[HPforGrownups] Theory of the Dark Mark

[Kelly Grosskreutz]

No: HPFGUIDX 60557

Jack wrote:
> The Dark Mark serves two functions that we know of:
> 1) A symbol of the Death Eaters Enslavement. They are branded for
> life.
> 2) A summoning beacon.  LV use it to summon the DEs individually or
> as a group.
>
> The Dark Mark is normally dormant, invisible to the eye.  It burns
> black when called by LV, and slowly recede into invisibility within
> hours.
>
The only problem with this, though, is that Snape and Karkaroff have had
their Marks coming back into existence for almost an entire year.  Karkaroff
chased down Snape at least twice to show him how much his Mark had grown.
Snape went to Dumbledore at least once to show him his Mark and to tell him
it kept getting darker as time went on.  I speculate that during this time,
Voldemort was slowly getting stronger, and the presence of the Mark is an
indicator as to how strong he is.  I'll let Snape take it from here:  "It is
not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can
still see it....This Mark has been growing clearer all year.  Karkaroff's
too."  (US hardcover, p 709-710)

It burned black because Voldemort was summoning his DE's.  It does fade
somewhat after a summoning, but not completely.  It only fades completely if
Voldemort has either lost his powers or is no more.

What I just noticed when I reread Snape's quotes was something else he said
that intrigued me.  From page 710:  "It was a means of distinguishing one
another, and his means of summoning us to him."  The first part of that
quote is what I'm looking at.  What does he mean, distinguish one another?
Does he mean that it distinguishes them as a DE, a member of Voldemort's
inner circle?  Or does it imply that each DE's Mark is slightly different
from everyone else's?

Kelly Grosskreutz
http://www.idcnet.com/~ivanova