The dark mark & Sirius

[cynthiaanncoe at home.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 24789

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., vheggie at y... wrote:
> > 
> This puzzled me - does Sirius not know that the Dark Mark appears 
on 
> the arms of the Death Eaters?  Is this not common knowledge 
(you'd've 
> thought that all the trials would have brought this to light)?
> Or perhaps he's not aware that Snape was a Death Eater (again - 
> you'd've thought that the trials would be common knowledge - or was 
> Snape tried after Sirius went to Azkaban?)
> 
> Any other thoughts?

I had never considered this until you mentioned it.  I think the 
answer could be that before V fell, suspected Dark Wizards were sent 
to Azkaban without trials.  Also, Sirius tells us the Aurors (on 
Crouch's authority) were allowed to kill rather than bring people in 
alive.  So that suggests the trials didn't happen until after V 
fell.  Information about things like the Dark Mark not well known 
until the trials, and by then, Sirius was already in Azkaban.  After 
all, if the DM is used to summon Dark Wizard's at V's command, Dark 
Wizards probably wouldn't advertise the fact that they have it, and 
would probably have preferred that it be kept secret.