How about something involving a vacuum? Fawkes would asphyxiate as soon as he's reborn from the ashes, if indeed he can revive without fire being involved somehow, and any of his other fire-related abilities would also be shut down. Regardless, the original question was about how to dispatch a phoenix, and I suppose the simplest way to do that would be to post a guard next to it at all times and kill it on a regular basis before it develops enough to do anything. This is all assuming that a baby phoenix doesn't have any powers that would let it escape, but if we grant that, then some sort of guard rotation would neutralize your firebird just fine.

 

Mix the ashes with concrete. :awesome

 

Heh, phoenix sculpture made from Fawke's ashes. Hidden in plain sight.

 

Killing Curse (or whatever), then Vanish the ashes?

 

I'm not so sure about this whole idea that the phoenix reforms itself out of the ashes. I'm more of the opinion that it simply emerges from the ashes.

From CoS:

It's hardly conclusive, but I don't really think the ashes are part of the phoenix or anything. Putting them in concrete or vanishing them wouldn't really do anything as the baby phoenix is already alive and covered under the ashes.

 

Shove him through the veil in the Ministry? :awesome

Seriously though the shit in the DoM has potential. I like the idea of one being stuck in the time jar (an extension of TRH's idea)... there wasa bird stuck in the time loop in OotP, I don't remember if they specifically mentioned it being a phoenix or not.

In mythology phoenixes are supposed to be immortal, but if you introduced other legendary creatures you could do something with that. Basilisks didn't affect them but maybe you could petrify one with a Gorgon's stare, or introduce a water or ice creature.

 

Since we're just kicking around ideas of killing a Phoenix . . .

Thermonuclear warhead?

Dark Matter?

Make it watch Twilight?

 

You guys are all thinking too Muggle Just piling on the damage.

Perhaps the way to kill a phoenix, if such a thing exists, must be more symbolic.

 

Just set a situation where every ressurection caused it to be killed again. Not truly dead but since it is incapable of doing anything but reviving and dying it might as well be.

If not that then it likely would require being entombed in deep ocean or ice. Opposites and all that.

 

Think I read a fic a long, long time ago that had Fawkes die from Dumbledore. It's a bit vague in my head, but the rough idea was that Fakwes was "bonded" to a human and since Phoenixes are apparently pillars of goodness they could die permanently if betrayed by the human they chose to bond with.

That's not to say it was a good idea. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was a typical manipulative!Dumbledore fanfic and the idea was executed rather poorly. Fawkes, I think, was about to abandon Dumbledore for Harry. However, I do still remember it because it was such a novel idea. Still is, as I've seen nothing like it.

Not exactly symbolic, but it's a different idea to what has been bandied about here.

 

Who're you calling a Muggle, Muggle?

In all seriousness, though, this sort of question should be one that an author addresses himself. Think of something, it'll be valid as long as it's awesome.

Validation by virtue of being awesome: without it, fanfiction is nothing.

 

What's more symbolic than the very antithesis of matter? a material that represents the eventual entropy death of the universe itself?...

 

In GOF, when Crouch Sr. escaped from Voldemort, why didn't he go to the Aurors instead of to Hogwarts to see Dumbledore? I'm writing a fic and i need a plausible reason why he'd not go the Ministry for help. I'm thinking he avoided the Ministry because he thought his son was there, but can anyone posit a more solid reason?

 

Because it's Dumbledore?

Crouch Sr. will have seen the Ministry during the first war. He knows how little it can be trusted. Likely he also knows, or suspects, that Dumbledore lead an anti-Voldemort group during the war.

 

I suspect he would have known how Fudge would react to anyone claiming that Voldemort was back. He knew that Dumbledore at least would listen to his claims.

 

Interesting AU idea: what if Crouch had got to Dumbledore?

...though actually, maybe less interesting.

Dumbledore captures Jr, gets the full plan from him, captures Voldemort too. With Crouch Sr. on his side, and a boatload of evidence and witness testimony, the Ministry is forced to accept that Voldemort is alive and takes measures against him.

Voldemort is imprisoned and Dumbledore searches out his horcruxes in his own time.

Everyone lives happily ever after.

Interesting how much revolved around that pivotal moment.

 

Probably not. It's Dumbledore with what was a quite insane Crouch Sr. and they would have been trying to convince people of what many saw as unbelievable. I think Crouch might have hurt Dumbledore's case in some areas. Though admittedly if they manage to capture Voldemort it might help.

 

My fic is somewhat centered around this idea.

 

On the phoenix bit, why not just counter balance it with a dementor. We have two immortal beings; one that symbolizes life, whose song and tears empower it. The other, a soul sucking beast of death and despair.

I feel the biggest problem would be to stop the phoenix from just 'apparating' away from whatever container you produce. The endless conflict between two immortal beings could weaken it enough to be unable to escape and susceptible to containment.

Now, if you had to kill one, I would look to something that survives all beings, time. How you would go about doing that, I have no idea.

 

I could be wrong, but wasn't he bug-nuts crazy at the time -- talking to Whetherbee and all while he was talking to Krum and Harry?