Skip to main content

harry potter - How did Fawkes get into the Chamber of Secrets?


In Chamber of Secrets, Harry manages to summon Fawkes [due the loyalty to Dumbledore he expresses, not consciously summoning him!] into the chamber of secrets. How exactly did Fawkes get in there?



The way into the chamber had been blocked by the ceiling collapsing when Lockhart's memory charm backfired; when Harry & Ginny & Fawkes return to the blockage, Ron had cleared a sizeable hole in it, but expresses surprise at seeing Fawkes: "Where'd that bird come from?!", implying Fawkes hadn't got into the chamber through the hole Ron had made - he surely would have seen him.


I therefore assume that either Fawkes managed to somehow apparate into the chamber (it's never mentioned that Phoenixes can do this), or found another way in. But if Prof. McGonagall's statement earlier in the book is true, that the school had been thoroughly searched for the chamber (presumably by very powerful wizards, as the time it was opened 50 years before caused the death of a student - you'd have thought they'd have carried out very extensive searches!), and nothing found, we'd have to assume that no other entrance to the chamber existed. (Though if that were true, where did the Basilisk get the food it ate, which we know it ate due to the large number of bones Harry & co walked over when they first got into the chamber?)



Answer



Actually, we do see that phoenixes can not only Apparate, but that they, like house-elves, are able to Apparate inside Hogwarts. From chapter 22 of OotP:



"We will need," said Dumbledore very quietly to the bird, "a warning."


There was a flash of fire and the phoenix had gone.


...


There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor.


"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore...




Not only that, there's a bit where Fawkes brings Dumbledore with him via Side-Along Apparition. From OotP chapter 27:



Fawkes circled the office and swooped low over him. Dumbledore released Harry, raised his hand, and grasped the phoenix's long golden tail. There was a flash of fire and the pair of them had gone.



Fawkes never takes anyone other than Dumbledore along with him when he Apparates. I assume that's because of the strong bond between the two of them, the same bond that lets Harry summon Fawkes in the first place. Or perhaps phoenixes, despite their ability to lift heavy loads, can't Apparate with more than one other being in tow.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...