Snape and the Boggart class

[Wanda Sherratt]

No: HPFGUIDX 47438

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" 
<catlady at w...> wrote:
> 
> It always seems to me that Snape knew that Lupin was going to 
bring 
> the third-year Gryffindor DADA class to the staffroom at that time 
> to use the Boggart there -- It always seems to me that Snape was 
> lying in wait for them, hoping that his improvised vicious remarks 
> would rattle Lupin (and the kids, of course) enough to make the 
> class be a fiasco.
> 
I'm sure that Snape knew about Lupin's plan to use the Boggart to 
teach his third-year class; I only question whether he would 
actually bother to find out Lupin's schedule and deliberately 
arrange to be in the staffroom ahead of time, just in order to 
deliver some barbs.  It seems a bit more trouble than its worth - he 
can always torture the third-years in his OWN class, after all.

I wonder a bit about the staffroom - is it often deserted?  The 
other time I can recall when we see inside it is in PoA, and it's 
empty that time too, when Harry and Ron hide in the cupboard.  On 
the other hand, in most schools the staffroom is pretty busy, with 
teachers taking a smoke and a cup of coffee between classes, though 
Hogwarts teachers probably have their own offices and their own 
apartments to retire to.  Clearly, in the normal course of the day, 
the Hogwarts staffroom must just happen to be empty.  But I wonder 
if on THIS occasion, the staffroom isn't empty *because* there's a 
Boggart infesting it?  It wouldn't be so unusual for the teachers to 
avoid the place until Lupin's had his class and disposed of the 
pest.  So why, then, is *Snape* there (if he isn't there 
deliberately)?  Does he not mind the presence of a Boggart?  Or does 
he go there because he knows that the other teachers will be away, 
and he can be alone?  Myself, I like the idea of Snape seeking 
solitude - much better than my alternate theory, which is that when 
he's present, the other teachers just start leaving.

Wanda