Continuity mistake: When Harry drops the Monster Book of Monsters, the scraps of torn paper are already lying around Harry's feet before the book hits the floor.
Continuity mistake: When Harry is meeting the boggart it before it turns to a side view look at the girl to the left of Hermione, she is laughing, it changes to the side view and she is just standing there. It happens with Lupin too - in the side view he is playing with his wand then it switches to him and he isn't.
Chosen answer: It's not known what it is. It is left to the audience's imagination of what exactly is in the room or what some witch or wizard was doing in there. This is only meant to be a humorous bit and is unrelated to the plot. It didn't happen in the book.
raywest ★