Loyalty.
The bird comes to the young man when he goes to face his lover in war, when he goes to a man who can break him faster than any alive, when he goes to face the horror his heart still aches for, pining after the lost joys of one halcyon summer, when he knows the power the other holds. The bird sings, and the young man is bolstered, reassured. He can, he will, find other joys.
The bird rides on his shoulder as he returns to his alma mater. The bird watches as the young boy who never trusted him graduates, the boy who never understood the appeal of another being takes his diploma, the boy who has the highest qualifications he has ever seen leaves having learned nothing of value but that of intrigue. The bird sings, and the teacher holds firm with an offer of help to the boy if things get too much.
The bird flutters around his new office, the residence of the Headmaster. The bird watches as ministers of magic twitter nervously at this powerful mage, as interview after cursed interview is held, as hundreds of students are counselled and helped to futures shining, as title after title joins his ridiculous moniker. The bird sings, and he tries to do the right thing with his power.
The bird watches as the difficult cases enter. The boy who was beaten at home, who has no idea how to be liked and who struggles with both his blood status and the bullies, the boys who play tricks on others to keep the spirits of the school up, such that he has little heart to punish them, the boy who fears the moon, fears discovery and above all fears himself and what he could do, and the boy who clings to his popular friends in the hope of recognition. The bird sings, and he finds the strength to carry on as the bright children grow into adults separated by war, and fade into darkness and death.
The bird calls as the bullied boy shows his worth. The bird weeps and rejoices with him as the prankster dies and his son is praised. The bird soothes as he frets over decisions in a war denied by half the population. The bird burns as the boy to be sacrificed arrives. The bird fights for him as the snake fights the boy. The bird cries for the first child lost in the tournament of horrors. The bird rescues as belligerent ministers seek his disappearance, not his advice. The bird heals as his hand rots with the curse of his brightest pupil. The bird observes as wills are written, plans are placed, and as the youngest seductee of his enemy desperately fights fate for his family.
The bird weeps when the bullied boy obeys his request, and that of his brightest, and he falls so far, and so fast. The bird sings upon his white tomb as the castle grieves. As the world falls to dark once again, the song fades.
Author's Note: This is a response to the Forbidden word challenge by Lucy Kent. The prompt was phoenix.
Disclaimer: I don't own fawkes. If I did, he'd probably interfere with the Machiavellian Dumbledore.