Sirius Clueless?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 124723


Lissa wrote:
> 
> The impression I have is that the Dark Mark tattoo is not always
visible.  Karakoff says that the mark is "coming back" when he's
talking to Snape, indicating that you can only see the mark when
Voldemort's around.  What's more, the mark burns black when the Death
Eaters are summoned. <snip>

Carol responds:
I snipped your post, most of which I agree with, because I want to
nitpick a little. The Dark Mark is not a tattoo, a Muggle skin
decoration made with ink and a needle. It's a brand burned onto the
DE's skin, presumably using the Morsmordre spell. I agree that it was
probably barely visible after Voldemort was vaporized, but I don't
think it went away completely, which would have indicated that
Voldemort was dead. As I've said before and someone else recently
stated, DD probably knew that Voldemort was defeated but not
permanently destroyed because Snape (who I think was already at
Hogwarts) showed him the faded Dark Mark.

To return to my point, a tattoo wouldn't fade or darken. The ink would
remain the same color permanently. But the Dark Mark is not a tattoo;
it's a magical symbol burned into the skin. In a sense, it's a curse
scar--the mark of a powerful, evil curse that responds to the mental
state and desires of its maker. (And Snape's mark, I believe, senses
his disloyalty to Voldemort, which is why it burns him when
Voldemort's name is spoken, maybe because, as Snow suggests, part of
Voldemort himself is in the Dark Mark. A foolish move on Voldy's part,
if that's the case. Look what happened to Sauron.)

Carol, with apologies for combining Snape theories with a nitpick on
word choice