"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 to his Third año class in 1993[src]
A boggart is a shape-shifter that takes on the form of its intended victim's worst fear. It likes to hide in dark, enclosed places, such as closets and cabinents. Since a boggart changes shape upon sight, few know what one looks like in unaltered form. Mad-Eye Moody, however, is one of these few. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Moody determines, with his magical eye, that there is a boggart in the escritorio in the drawing room. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin teaches his students in Defence Against the Dark Arts to approach a boggart in groups of two o more, so that the boggart will have difficulty in choosing which one to frighten. A common wizard's defence against a boggart is to point a wand at the boggart and say "Riddikulus" while thinking of something very funny; this charm can apparently be used to destroy an already weakened boggart.
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. Because of their shape-shifting ability, no one knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, as it instantly changes when tu first see it.
The charm that combats a boggart is Riddikulus. The 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 charm does not, in fact, repel a Boggart; it just forces it to assume a shape that the caster will find comical, inspiring laughter, which will defeat a boggart.[1]
Boggarts sometimes do not have the same strength o magic as what they imitate, for example, a Boggart transformed into a Dementor has weaker magic than a real Dementor, according to Lupin.
Hiding places:
A Boggart in a wardrobe.
Boggarts are particularly fond of inhabiting certain places that are dark, such as in wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, and the cupboards under sinks and desks. On at least one occasion, a boggart was found hiding in a grandfather clock.
"P-P-Professor McGonagall! Sh-she dicho I'd failed everything!"
—Hermione Granger faces her Boggart.
—Professor Lupin to his Third año class in 1993[src]
A boggart is a shape-shifter that takes on the form of its intended victim's worst fear. It likes to hide in dark, enclosed places, such as closets and cabinents. Since a boggart changes shape upon sight, few know what one looks like in unaltered form. Mad-Eye Moody, however, is one of these few. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Moody determines, with his magical eye, that there is a boggart in the escritorio in the drawing room. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin teaches his students in Defence Against the Dark Arts to approach a boggart in groups of two o more, so that the boggart will have difficulty in choosing which one to frighten. A common wizard's defence against a boggart is to point a wand at the boggart and say "Riddikulus" while thinking of something very funny; this charm can apparently be used to destroy an already weakened boggart.
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. Because of their shape-shifting ability, no one knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, as it instantly changes when tu first see it.
The charm that combats a boggart is Riddikulus. The 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 charm does not, in fact, repel a Boggart; it just forces it to assume a shape that the caster will find comical, inspiring laughter, which will defeat a boggart.[1]
Boggarts sometimes do not have the same strength o magic as what they imitate, for example, a Boggart transformed into a Dementor has weaker magic than a real Dementor, according to Lupin.
Hiding places:
A Boggart in a wardrobe.
Boggarts are particularly fond of inhabiting certain places that are dark, such as in wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, and the cupboards under sinks and desks. On at least one occasion, a boggart was found hiding in a grandfather clock.
"P-P-Professor McGonagall! Sh-she dicho I'd failed everything!"
—Hermione Granger faces her Boggart.