17

Fawkes dies and then is "re-born" in the Harry potter universe. Is there anything in canon that shows how long it takes for Fawkes (or any other phoenix) to grow to full maturity after being re-born?

I am just wondering how long Dumbledore would have to wait each time Fawkes died before Fawkes had all his power back.

I did look at the timelines and it appears that it must be fairly quick as Fawkes saves/helps either Harry or Dumbledore not too long after being "re-born."

Improve this question
1
  • 2
    I was edited for grammar. And although most of the minor corrections were correct(written at almost 5 in the morning) "fairly quickly" is grammatically correct and should not have been edited. Although "fairly quick" could be used it is a "less educated"(for lack of a better term) usage. Even in terms of the vernacular...we should write as we speak and I don't know anybody who would say "fairly quick." english.stackexchange.com/questions/95011/…
    – JMFB
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 19:24

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
22

We know that in book 2 Chamber of Secrets, during the school year Harry visits Dumbledore's office and witnesses Fawkes's burning day, later in the same school year Fawkes is already full grown and saves Harry from the Basilisk's venom in the Chamber.

So while we don't know exactly whether its a mater of days or weeks we know for certainty that at maximum it takes just a few months.

Fawkes again takes a Killing Curse from Voldemort in the end of Book 5 and by the start of the semester in Book 6 he is again full grown, which is approximately 3 months. harry potter wiki states Sirius death is June 18, and then school starts on September 1st which is about 74 days aka 2.5 months.

TLDR; Fawkes takes a maximum of 3 months to become full sized.

Improve this answer
2
  • +1'd you a long time ago. Question about TLDR, I know it means too long didn't read, but why did you use it in your answer there?
    – JMFB
    Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 16:20
  • @JMFB i updated my answer slightly, figured id add that in so someone who googles about fawkes can simply see, oh, maximum of 3 months, if they don't feel like reading the rest of my answer. I think we should have more TLDR in our answers, especially some of our longer ones, when you dont want 2 pages to read for a simple answer lol.
    – Himarm
    Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 16:30
2

To my knowledge, it has never been specifically mentioned. However, careful inspection of the books suggests a very quick maturity period. Keep in mind that Fawkes is a bird, albeit magical.

Birds are altricial or precocial, or even a bit of both. Based on the following passages, I would think that Fawkes is the altricial type bird:

Fawkes swooped down in front of Dumbledore, opened his beak wide, and swallowed the jet of green light whole. He burst into flame and fell to the floor, small, wrinkled, and flightless.

And:

He did not look at Harry at first, but walked over to the perch beside the door and withdrew, from an inside pocket of his robes, the tiny, ugly, featherless Fawkes, whom he placed gently on the tray of soft ashes beneath the golden post where the full-grown Fawkes usually stood.

That Fawkes is magical, indeed very powerfully magical, would only shorten the time from re-birth to maturity.

Improve this answer
0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.