In Chamber of Secrets, Harry descends into the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ginny from Tom Riddle and the Basilisk. Although he successfully slays the beast known as the King of Serpents with the help of Gryffindor's sword and Fawkes the Phoenix (Kronzck 21), Harry is accidentally pierced in the arm by the Basilisk's deadly poisonous fang. Naturally, Harry thinks his death is imminent and collapses on the Chamber floor. As Harry lies injured on the ground, Fawkes weeps over the wound while Tom Riddle taunts him: "You're dead, Harry Potter...Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying." (Chamber 321) Fawkes cries over the injured arm because as Dumbledore explains the first time Harry encounters the Phoenix:

                    Fawkes is a Phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame
                    when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the
                    ashes.... Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry
                    immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers,
                    and they make highly faithful pets. (Chamber 207)

Just as Dumbledore reveals, Phoenix tears are magically healing (Chamber 207; Fantastic 32). When Harry looks down at his arm again, he sees "[a] pearly patch of tears...shining all around the wound — except that there was no wound —" because of the Phoenix (Chamber 321). Fawkes heals and saves Harry through his magical tears.

Also called the "resurrection bird" because of its magical death and miraculous rebirth, the phoenix is an immortal mythological creature first used as a symbol for Christ during the Middle Ages (Granger 17,94; Kronzck 208). According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the phoenix is a "magnificent, swan-sized, scarlet bird with a long golden tail, beak, and talons" and a "gentle creature that has never been known to kill" (32). Just as Phoenix tears are magically healing, Jesus is a miraculous healer of the sick and injured. For example, He cures a man of leprosy in Mark 1:41-42, gives sight to a blind man in John 9:1-7, and alleviates a woman of fever in Mark 1:30-31. As further described, Phoenix song increases courage among the loyal and virtuous (Fantastic 32). Jesus similarly inspires courage among his followers and believers as narrated in Matthew 14:27: "²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Finally, the immortal phoenix is indeed an ideal Christological symbol because it embodies "death, resurrection, and eternal life" (Colbert 91; Kronzck 208). Jesus Christ, who rose from death three days after His crucifixion, is most often represented by the phoenix because the creature is also miraculously reborn from its own ashes upon dying in a magical burst of flames.

When Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets, the young wizard also experiences a figurative death and rebirth similar to Jesus Christ and the phoenix (Granger 21). The dank, underground chamber resembles the dark, cavernous tomb in which Jesus's body lies for three days before His resurrection. In order to save Ginny from Tom Riddle and the Basilisk, Harry first enters the Chamber from a secret entrance disguised as a sink engraved with a snake in the second-floor girls' bathroom. Like the stone in front of the tomb (Bible 571), the sink blocks the opening to the Chamber. After he speaks in Parseltongue, the concealed passageway opens to reveal an enormous chute that leads Harry from the safety of Hogwarts into a series of slimy underground tunnels. At the end of the tunnels, he discovers the Chamber of Secrets with "two entwined serpents..., their eyes set with great glinting emeralds" carved on the door (Chamber 304). Harry enters the Chamber, slays the Basilisk, and destroys Tom Riddle. When he is pierced by the deadly poisonous fang and collapses on the Chamber floor, however, Harry experiences a figurative death.

As narrated in The Resurrection of both Matthew 28 and Mark 16, Jesus miraculously rises from His tomb after His death. Although Harry should die from the fatal Basilisk poison, Fawkes restores the young wizard back to health through his magically healing tears. Since the phoenix represents Jesus, Harry lives because of a "resurrection made possible by and in Christ" (Granger 19). The young wizard is fully triumphant only because he is saved by a Christological figure (Granger 22). After Jesus rises from death, He then ascends into Heaven as written in Mark 16:19: "¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God." Similarly, Fawkes flies Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart out of the Chamber by his tail as his "wide scarlet wings emit[] a soft golden glow in the darkness" (Chamber 325) after healing Harry. Like Jesus ascending into Heaven, Harry experiences a metaphorical rebirth or resurrection from inside to outside the Chamber. Therefore, exiting the tomblike Chamber with the help of Fawkes the Phoenix is a symbol for the Christian rebirth into Heaven after death.

Colbert, David. The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts. Berkley Books: New York, 2004.

Granger, John. Looking for God in Harry Potter. Saltriver, An Imprint of Tyndale Publishers: United States of America, 2004.

Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.

Kronzck, Allan Zola and Elizabeth Kronzck. The Sorcerer's Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter. 2nd ed. Broadway Books: New York, 2004.

Rowling, J.K. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. London: Abscurus Books, 2001.

—. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1999.