore.

John Dawlish was a wizard who worked for the Auror Office in the 1990s. Highly regarded as an "excellent Auror", he was at one point the personal bodyguard to Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, having also worked under Ministers Rufus Scrimgeour and Pius Thicknesse. During the course of the Second Wizarding War, however, Dawlish's powers were diminished somewhat as he was incapacitated and attacked quite frequently.

Early life
"[…] I seem to remember that you achieved 'Outstanding' in all your NEWTs […]"

- Albus Dumbledore to Dawlish.

John was born somewhere in the British Isles, into the wizarding Dawlish family. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he would finish his education earning at least five N.E.W.T.s, all of them with 'Outstanding' marks.

Sometime after his seventeenth birthday, Dawlish joined the Ministry of Magic, and completed a stringent series of character and aptitude tests in the three years that followed to join the Auror Office.

Under Minister Cornelius Fudge
"Enough of this rubbish! Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Take him!"

- Cornelius Fudge orders Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish to seize Albus Dumbledore in 1996.

On 20 April, 1996, after Marietta Edgecombe denounced the illegal Dumbledore's Army to Dolores Umbridge, Minister Cornelius Fudge travelled to Hogwarts Castle in an attempt to expel Harry Potter, who was leading the outlawed student group. Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish escorted the Minister there, and were positioned on either side of the door to the Headmaster's office.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore took the blame instead, with a false confession. After Fudge accused him of treason and sedition against himself and the Ministry of Magic, Fudge made a small choking noise, and then looked round at Kingsley and Dawlish. Dawlish nodded reassuringly and moved forwards, his hand drifting towards the wand in his pocket. Dumbledore said he had to hurt him if Dawlish attacked him, and the Auror blinked rather foolishly, without a clue as to what to do next. Fudge ordered the Aurors to seize Dumbledore, but the Headmaster easily defeated the Ministry officials, leaving Fudge, Umbridge, Kingsley and Dawlish unconscious on the floor as he escaped. Dawlish was the first to come to, stirring on the floor. When the wizards noted Dumbledore's absence, Dawlish fruitlessly tried to intercept him wrenching the door to the office open and disappearing down the stairs, followed closely by Kingsley and Umbridge.

In the early minutes of 17 June, just after midnight, Dawlish was among the number of Ministry officials who, led by Umbridge, attacked Rubeus Hagrid in order to arrest him and sack him from his positions of Gamekeeper and Professor. While trying to Stun him, Dawlish pleaded Hagrid to "be reasonable". It is unclear whether Dawlish was one of the Aurors physically knocked-out by Hagrid, or the one who, like Umbridge, was left unharmed, but tripped over one of his unconscious colleagues and fell over.

After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Dawlish was one of the Aurors who arrived with Cornelius Fudge into the Ministry Atrium. Fudge sent Dawlish and Williamson down to the Department of Mysteries to see if there were, as Albus Dumbledore told him, escaped Death Eaters in the Death Chamber, bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx.

Under Minister Rufus Scrimgeour
When Rufus Scrimgeour succeeded Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic, due to his failure to announce the return of Lord Voldemort, a bunch of Aurors were stationed at Hogsmeade to provide Hogwarts Castle extra protection. Dawlish was among these Aurors, as were Nymphadora Tonks, Proudfoot and Savage.

Intrigued by Albus Dumbledore's activities outside his school, Minister Scrimgeour assigned Dawlish to follow Dumbledore, but the Headmaster was forced to jinx him once more.

In the summer of 1997, Dawlish was put into the Confundus Charm by someone in the Order of the Phoenix, in order to provide the Death Eaters with a false trail as to when Harry Potter would depart from 4 Privet Drive. Sure enough, Yaxley extracted information from him, and he told him that he would be moved on 30 July, escorted by an entire party of Aurors. Severus Snape, however, knew this was a false trail and told Voldemort the Order of the Phoenix would move Harry on 27 July.

Under Minister Pius Thicknesse
On 1 August, 1997 the Ministry of Magic was taken over by Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters as Minister Rufus Scrimgeour was killed and replaced by Pius Thicknesse, who was under the Imperius Curse.

Dawlish continued to serve as Auror under the new regime, helping in the imprisonment of Muggle-borns and assisting the Death Eater-controlled Ministry. He was charged with transporting Muggle-born wizards tried by the Muggle-Born Registration Commission to Azkaban.

Still under the effects of the Confundus Charm, Dawlish was Stunned by Dirk Cresswell halfway on their flight to Azkaban. Cresswell was not sure if he was left alright, but took Dawlish's broomstick and went on the run.

When Neville Longbottom stepped over the line in rebelling against Alecto and Amycus Carrow at Hogwarts, Dawlish was sent to take Augusta Longbottom as a hostage to get Neville to cooperate with the new regime. However, the Ministry had heavily underestimated Augusta, and she caused him sufficient injury to merit admittance into St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Later life
What happened to Dawlish after that is unknown; it is possible that Kingsley Shacklebolt, as the new Minister for Magic, had him arrested for complying with the Death Eaters' rule and for crimes against Muggle-borns, a crime that Umbridge was found guilty and was arrested for.

Physical apperance
Dawlish was described as looking very capable and self-assured, a "tough-looking wizard" with "very short, wiry" grey hair. Despite his somewhat formidable appearance, any appearance or mention of him usually involves him being hexed, usually due to a combination of far superior opponents and sheer bad luck.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Duellist: Albus Dumbledore complimented Dawlish on his abilities as an Auror, saying that the man got "Outstanding" in all of his N.E.W.T exams, and so it was probable that Dawlish possessed skill when it came to duelling and spellwork. However, it was seen that he was able to be effortlessly defeated by wizards more powerful than himself, as demonstrated during the Ministry's attempt to arrest Dumbledore. Despite having Cornelius Fudge, Percy Weasley, Dolores Umbridge, and Kingsley Shacklebolt to back him up (though Shacklebolt was actually an ally of Dumbledore's and it is unknown if he would have been much help), Dawlish was still defeated by Dumbledore's magic. He was also (apparently) knocked out by Rubeus Hagrid and, later, Augusta Longbottom, which caused enough damage to have him sent to St. Mungo's Hospital. He was also defeated by Dirk Cresswell, who attributes his escape to another wizard or witch Confunding Dawlish beforehand.

Behind the scenes

 * Dawlish is portrayed in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by British actor Richard Leaf.
 * Dawlish's frequent injuries and incapacitations are somewhat of a running joke in the last three instalments of the series. His role is largely ommited in the Harry Potter films, and his appearances are diminished to two background appearances with no lines in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and a brief mention in the first part of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * He was named after John Noe, co-host of PotterCast after a friend of John's asked J. K. Rowling what Dawlish's first name was, and displayed an obsession with the character throughout the podcast.
 * He was occasionally the subject of a joke saying that he would have some real significance in the last book. An example of this joke can be seen at the poll on The Leaky Cauldron.

Etymology
The name "John" is the English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "Yahweh is gracious".

Dawlish is the name of a seaside town in Devon. It's name comes from a nearby stream, once called "Deawlisc", meaning "devil water".

Appearances

 * 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
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Notes and references
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