[HPforGrownups] Why Didn't Sirius Tell Dumbledore About the Switch? (WAS: Black Laughing?)

[Barb P]

No: HPFGUIDX 44247


erisedstraeh2002 wrote: 
 Frankie wrote:

> <snip> without Peter, no one will believe that Sirius wasn't Voldemort's spy himself (as explained by Dumbledore in PoA). 

Now me:

I've also wondered why Sirius was laughing at that point, since while it makes sense when you think he's the bad guy, it doesn't make sense (to me, anyway) once you find out he's actually a good guy.

What I've also wondered is why Sirius didn't tell Dumbledore about the secret-keeper switch after Peter's betrayal of the Potters.  Sirius didn't meet up with Peter until the next day, so there should 
have been time for Sirius to talk to Dumbledore about this.  This also ties in with my wonderings about why the Potters didn't use Dumbledore as their secret-keeper in the first place.  Makes me wonder if they didn't trust Dumbledore for some reason.
 
Frankly, I find myself wondering why anyone is wondering about Sirius' laughter.  It wasn't cheerful or maniacal or triumphant laughter, clearly.  Based on what he said in PoA, it seems that he was experiencing temporary insanity.  He thought he had the bad guys outwitted, that no one in their right mind would think that Peter was close enough to James and Lily to be their Secret Keeper.  Then he finds out that he was the one who was outwitted.  Which means he just lost three of his four best friends--two who were killed by the third.  And he thinks it's his fault.  Sirius was hysterical with grief and self-recrimination, it seems to me, and these colliding emotions were manifested externally in the form of hysterical laughter.  He went off to Azkaban without further ado, like trying to defend himself or deny culpability, because he did in fact feel that he killed James and Lily.  He says exactly that in PoA.  Harry accuses him of killing his parents and he confirms this--before telling the whole story.  
 
As to Secret Keepers, I thought that Sirius' rationale for it NOT being him was that that would be too obvious.  If Sirius was too obvious, Dumbledore would be REALLY obvious.  They thought Peter could fly below radar, it seems (so to speak).  None of them evidently suspected that he was going to turn them over to Voldemort.  The very thing that Sirius did to give his friends the most protection wound up killing them.  And the very thing Voldemort seemed to think would make it possible for him to kill Harry--getting Lily out of the way--wound up being HIS undoing.  I'm seeing this as a running theme in the books, and wonder how this will show up again.  Should be interesting...
 
--Barb
 
 


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