Fawkes Fidelius?
caesian
caesian at yahoo.com
Mon May 10 17:32:12 UTC 2004
No: HPFGUIDX 98000
The nature of information that can be kept by the Fidelius charm (#97859) has me
thinking about Fawkes the Pheonix:
But first, so as not to repeat things you already know, I've omitted details available
elsewhere - For background information about Fawkes:
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/bestiary/fawkes.html
For ties between Fawkes and Gryffindor:
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essays/essay-fawkes.html
(PoA The Marauder's Map UK HB 152)*my emphases*
... Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told
them [the Potters] that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."
'How does that work? ... Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.
'An *immensely complex* spell,' he said squeakily, 'involving the magical concealment of
*a secret* inside a single, *living soul*. The information is hidden inside the chosen
person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find - unless, of course, the
Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-
Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never
find them, *not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting-room window!*'
On the list recently, it has been suggested that a recurrent cycle occurs in the WW, of evil
vanquished only to be replaced by another evil - for example, Gindelwald vanquished by
DD only to be replaced by Lord Voldemort. Further, that the knowledge or ability to
vanquish this recurrent evil is also passed down - perhaps even through a Slytherin vs.
Gryffindor saga. In another thread, we've been discussing the "Other" of the prophesy -
that the prophesy may in fact refer to a third party. If taken literally, neither the Dark Lord
or the One with the Power to vanquish him can live while this Other does.
What if Fawkes is secret keeper for the knowledge or ability to destroy this recurrent evil,
perhaps from Gryffindor (or before)?
Fawkes provided the core feather for the wands of Tom Riddle and Harry Potter, and only
those two wands. And recall the emphasis that was placed upon the following : "the wand
chooses the wizard". If Fawkes chose Harry and Tom, perhaps this is because of some
ability to understand the recurrent roles of the Dark Lord and the One. Also, Mr.
Ollivander wrote to DD immediately after Harry purchased "the second wand". As if
confirming Harry as the One of the prophecy.
(In terms of the "Other", Fawkes might arguably not be living *now* in the incarnation that
is specified in the prophecy.)
Fawkes is the only character in the book to acheive actual resurrection - and the Pheonix,
like the Unicorn, is a symbol of Christ - striking fear into the heart of the unpure, but
courage and peace into the heart of the just. If the cyclical nature of this saga is really
true, I wonder if the vanquishment of LV is a paltry goal for the series as compared to
breaking this cycle of evil. I don't propose that evil can be irradicated from the WW - but
wouldn't Dumbledore have considered how to finally retire with his woolly socks and hot
chocolate after facing Grindelwald, Voldemort, and who knows who is waiting in the
wings? Perhaps this is why merely killing Tom would not satisfy him, and the gleam refers
not to vanquishing Tom Riddle, or even Lord Voldemort, but the Dark Lord - a recurrent
evil.
Caesian
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