Boggart



"So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears."

- Professor Lupin

A boggart is a shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear. When facing a boggart, it is best to have someone else along, to try to confuse it.

The charm that repels a boggart is: Riddikulus. The Riddikulus charm requires a strong mind and good concentration. The incantation and wand movement alone will not affect a boggart. The correct way to perform the charm is to push past the fear, and concentrate on something that will make the boggart look amusing. The thing that finishes a boggart is laughter.

Hiding Places
Boggarts are particularly fond of inhabiting certain places that are dark, such as in wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, and the cupbords under sinks and desks. On at least one occasion, a boggart was found hiding in a grandfather clock.



The Boggart in the Wardrobe
"That suggests that what you fear most of all is - fear. Very wise, Harry."

- Professor Lupin to Harry Potter

Harry Potter first encountered a boggart in 1993 in a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson taught by Professor Lupin. Professor Lupin took the class to the staffroom, where a boggart had moved into a wardrobe, the previous afternoon. After explaining what they would need to do, Professor Lupin let the class, starting with Neville Longbottom, perform the Riddikulus charm on the boggart. When the boggart went towards Harry, Lupin drew the boggart's attention, causing it to turn into a silvery-white orb, then had Neville finish it off.

Later, Professor Lupin explained that the reason he didn't let Harry face the boggart, was that he thought Harry's boggart would turn into Lord Voldemort, and he didn't want to panic the students.

Harry Potter's boggart is actually in the form of a Dementor.

The Patronus
In the same school year, Harry Potter encountered a boggart again, when Professor Lupin found one lurking inside Argus Filch's filing cabinet. Lupin used the boggart as a subsitute for a real dementor, to teach Harry how to perform the patronus charm.

In between the private lessons, Professor Lupin kept the boggart in a cabinet under the desk, in his office.

The Third Task
On the June 24th, 1994, Harry Potter came across a boggart in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. When he first encountered it, Harry thought the boggart was actually a dementor. Harry realized that it was actually a boggart, when he tried to use the patronus charm against it. Instead of driving it away, Harry's patronus caused the boggart to fall back, tripping over the hem of it's robes.