the boggart

[Jotomicron]

Well, no one had the tiniest clue that Voldemort was still alive! Everyone thought he had gone for all eternity... only they were wrong!

I don't have the English version. but here goes my atempt to "un-translate" my Portuguese version...
[This is in chapter VII. Hermione was answering Lupin's question]

- It's a creature that changes it's form - she explained. - It takes the shape that it thinks will scary us the most.

[Athena Appleton]

Very good! That's the way ours reads.

I agree with EWPZ... Joto, if they had no clue Voldemort was still alive, and it wasn't anyone's greatest fear because they thought the danger had passed, why are they still terrified of his name?

[Ferrus]

I wonder why everyone's boggart wasn't Voldemort?

I think its because Voldemort isnt (wasnt more like) such a "tangible" fear as, for example, spiders in Ron´s case.

[sea-plunder]

i wander why it wasn't voldemort?

i think maybe some of the older peoples boggart could be voldemort (or how he looked when he was in full power). like people who have been affected badly by him (loasing family members) could have him as their boggart

[Jotomicron]

Very good! That's the way ours reads.

I agree with EWPZ... Joto, if they had no clue Voldemort was still alive, and it wasn't anyone's greatest fear because they thought the danger had passed, why are they still terrified of his name?

Is it?? WOW ! I'm amazed with myself...
Anywa. They fear to say the name because they were thougt not to say it, cause their parents have always said "He who must not be named" or "You know who". But they are very young. They were one year old, and therefore are not aware of Voldemort's real shape...

Anyway: a new question. Imagine you don't fear athing, but an action, for instance, you fear the dark, or to fall from a high cliff. What form would the boggart assume?
(Could Hermione's fear be something like this?)

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

oooo, good question! My greatest fear is drowning so I dunno how a boggart would compensate for that.

I thought in PoA Hermione's boggart was McGonagall saying she'd failed everything. Haha that always cracks me up

[Athena Appleton]

I kinda wondered about this, too... like, what if your greatest fear was being all alone, or fear of the dark, or fear of falling... I mean, I guess some psychiatrists would argue that if you have a fear of the dark, you really have a fear for what could be in the dark... so if you're five years old and afraid of the dark, a boggart wouldn't turn into a dark room, it would turn into the boogey-man you're afraid will pounce on you in the dark...

I think that's kind of what Lupin is saying when he says that Harry's boggart turning into a dementor is impressive, because it shows that Harry's greatest fear is fear. The boggart would take a form, but it's not necessarily the dementor Harry's afraid of... it's what he hears when the dementor is closeby. And the boggart can't take the form of Lily's screams, so it takes the form of a dementor, which makes Harry hear Lily's screams.

I've been thinking about Hermione's boggart... I think she's a testament to the theory that the boggart changes to what your greatest fear is at that moment. At the time of the first class, I think Hermione's boggart would have been something different (I personally think it would have been getting in trouble for having the time-turner). After the end of the year, when she's nose-deep in exams, her greatest fear would be finding out she'd failed.

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

Here's a question: does the boggart have the same powers as whatever thing it turns into? It can do the same thing as a dementor, but it only affects Harry, not Lupin. So if it turned into a vampire, would it come and bite the person who it was trying to scare and turn them into a vampire (or whatever it is a vampire does to its victim).

[Alice I]

Here's a question: does the boggart have the same powers as whatever thing it turns into? It can do the same thing as a dementor, but it only affects Harry, not Lupin. So if it turned into a vampire, would it come and bite the person who it was trying to scare and turn them into a vampire (or whatever it is a vampire does to its victim).

I do believe that it does because of how the dementor boggart affected Harry. We don't really know how it affected Lupin because everytime it came near Harry his point of view became rather narrow.

[pandora315]

I think boggarts change with whatever is on your mind at the moment. The boggart must be able to somehow pick up wavelengths or whatever you want to call them and then project an immage from whatever it sees. Lupin asks the students to think of whatever you fear the most so naturally everyone would pick something scary a mummy, a banshee, a dementor, etc...The had time to think of them in advance to they picked scary things. Lupins greatest fear is people finding out he's a werewolf so he sees a moon. I think when Hermione see's McGonnagol telling her she failed its because exams were on her mind at that moment.

It was a good spot about the severed hand.

[Aberforth]

I thought that Hermione didn't get the opportunity to bansih the boggart and that it annoyed her that Lupin didn't let her. I thought it was Ron who suggested it was Hermione failing her exams. I may be wrong.

[pandora315]

During the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam Hermione sees the Boggart as Macgonnagol telling her she failed everything. I guess I should have clarified the times I was talking about. Sorry

[Jotomicron]

During the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam Hermione sees the Boggart as Macgonnagol telling her she failed everything. I guess I should have clarified the times I was talking about. Sorry

At least, that's what she said she has seen... But I guess we can trust her in this tiny bit of information.

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

I still wonder if the boggart acting as a dementor could have given Harry a dementor's kiss.

I don't think Lupin could feel the effects of the boggart because I think Harry would have said something about Lupin breathing heavily or sweating if he could.

[Athena Appleton]

I still wonder if the boggart acting as a dementor could have given Harry a dementor's kiss.

i think it's possible, if Harry had been alone, the dementor could have given the dementor's kiss... but, they are only supposed to do that when they're instructed to (Fudge is kinda freaked out when he realizes they attempted it on children), and in the situations we've seen, Harry is with another person, so Lupin would have gotton rid of the dementor boggart before he could do any lasting harm to Harry.

I don't think Lupin could feel the effects of the boggart because I think Harry would have said something about Lupin breathing heavily or sweating if he could.

Well, aside from the fact that Harry is really more preoccupied with his own passing out than with Lupin looking a little frightened, I think there's something else to consider.

Lupin is not scared of dementors. No, he doesn't like them, but even when he's faced with real ones, he doesn't have a freaked-out reaction to them. On the Hogwarts Express, he very calmly and firmly tells the dementor to back off, then he does the Patronus charm, but he does it almost lazily. So even if he were feeling the effects of the dementor, the "effects" would be the same as how he responds to real dementors, and with real dementors, he doesn't show outward signs of fear.