Fawkes
In the fictional Harry Potter series of novels and films, Fawkes' is Albus Dumbledore's phoenix pet. Fawkes appellation is a namesake to Gunpowder Plot conspirator Guy Fawkes. He seems to be the equivalent of Lord Voldemort's snake Nagini.
Template:Spoiler Whenever Fawkes dies (either by violence or by old age) he bursts into flame and is reborn out of the ashes as a baby phoenix. As an adult he's quite beautiful, but his infant and geriatric stages aren't much to look at.
Phoenixes are very rare beings, and tame ones even more so. As a pet phoenix Fawkes tells of Dumbledore's remarkable prowess. He is intensely magical and has a number of abilities, the precise extents of which are unknown but his intelligence appears to far outstrip that of ordinary birds. What (if anything) phoenixes eat are unknown, and their tail feathers are suitable for wands. Fawkes himself gave the feathers in in Harry's and Lord Voldemort's wands.
Fawkes is coloured red and gold, the traditional colours of Gryffindor House. Some fans believe that this could not be a coincidence as the author, J. K. Rowling, doesn't usually use similarities without specific meaning. Rowling has refuted rumors that he's Godric Gryffindor's phoenix in an interview by saying that Fawkes was never owned by anyone except Dumbledore.
Fawkes' roles
The phoenix plays a special role in second book: he helps Harry get rid of the basilisk, the monstrous snake 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. Then, he transports Harry, Ginny, Ron Weasley (her brother) and Gilderoy Lockhart, their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, back to the castle.
In the fourth book Dumbledore sends a silvery shape 'like a ghostly bird' to summon Hagrid when Krum is found stunned. This is his Patronus, a Phoenix as confirmed by J.K. Rowling.
In the fifth book Fawkes is a special part of the Order, a phoenix himself. At Dumbledore's office, in the night Harry sees Mr. Weasley being bitten by a snake (Voldemort's snake, Nagini), Dumbledore asks Fawkes to warn him if Umbridge goes to the 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.
During the confrontation between Voldemort and Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic towards the book's end, Fawkes presumably 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 Harry Potter and the 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.