Why DID Sirius laugh? (was: Peter Pettigr ew, questions)

[Susan]

No: HPFGUIDX 101441

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:
> Alla: 
> > Personally I always read his laugh as kind of hysterical one. As 
if 
> > he could not believe the absurdity of what was happening and that 
> > is why he was laughing. 
> 
> Gina:
> > I agree because he did not know what Pettigrew was up to when he 
> > sliced off his own finger and started yelling things that did not 
> > make sense. We know by Sirius seeing Pettigrew in the newspaper 
pic 
> > that he did not know Peter was alive so personally I think Sirius 
> > really believed that Pettigrew blew himself up. I mean - cutting 
> > his finger off would seem like he was going to do a really big 
> > spell to me then when he blew himself up - I personally would 
have 
> > thought that hilarious until I realized that he intended me to be 
> > blamed for it. Pettigrew was not a great wizard like James
> > or Sirius so blowing himself up on accident would not be out of 
his 
> > reach. 
> >  
> > Sirius did not get a trial either so I believe that the MoM was 
in 
> > on it. 
> 
> 
> SSSusan:
> Oh!!!!!!!!!!!  That's a possibility I hadn't considered!  Sirius 
> thought Pettigrew really had blown himself up?  Then, when the MoM 
> showed up and found all those muggles dead **and** assumed 
Pettigrew 
> was dead, too, Sirius got arrested as the only possible candidate?  
> 
> I guess I've always assumed that Sirius KNEW Pettigrew was still 
> alive, just didn't know where he'd gotten off to.  And that when he 
> saw the photo in the Daily Prophet he just realized WHERE he was, 
not 
> that he was alive.
> 
> Hmmmm.
> 
> Feeling rather confused,
> Siriusly Snapey Susan

(teilani) Susan here:
I was never really sure whether Sirius knew that Peter killed himself 
or not.  But I did think the laughter, which I took to be rather 
hysterical, was because after everything that had just happened 
(finding the Potters dead, realizing Peter was responsible and that 
HE [Sirius] was the one who handed J&L to Peter,) when he finally got 
to confront Peter and PP blew up the muggles, Sirius _realized_ he'd 
been completely set up.  Peter, whether alive or no, wasn't there to 
take the blame.  Sirius was.  Not only did this little pipsqueak 
manage to get the Potters killed, he also managed to outsmart the 
very clever and brave Sirius.  In a nutshell, I think that at that 
moment when the street got blown up, Sirius realized just how deep 
and conniving PP's role was, and that he (Sirius) was being set up 
once again by PP, this time to take the fall.

Thoughts?