3

Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barty Crouch had said. Harry was only half listening. So tired every bone in his body was aching, he wanted nothing more than to sit here, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until he fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore.

There was a soft rush of wings. Fawkes the phoenix had left his perch, flown across the office, and landed on Harry's knee.

“'Lo, Fawkes,” said Harry quietly. He stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. There was something comforting about his warm weight.

Dumbledore stopped talking. He sat down opposite Harry, behind his desk. He was looking at Harry, who avoided his eyes. Dumbledore was going to question him. He was going to make Harry relive everything.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I don't know what "his warm weight" refers to here. Is it Harry's weight or something? What does it truly mean?

Improve this question
1
  • 3
    It's a fairly common combination that mixes the tactile warm with the abstract weight: google.com/…
    – TimR
    Dec 31, 2018 at 13:18

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
12

"His" refers to "Fawkes". The phoenix is on Harry's knee. Harry can feel his weight therefore. The bird is warm, which Harry can also feel. These feelings are comforting to him.

Note: although animals are often referred to as "it", using "he"/"she"/"his"/"her" etc is common when the speaker has a close relationship with the animal (for example, it is a pet), especially if it has been given a name.

Improve this answer
4
  • Can we use other prepositions here like: "There was something comforting on/of his warm weight."?
    – dan
    Dec 31, 2018 at 12:18
  • 1
    You could use "in", but not "of" or "on".
    – Michael Harvey
    Dec 31, 2018 at 13:08
  • what sense does 'about' denote here?
    – dan
    Dec 31, 2018 at 13:28
  • 3
    "About" meaning "connected with" - "There’s something about her attitude that worries me."
    – Michael Harvey
    Dec 31, 2018 at 13:36

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .