How could the Dark Mark remain unseen?
Aug. 7th, 2020 08:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunnyskywalker posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
deathtocapslockAfter working out the reasons I think the Dark Mark can’t be visible on Death Eaters’ arms at all times (otherwise wizards would all be so incompetent that their society should have collapsed ages ago), I decided that exploring other aspects of the Mark’s functioning that might be interesting, or at least useful for fic writers.
For example, if it can be invisible even while Voldemort is at full strength, what kind of invisible is it? There are different ways of making something un-seeable in the wizarding world. Is it semi-permanently Disillusioned? Is it under some other kind of glamor which makes the arm look normal unless the Death Eater or Voldemort wills the glamor off? Or is it not so much invisible as unnoticeable—that is, people technically do see it, but can’t process the information to realize that they see it?
Maybe it makes use of another spell we see make things disappear and reappear. When Harry stood looking at the houses of Grimmauld Place, he couldn’t see Number 12 until he read the note, upon which Number 12 suddenly appeared. Using a version of the Fidelius Charm to protect their secret mark would make sense for a secret brotherhood. For all we know, that’s a fine old tradition of wizarding secret societies: maybe the Knights of Walpurgis had a secret mark concealed by Fidelius too.
If this is how it’s hidden, then each Death Eater must be the Secret Keeper of his Mark, since we see Snape reveal his to Fudge. Or rather, co-Secret Keeper, because I can’t see Voldemort giving his followers sole control; he’d want to make sure he could reveal their Marks at any time. And probably to make sure his followers knew he could.
Does the Hospital Wing scene contradict a Fidelius-Charmed Dark Mark?
It doesn’t particularly support it, and you have to make a small assumption or two, but I think it can work. Here’s the passage in question:
The most straightforward reading is that Snape showed Fudge his forearm, the Mark was clearly visible before Snape explained, and the sight made Fudge recoil. In this case, the Mark isn’t Fideliused unless Snape intending to share the Secret makes it visible before he actually says anything. This seems unlikely.
However, Voldemort may have broken the Fidelius on all his Death Eaters’ Marks to punish them for their years of disloyalty. Now they can’t hide their allegiance easily, so they had better make sure Voldemort wins, or they’re bound to get caught sooner or later. Or maybe he only released the Secret for the “coward” and the “traitor.” Either way, would Snape have known the Secret was broken before he showed Fudge his Mark? Perhaps he didn’t, and thought that Fudge wouldn’t see the Mark until he told him it was there—and on later reflection, he realized that Fudge recoiled before he explained and realized that Voldemort had released the Secret.
There are a couple of other, less likely readings. Maybe Fudge recoiled instinctively because someone was shoving an arm toward him, and he only saw the Mark after Snape said it was there—though Fudge might not have realized this if he weren’t looking directly at Snape’s arm already when he reacted to Snape getting in his personal space. Or maybe the writing is misleading about the exact sequence of events, and Snape said “The Dark Mark” simultaneously with pulling down his sleeve and shoving his arm toward Fudge.
So, while the Dark Mark being hidden by some version of the Fidelius Charm isn’t required by canon, and it requires a little explanation, I don’t think it can flatly be flatly ruled out either.
But just to make sure we remain frustrated, Rowling has the Carrows hoping to claim that a student touched the Dark Mark and paged Voldemort accidentally. Now, they are not known for their brilliance, so maybe this is not possible and it's a sign of their desperation that they're even considering the excuse. It would make a lot more sense to build in a precaution against that, like requiring intent to use the alert feature. But it could be that touching the Dark Mark with human flesh really does magically butt-dial Voldemort and all the other Death Eaters.
Which is a terrible idea. Do Death Eaters have to wear mysterious armbands to protect themselves every time they want to go swimming with friends or have sex? I can see Voldemort finding this petty torment of his followers an amusing fantasy, but was he actually reckless enough to do it? He seemed too competent to make that kind of mistake before maybe the late 1970s. Was the Dark Mark a late addition, or was he just always a terrible Dark Lord who got away with it for decades because everyone else was even more foolish? Or can we invent some half-baked magical reason why it must work that way whether Voldemort likes it or not?
But hey, at least it means fic writers can still build drama around the terror of someone unknowingly pushing up a Death Eater's sleeve and touching their arm. More dramatic than just seeing a mark, even, given that Voldemort might show up. Maybe Rowling was trying to be thoughtful.
For example, if it can be invisible even while Voldemort is at full strength, what kind of invisible is it? There are different ways of making something un-seeable in the wizarding world. Is it semi-permanently Disillusioned? Is it under some other kind of glamor which makes the arm look normal unless the Death Eater or Voldemort wills the glamor off? Or is it not so much invisible as unnoticeable—that is, people technically do see it, but can’t process the information to realize that they see it?
Maybe it makes use of another spell we see make things disappear and reappear. When Harry stood looking at the houses of Grimmauld Place, he couldn’t see Number 12 until he read the note, upon which Number 12 suddenly appeared. Using a version of the Fidelius Charm to protect their secret mark would make sense for a secret brotherhood. For all we know, that’s a fine old tradition of wizarding secret societies: maybe the Knights of Walpurgis had a secret mark concealed by Fidelius too.
If this is how it’s hidden, then each Death Eater must be the Secret Keeper of his Mark, since we see Snape reveal his to Fudge. Or rather, co-Secret Keeper, because I can’t see Voldemort giving his followers sole control; he’d want to make sure he could reveal their Marks at any time. And probably to make sure his followers knew he could.
Does the Hospital Wing scene contradict a Fidelius-Charmed Dark Mark?
It doesn’t particularly support it, and you have to make a small assumption or two, but I think it can work. Here’s the passage in question:
Snape strode forwards, past Dumbledore, pulling up the left sleeve of his robes as he went. He stuck out his forearm, and showed it to Fudge, who recoiled.
“There,” said Snape harshly. “The Dark Mark.”
The most straightforward reading is that Snape showed Fudge his forearm, the Mark was clearly visible before Snape explained, and the sight made Fudge recoil. In this case, the Mark isn’t Fideliused unless Snape intending to share the Secret makes it visible before he actually says anything. This seems unlikely.
However, Voldemort may have broken the Fidelius on all his Death Eaters’ Marks to punish them for their years of disloyalty. Now they can’t hide their allegiance easily, so they had better make sure Voldemort wins, or they’re bound to get caught sooner or later. Or maybe he only released the Secret for the “coward” and the “traitor.” Either way, would Snape have known the Secret was broken before he showed Fudge his Mark? Perhaps he didn’t, and thought that Fudge wouldn’t see the Mark until he told him it was there—and on later reflection, he realized that Fudge recoiled before he explained and realized that Voldemort had released the Secret.
There are a couple of other, less likely readings. Maybe Fudge recoiled instinctively because someone was shoving an arm toward him, and he only saw the Mark after Snape said it was there—though Fudge might not have realized this if he weren’t looking directly at Snape’s arm already when he reacted to Snape getting in his personal space. Or maybe the writing is misleading about the exact sequence of events, and Snape said “The Dark Mark” simultaneously with pulling down his sleeve and shoving his arm toward Fudge.
So, while the Dark Mark being hidden by some version of the Fidelius Charm isn’t required by canon, and it requires a little explanation, I don’t think it can flatly be flatly ruled out either.
But just to make sure we remain frustrated, Rowling has the Carrows hoping to claim that a student touched the Dark Mark and paged Voldemort accidentally. Now, they are not known for their brilliance, so maybe this is not possible and it's a sign of their desperation that they're even considering the excuse. It would make a lot more sense to build in a precaution against that, like requiring intent to use the alert feature. But it could be that touching the Dark Mark with human flesh really does magically butt-dial Voldemort and all the other Death Eaters.
Which is a terrible idea. Do Death Eaters have to wear mysterious armbands to protect themselves every time they want to go swimming with friends or have sex? I can see Voldemort finding this petty torment of his followers an amusing fantasy, but was he actually reckless enough to do it? He seemed too competent to make that kind of mistake before maybe the late 1970s. Was the Dark Mark a late addition, or was he just always a terrible Dark Lord who got away with it for decades because everyone else was even more foolish? Or can we invent some half-baked magical reason why it must work that way whether Voldemort likes it or not?
But hey, at least it means fic writers can still build drama around the terror of someone unknowingly pushing up a Death Eater's sleeve and touching their arm. More dramatic than just seeing a mark, even, given that Voldemort might show up. Maybe Rowling was trying to be thoughtful.
