Death Eaters and the Dark Mark

[Cindy C.]

No: HPFGUIDX 29294

Catherine wrote:

<snip roll call of DEs> 

So, that makes it around 15.  Not exactly an army but a start.  Maybe 
he 
> didn't call all the names, maybe there were more.  Maybe not.  
Maybe a 
> bunch of folks clutched their arms and decided to wait and see what 
happens 
> next.
> 


I think there must be a lot more people in Azkaban than just the ones 
mentioned.  Presumably, the DEs who showed up were the most loyal and 
most available.  When Dumbledore tells us that Voldemort's most loyal 
supporters are in Azkaban, I think he must have more people in mind 
than just the Lestranges.  Also, if the aurors are earning their 
paychecks, they ought to have caught more dark wizards than just the 
few Voldemort mentioned.

Catherine:

> I always wondered why, if the brand was visible all the time (maybe 
it 
> isn't??), the MoM didn't round up every adult and make them bare 
their 
> arms.  Surely a mark like that couldn't be kept secret.  

I always assumed the mark was "magical", not a garden-variety tatoo.  
My theory about it is that the wizard with the dark mark has the 
magical ability to keep it hidden, choosing to reveal it only when he 
or she wishes to do so.  This makes some sense, as it is difficult to 
believe Pettigrew is walking around with the dark mark visible on his 
arm, yet none of his good friends notices this.  So when Snape 
approaches Fudge to show him the dark mark, Snape would have 
willingly allowed the dark mark to show even though he normally keeps 
it secret.  

Also, I think the dark mark was a big secret during Voldemort's first 
reign.  Sirius didn't seem to know about the dark mark in GoF.  So 
even if it were possible to do a "dark mark" check against anyone who 
might be a DE, perhaps the MOM didn't have that information until 
after Voldemort fell.  

On the other hand, Snape (and presumably Dumbledore) knew about the 
dark mark, so one could assume they passed that information on to 
MoM.  If Dumbledore knew, why is it that he didn't see fit to tell 
Sirius this bit of information?

Cindy