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In the fictional Harry Potter series of novels and films, Fawkes is Albus Dumbledore's pet phoenix. It is likely that Fawkes is named after Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes. Fawkes seems to be the counterpart of Lord Voldemort's snake Nagini. Fawkes is coloured red and gold, the traditional colours of Gryffindor House. This may or may not be a coincidence, and has spawned a number of rumours; Rowling has refuted speculation that Fawkes was Godric Gryffindor's phoenix in an interview, professing that Fawkes was never owned by anyone except Dumbledore. Fawkes is an intensely magical creature, possessing a number of magical abilities, the precise extent of which are unknown. Phoenix tail feathers are suitable for inclusion in some wands; Fawkes himself provided the feathers for both Lord Voldemort's and Harry Potter's wands. Tame phoenixes are very rare and he serves as proof of Albus Dumbledore's abilities and character. Fawkes is a herbivore. Whenever Fawkes dies, whether it be by violence or old age, he bursts into flame and is promptly reborn out of the ashes as a baby phoenix. As an adult he's about swan-sized and quite beautiful, but his infant stage Fawkes has the appearance of a newborn chicken and in his geriatric stages he has dull, limp plumage.
Roles Fawkes plays a special role in Chamber of Secrets: he helps Harry get rid of Salazar Slytherin's basilisk, the monstrous serpent that lives in Hogwarts and is controlled by Tom Riddle's diary through Ginny Weasley. Fawkes gouges the Basilisk's eyes out, blinding it and rendering its power of being able to kill with its gaze useless. Harry is later bitten by the basilisk and nearly dies from the venom, but Fawkes heals the wound with his tears. He then transports Harry, Ginny, Ron and Gilderoy Lockhart back to the castle. In Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore sends a silvery shape "like a ghostly bird" to summon Hagrid when Viktor Krum is found Stunned. This is his Patronus, a phoenix as confirmed by J.K. Rowling. In Order of the Phoenix, Fawkes is a special part of the Order, a phoenix himself. After Harry saw Arthur Weasley being bitten by Voldemort's snake, Nagini, Dumbledore asks Fawkes to warn him if Umbridge leaves her office. Fawkes does this by making one of his feathers appear with a bang in the office. Later in the book, Dumbledore escapes Ministry officials in Hogwarts by using Fawkes to teleport away, even though normal Apparition is impossible within Hogwarts (house elves also share this ability to apparate despite magical restriction). During the confrontation between Voldemort and Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic towards the fifth book's end, Fawkes saves Dumbledore's life by "swallowing" an Avada Kedavra curse from Voldemort. Fawkes then bursts into flame and is reborn as a chick from the ashes. After Albus Dumbledore's death in Half-Blood Prince, Fawkes is heard singing a lament for him. When the singing stops, Harry somehow knows that Fawkes has left Hogwarts forever. It is not known where Fawkes has gone, or if he may perhaps appear in the final book. Fawkes at the End of Book 6 Among many fans, it is disputed about the truth to Dumbledore's death. In favour of the fact that he is not dead, many fans look at Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (as mentioned above), when it states in Chapter 36: "Fawkes swooped down in front of Dumbledore, opened his beak wide and swallowed the jet of green light (The Avada Kedavra) whole" Many fans note the absence of Fawkes in Book 6, for not showing up to take the bullet for Dumbledore again. This would show that Dumbledore had either planned to die that night, or was planning something that would be ruined if Fawkes stepped in. | ||||||||
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