Sirius' laughter

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 35916

One explanation for Sirius Black being found laughing like a loon when the
Aurors swooped down on him after Peter Pettigrew got away has not, as far as
I know, been put forward:  A Cheering Charm.

Even though, _compared to his three pals who were some of the best in their
year,_ Peter Pettigrew is not much of a spell-flinger, a Cheering Charm
should be well within his capabilities.  Picture this scenario:

After Voldemort goes down for the count at Godric's Hollow, Peter Pettigrew
_knows_ that Sirius Black knows what had to have happened, even if nobody
else does---yet.  However, Pettigrew has not spent years hanging around with
Sirius entirely in vain, and he knows that Black's the impulsive sort who'll
come looking for him instead of going straight to Dumbledore or the Aurors
and explaining that he _wasn't_ the Potters' Secret Keeper---either with the
aid of Veritaserum or a Penseive.  Pettigrew, like Lord Blackadder, comes up
with a plan so cunning, it could be Regius Professor of Cunningology at
Jordan College in Lyra Belacqua's Oxford.  Like so:

When Sirius locates him, Pettigrew is ready.  The confrontation takes place
in front of lots of Muggles, whose well-being Pettigrew, as a Death Eater,
is...shall we say? less than heavily concerned with.  The second Pettigrew
sees Black, he hits Black with a good, solid Cheering Charm, sending him
into helpless gales of laughter.  Then, he screams, loudly enough for the
whole street to hear:  "Lily and James, Sirius!  How could you?"  bursts
into false tears, drops his (previously-severed) finger, blasts the street,
changes into a rat, and dives down the sewer to join "his filthy little
friends."  The Aurors sweep in, and take what they see pretty much at
face-value.

We on this list tend to discount Peter Pettigrew, as a wizard, a plotter,
and a Death Eater.  Admittedly, Voldemort treats him very badly, and is
contemptous of his skills as a wizard.  However, Voldemort is easily one of
the two most powerful wizards extant, and he may not really realize just how
powerful Pettigrew is, compared to the average "Joe Schmoe" wizard.  He
cringes and whines for his life in the Shrieking Shack...however, he _knows_
these men who want to kill him, and while cringing and whining aren't a
wildly good choice, he doesn't have a lot of others.  And, to be sure, it
_does_ work, since Harry stops his ex-pals from killing him as he deserves,
and he escapes, albeit with a life-debt to Harry Potter.  He may well
cultivate an image of "a powerless, cowering wimp of a wizard" in order to
be discounted, the better to pursue his own cunning plans.  Were I
Voldemort, I'd keep a sharp eye on Pettigrew...he's been willing to betray
his friends before, and Voldemort's treatment would drive anybody to
betrayal.