Old Question (probably already answered) about Black and wands

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 113072

> HunterGreen:
> I think it was a cheering charm. Notice how earlier in PoA cheering 
> charms are mentioned several times (first in class when they learn 
> it, then when Hermione is horrified that she missed that lesson, and 
> I think they show up in the exam too), but never again. I sort of 
> wonder if JKR almost intended to slip in that Peter used a STRONG 
> cheering charm on Sirius to make him appear insane, but it didn't 
> make it into the text. It is interesting that we learn about cheering 
> charms in the same book as all the Sirius/Peter stuff.
> 
> It could be though, that Sirius was just having a stress-induced 
> laughing fit, meaning that he was a little insane at that moment 
> (after having his two best friends killed, then being framed for 
> murder and watching 12 people die and someone else chop off their 
> finger, I can imagine he was a little emotionally charged). I wonder 
> though, have we seen Sirius react that way (or similarily) other 
> times he's been upset?

Carol:
I don't think Pettigrew had time to add a Cheering Charm to the curse
he used to blow off his finger and blow up the street. He was in pain
and bleeding. He was also concerned to disappear as soon as possible,
presumably leaving his wand behind (if it wasn't destroyed in the
explosion). At any rate, he doesn't have his wand with him when he's
forced to take human form (though he does have his clothes, except for
the tattered cloak he leaves behind as evidence of his "murder").
Nope. Too preoccupied to cast a Cheering Charm, IMO.

As for Black, he certainly was under stress (you forgot to mention
being deprived by Dumbledore via Hagrid of the chance to care for his
godchild). Being arrested for thirteen murders he didn't commit
(though, given his recklessness and the fury of the moment, he may
actually have intended to kill Peter) would have been the last straw.
We see Sirius behaving as if he were insane throughout PoA; I think
that, yes, he was temporarily insane when he was arrested, and the
laugh reflected his mental state. As a sidenote, his normal laugh
sounds like a dog's bark. If his manic laugh also sounded doglike,
that would have added to the impression that he was completely out of
his mind.

Carol