Re: part II (another post for duj)
(Anonymous)
Yes, but.
I think that one of the differences here is that you're seeing Neville's fear of Snape as being all about Snape, specifically, and some of the other posters are seeing it as (at least potentially) a fear of something more profound, where Snape only plays one role in it.
Take Remus' boggart, the full moon. That isn't about the *moon*, precisely; it's Remus' fear of his werewolf-ness. His boggart might, at other times, be himself changing into his wolf form, or a the body of someone savaged by a werewolf, or someone telling him that he'd bitten them and that he was no better than Fenrir... there are lots of possibilities. (The full moon was best-suited to the dramatic purposes of the scene.)
So the question is: is Neville's Snape!boggart really about Snape? Or is it about his having insecurities regarding what people will do to him if he can't do magic? If it's the latter, then Snape certainly plays a role in those, but his grandmother and great-uncle have played even more of a role. Also, if it's the latter, then the recent threat to poison his toad would make it much more likely that Snape would appear than someone else who might also represent the same fear.
And really, we can't *know* either way *exactly* what Neville's boggart is about, because the boggart doesn't say anything, or do much of anything, before turning into someone else's fears. So, it might be all about Snape. But it might not. Hermione's certainly wasn't all about McGonagall. Remus' isn't literally about the moon.
Lynn
I think that one of the differences here is that you're seeing Neville's fear of Snape as being all about Snape, specifically, and some of the other posters are seeing it as (at least potentially) a fear of something more profound, where Snape only plays one role in it.
Take Remus' boggart, the full moon. That isn't about the *moon*, precisely; it's Remus' fear of his werewolf-ness. His boggart might, at other times, be himself changing into his wolf form, or a the body of someone savaged by a werewolf, or someone telling him that he'd bitten them and that he was no better than Fenrir... there are lots of possibilities. (The full moon was best-suited to the dramatic purposes of the scene.)
So the question is: is Neville's Snape!boggart really about Snape? Or is it about his having insecurities regarding what people will do to him if he can't do magic? If it's the latter, then Snape certainly plays a role in those, but his grandmother and great-uncle have played even more of a role. Also, if it's the latter, then the recent threat to poison his toad would make it much more likely that Snape would appear than someone else who might also represent the same fear.
And really, we can't *know* either way *exactly* what Neville's boggart is about, because the boggart doesn't say anything, or do much of anything, before turning into someone else's fears. So, it might be all about Snape. But it might not. Hermione's certainly wasn't all about McGonagall. Remus' isn't literally about the moon.
Lynn