"The phoenix is a magnificent bird, its whole body glowing in brilliant scarlet. It is the most sacred, and perhaps the most beautiful, Magical Creature I have ever seen.
An adult phoenix is about the size of a swan, with a long, glittering golden tail, a sharp beak, and long talons. Its feathers shone with a golden brilliance.
The phoenix has an extraordinarily long lifespan, for it can be reborn with ease. When its body begins to fail, it dives into flames; within minutes, a young phoenix rises from the ashes.
It is also highly selective in its diet, eating only rare and precious herbs.
The song of a phoenix carries magic. It is widely believed to inspire great courage and strength. Its tears, meanwhile, hold immense healing power, capable of curing even the deadliest poisons.
To earn a phoenix's recognition is already incredibly difficult—taming one is harder still! Yet phoenixes honor contracts and promises with absolute loyalty. Once it recognizes you, it will never break its word.
If a phoenix lightly pecks your shoulder with its beak, leaving a tiny golden mark behind, that signifies its recognition. When you face danger, simply touch the mark, and the phoenix will appear at your side to fight with you.
However, this works only once. When the phoenix vanishes, so too does the mark—and the bond ends.
If you truly manage to tame a phoenix, it will serve you faithfully for life, even unto death. And when you leave this world, your phoenix will vanish with you.
It is already rare enough to be recognized by a phoenix. As for taming one... in all the world, there are only two known tamed phoenixes. One belongs to a great elder whom I hold in the highest respect..."
...
This was how Newt Scamander described the phoenix in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
As the merpeople with harpoons closed in, Jon suddenly heard a clear, piercing song from above. The sound was ethereal and mysterious, filling him with exhilaration and making his scalp tingle.
On the merpeople's faces appeared expressions not of fury, but of fear—and even awe.
Phoenixes, as masters of fire, were undoubtedly the natural enemies of merpeople. Yet because phoenixes were generally gentle in temperament, merpeople regarded them more with respect than with dread.
The merpeople halted. Seizing the chance, Jon pulled on the rope and continued swimming upward.
The Patronus pursed its lips in mild displeasure and cast a glance toward the sky. Then its body slowly faded until it disappeared.
...
Jon burst out of the lake, gasping for air.
As he breathed in deeply, the effect of the gillyweed began to fade. His gills shrank away, his lungs returning to normal.
The four girls, encased in the bubble, rose with him to the surface.
Above, a deep crimson bird soared in circles, singing loudly. It had a long, graceful tail and a pair of golden talons, which it stretched toward Jon.
"Oh—Fawkes!" Jon let out a breath of relief and grabbed the phoenix's talons. "Thank you!"
Months earlier in Dumbledore's office, Fawkes had left a mark on his shoulder. Jon had researched thoroughly afterward and discovered the purpose of that mark.
This was the reason he had dared provoke the merpeople.
With hundreds of them chasing behind, dragging four people to shore would have been nearly impossible, even if they weren't particularly heavy. But with Fawkes' help, it became manageable.
Phoenixes were incredibly strong, capable of carrying many times their own weight.
Grasping Fawkes' talons in one hand and clutching the rope tied to the four "hostages" in the other, Jon rose into the air.
Fawkes bore them swiftly toward the shore.
From the water below, merpeople surfaced, baring their teeth and howling insults at the sight of the humans aloft—and the phoenix that filled them with instinctive dread.
...
At the shore of Black Lake, the spectators and judges stood stunned.
Especially after Fawkes deposited all four "hostages" safely on land.
"What is going on?" Percy Weasley stammered, his uneasy gaze flicking nervously to the other judges.
Karkaroff stared blankly at the unconscious Hermione, muttering, "She was supposed to be Viktor's hostage... how could she be here?"
Ludo Bagman was equally dumbstruck. His gaze locked on Cho Chang, his mouth gaping open, yet no words came. His expression was tinged with despair.
Only Madame Maxime betrayed a flash of joy, though she quickly masked it. She lowered her head, comforting Fleur while pointing discreetly toward Gabrielle Delacour, now safely on shore.
Dumbledore's eyes were fixed on Fawkes. Yet he carefully feigned ignorance, as though he had no connection to the phoenix.
Fawkes, however, had clearly caught Dumbledore's signal. Fawkes glanced uneasily between Jon and Dumbledore, uncertain if it had overstepped its bounds.
Dumbledore's act might fool the other judges and the students, who knew nothing of his bond with Fawkes. But it could not deceive the professors.
Both Snape and Professor McGonagall rose to their feet, their eyes sharp with inquiry as they turned toward Dumbledore. To them, it was obvious—the phoenix's actions were on Dumbledore's command.
...
Beneath the waters of Black Lake, chaos still reigned.
Though Jon had escaped with the hostages, two competitors remained below.
The furious merpeople scoured the depths. With their speed and numbers, finding the intruders seemed inevitable...
Harry Potter, his hands and feet still webbed, was swiftly seized by several merpeople and dragged away. Poor Harry thought he had been eliminated and hung his head in dejection.
Viktor Krum fared even worse. Harry, being underage, was treated somewhat gently. But Krum, as an adult, was tightly bound and hauled forcibly to shore.
The merpeople leader whom Jon had petrified earlier had by now recovered.
It swam to the shore, its green face flushed bright red with fury. Roaring at Dumbledore, it rattled the shark-tooth necklace around its neck.
Dumbledore hurried forward and answered in the same sharp, piercing tones the merpeople used above the surface. He clearly spoke their language.
...
While Dumbledore conversed with the merpeople, the four hostages slowly began to wake.