Who Knows What?

[donnaimmaculata]

I think I am beating a dead horse here (i.e. Dumbledore = Uber-Manipulator), but I was thinking about the Dark Mark recently and have made some assumptions that I'd like to share.

Quite possibly it's pauraque's re-reading of GoF which triggered this thought, because I can't otherwise explain what made me wonder about the Dark Mark and its implications at this stage. GoF is an old hat, and I should rather have continued writing my ideas on postHBP!Bill, but there you go. This theory appeared from thin air and required being written down.

I've always worked on the vague premise that the Dark Mark triggers reactions of other Dark Marks in its vicinity. It's not in the text, but what is in the text is:

"It was a means of distinguishing each other, and his means of summoning us to him,"

says Snape when explaining the Dark Mark to Fudge in Chapter 36, The Parting of the Ways, in GoF. But how exactly it is used by Death Eaters to distinguish each other?

The books imply that all wizard robes have long sleeves, which sort of rules out the possibility of accidentally spotting another Death Eater's Dark Mark. Besides, as the Dark Mark tattoo features the same motive as the Dark Mark spectre that is used by Death Eaters to indicate that they've just murdered people, it would not be wise for Death Eaters to flash it at the unsuspecting public, who are familiar with the motive and not very fond of it.

Sneaking up at random strangers loitering in dark corners in Knockturn Alley and pulling up one's sleeve to show them one's tattoo in the hope that they, too, are Death Eaters might work, but is still risky and is bound to be futile. - There are more random strangers loitering in dark corners in Knockturn Alley than there are Death Eaters, and it is not a very efficient way of recognising possible allies.

The Dark Mark might be used in lieu of a password to authorise Death Eaters to enter Dark Revels™. It's certainly very handy for people like Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr. who are - as the text implies - not terribly bright and incapable of remembering complicated sequences such as, say:

"The significant owl hoots in the night."
"Yet many grey lords go sadly to the masterless men."
"Hooray, hooray for the spinster's sister's daughter."
"To the axeman, all supplicants are the same height."
"Yet verily, the rose is within the thorn."
"The caged whale knows nothing of the nighty mighty deeps."
"The ill-built tower trembles mightily at a butterfly's passage."

So yeah, flashing your Dark Mark at the doorman instead of rattling down elaborate passwords does make sense - especially when you consider that Lord Voldemort does not seem to select his followers on account of their intellectual prowess.

But I thought - as Voldemort uses the Dark Mark to summon his followers by activating one Death Eater's Mark (Peter's in GoF) to which the other Dark Marks react thus indicating to their bearers that they have to Apparate at Voldemort's side - that it would make a lot of sense for individual Dark Mark's to activate each other, too. If a (masked and robed) Death Eater bumps into another (masked and robed) Death Eater, they know instantly that they work for the same side. I used this concept in The Last Resort, where Snape realises that Peter's just entered the room by the reaction of his Dark Mark.



However, I've never thought it through thoroughly, and it never before occurred to me that, if one Dark Mark triggers a reaction in the other, then Snape would have realised that Moody was a Death Eater in GoF, because Crouch Jr. carries the Dark Mark. I am very fond of my concept, though, and didn't want to give it up just because of Crouch's Mark. This made me consider the implications of what-was-really-going-on behind the scenes in GoF and of Who Knew What.

Assuming, as I do, that the individual Dark Marks react to each other, there are several possibilities:

+ When transforming into Moody, Crouch Jr. lost the Dark Mark and was safe from Snape. The End.

+ Snape knew that there was another Death Eater in the castle: Karkaroff. He assumed that the reaction of his Dark Mark was due to Karkaroff's presence and didn't realise that there was yet another Death Eater at Hogwarts.

+ Snape realised that Moody had a Dark Mark -

a) But he didn't confront him nor tell Dumbledore, because he is loyal to Voldemort and guessed enough to realise that it was part of Voldemort's plan. (He knew that Voldemort was getting stronger in GoF, and it is safe to assume that he expected Voldemort to plan something.) (Though he probably did not expect the plan to be quite as ridiculous as it turned out to be.) He might even have guessed that Harry's entering the Tournament was somehow part of the plan, too, but was happy enough to see that Harry was in mortal danger.

Not-confronting Fake!Moody about being a Death Eater makes sense: Communication does not figure largely in the HP universe, Fake!Moody was openly hostile, and Snape would not know which Death Eater was impersonating Moody - it was likely to be someone who would not trust Snape anyway. So Snape knew that Fake!Moody was a Death Eater, Fake!Moody knew that Snape knew (because he knows how the Dark Marks work), and they both circled around each other all year.

b) And did confront Fake!Moody, offering his assistance. Moody did or did not accept Snape's help, but it helped establish Snape as a loyal Death Eater after Voldemort's rise (Moody and Voldemort did communicate during GoF), which is why he was welcomed back in the ranks.

c) And he did tell Dumbledore, because he is loyal to him. Dumbledore of course knew anyway, because is smart like that, and it was all part of his plan. GoF was a logical extension of PS, really: In PS, Dumbledore happily sent the children after Quirellmort, in order to test Harry's strength and abilities, and in GoF, he happily let him enter the Tournament to test his strength and abilities again.

Actually, this is my favourite theory: I think it's very likely that Dumbledore knew, but was prepared to risk a confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. He knew that Voldemort would rise again at some point, he knew that Harry was the one to fight him eventually. He knew (e.g. because of Loyal!Snape's information) that Voldemort was actually rising during GoF - there was nothing he could do to stop him, and it was better to have Harry confront Voldemort under more or less controlled conditions. It is likely that he knew that Voldemort would need Harry's blood for the resurrection ritual and it was essential for Voldemort to regain a body before he could be ultimately killed. This would explain the "look of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes at the end of GoF. By having Harry enter the Tournament and fight through it under Dumbledore's watchful eye, Dumbledore was setting up the chessboard for the final battle.* It was risking a lot, as Harry could be killed. But it was not risking as much as one might think: Harry is the one to kill Voldemort not because of some cosmic plan, but because he has been carefully trained to think he has to, as Dumbledore explained in HBP.

The prophecy is a self-fulfilling one (and I am very happy that Rowling acknowledges this, as I've said so months ago**): Harry kills Voldemort because Voldemort has gone after him and his family and, by doing so, gave Harry some weapons others don't posses (according to Dumbledore). So, if Harry would have been killed during GoF, it would be regrettable, but it would not mean that Voldemort was now immortal. He could be just as well killed by someone else who acquired the necessary skills.

+ MultipleAgent!Snape knew about Moody's Mark, and he told both Moody and Dumbledore, in order to keep his options open. He knew that Voldemort would know that he, Snape, must realise that Moody was a Death Eater. It was safer to pretend to be loyal to Moody and, ultimately, to Voldemort. At the same time he also assumed that Dumbledore would find out in any case and wanted to make a good impression. This theory works in combination with the one above: Dumbledore follows his own agenda and Snape follows his. Harry and Crouch Jr. are only pawns in their larger-than-life game of chess.

*The internal logic of the books only works if we assume that Dumbledore knew all along and let Harry endanger himself. In PS, even Harry guessed that Dumbledore sent him after Voldemort. In CoS, it is most probable (I'm not sure whether or not explicitly stated) that Dumbledore knew about the basilisk - but having Harry have a go would test Harry's abilities as Parselmouth, which, as we learned in HBP, are an important factor in Harry's fight against Voldemort. In PoA, we know that Dumbledore knew about the tunnel leading to the Shrieking Shack and yet he did not have it blocked. He had Filch block all other secret passages, but the one tunnel which Dumbledore definitely knew existed (because it was he who had it built) was left open. He knew that Sirius knew about the tunnel, because he sent Snape there after Remus. While I think that a lot of this can be contributed to Rowling's plot holes (which is why I've always considered Dumbledore the largest plot hole of all), I am getting very fond of the idea of MasterManipulator!Dumbledore and JustAsSneaky!Snape, especially after HBP.

**Watch out for the pre-HBP thoughts on the "long line of inbreeding Slytherin descendants"!

Comments

[fourth_rose]

That's quite convincing - although I have to say it doesn't take much to convince me when it comes to MasterManipulator!Dumbledore ;-)

And yay for Pratchett-style passwords - they're a lot more entertaining than "sherbet lemon", aren't they?

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that Dumbledore was a poorly developed character (just like Voldemort is a very unsatisfactory bad guy). I don't think that Rowling means him to be the sneaky Master!Manipulator, but that's the only way this character can be explained, really.

Pratchett comes in handy whenever one needs a reference to... anything, basically. And I wouldn't put it pass Voldemort to use some seriously cracked-up passwords for Death Eater revels.

[souliesoul.livejournal.com]

Very interesting. I really like the idea that the individual marks react to each other.

[stvincent.livejournal.com]

(First off: your possibility #2 (that Snape didn't suspect Moody because Karkaroff was also at Hogwarts) doesn't really work because Moody was in the castle with Snape for over a month before Karkaroff and the Durmstrangs arrived. Also, when did Dumbledore send Snape after Remus into the Shack? I thought Snape came to give Remus the wolfsbane and saw the revealed map.)

Your theory that the Marks react to each other is a very interesting one, but I don't think it's entirely correct. I think this mostly because of the interaction between Karkaroff and Snape. (I don't have the book in front of me, so this is all from memory. Bearing that in mind ...)

I think it's in the garden scene (at the Yule Ball) when Karkaroff says something about his Mark "coming back." This has always implied to me that the DEs' Marks faded sometime after Voldemort's fall, and began reappearing soon after he returned to England (despite his weakened state). Harry catches a glimpse of red, raw-looking skin in one or the other of these scenes (I think) (or perhaps it's before Voldemort touches Peter's mark), and from what I recall, the Marks become black only after Voldemort has "activated" them by touching Peter's Mark in his restored state. I don't believe it's made clear if the Marks stay black after this, or if they begin fading again if they aren't "used" by Voldemort for a while.

When Harry eavesdrops on Karkaroff and Snape after potions class (when he "accidentally" spills his armadillo bile), Karkaroff shows his Mark to Snape, which implies that he isn't sure Snape has felt his Mark "coming back," or showing any other type of reaction (to Karkaroff's Mark, for example). Wouldn't Karkaroff know exactly what Snape could and could not feel, if the DEs had used them many times before to identify each other? (Actually, that raises another question: if your theory is correct, did they still work after Voldemort's first defeat? Could "former" DEs still identify each other by their Marks when the trials were being conducted, say? Would the Ministry have know about this aspect of the Marks and used it to identify DEs? And WHY THE HELL did Sirius' lack of a Mark not lead to any questions, however minor, about his supposed guilt? Could the Ministry not have known about the Marks at all?)

This is getting very long & rambling, but the point I'm trying to make is that the Marks don't seem to be fully "activated" until after Voldemort gets involved again. This could mean that your theory is wrong, or it could mean that the Marks react differently to each other than they react when Voldemort summons the DEs. (I'm under the impression that it causes the DEs quite a bit of pain when he summons them, but that could be because the only DE whose reaction we saw was Peter's, and he had just had a hand cut off. Also, he was the one whose Mark was actually touched, which might make a difference.) We see no signs of Snape and Karkaroff being in pain when they're near each other (or near the false Moody), so maybe they feel a mild twinge when they're close to other DEs as opposed to the full-on burning of being summoned. Or perhaps, as I said above, the Marks don't work the same way (or as strongly) if Voldemort is severely weakened, as he was for most of GoF. (This could be another reason that Snape didn't know that Moody was actually a posing DE.)

Karkaroff asks Snape something like, "You feel it, don't you?" which to me implies that neither of them was expecting to feel a reaction from the Mark when they were near each other (and each knew the other was a DE, so they would have been expecting it if your theory is correct). Then again, perhaps the Marks haven't reacted to each other since Voldemort fell, and that newly-enabled reaction is what Karkaroff was talking about.

I should turn this into an essay, shouldn't I? *sheepish grin* *wanders away to find food*

[persephone56.livejournal.com]

Yay for trying to explain away plotholes!

(Though I always get a headache trying to explain how the Voldie/Snape/Albus spy triangle bit is supposed to work anyway... it really makes no sense. I think she's given us too much information that contradicts itself.)

This may sound strange, but my absolute favorite bit in here is:

Harry is the one to kill Voldemort not because of some cosmic plan, but because he has been carefully trained to think he has to, as Dumbledore explained in HBP.

That 'carefully trained to think so' says the truth of the matter much more clearly than Albus did.

[lavinialavender.livejournal.com]

Hi - I like your theory, and I think the most plausible explanation in the fourth book is that the Dark Mark didn't pass on to Moody's body when Crouch polyjuiced.

Anyway, I did a poll about the Dark Mark (http://www.livejournal.com/poll/?id=490221&mode=enter) some time ago, and you might be interested in the results.

[starpaint.livejournal.com]

From a random passerby -

Also, when did Dumbledore send Snape after Remus into the Shack?

He didn't. Sirius sent Snape after Remus in the Shrieking Shack incident, and Dumbledore's known for years.

It's really quite creepy. Dumbledore doesn't even block it up after the Fat Lady is assaulted and Ron is sort-of attacked. Either there's a gaping plot-hole or Dumbledore's more manipulative than I ever imagined.

[xwingace]

Another random passerby...

The passage to the Shrieking Shack *is* blocked. By the Whomping Willow. Only someone who knows how to pacify the Willow can get past. Now Dumbledore may know that Sirius can do this, but I also think Dumbledore has believed (known?) Sirius to be innocent from day one and so doesn't particularly *care* if he gets in or not.

XWA

[starpaint.livejournal.com]

The block's kind of irrelevant, though, because Sirius knows how to get passed it, and he's the only person at the time who has any reason to be sneaking into the school.

Comes down to the same thing, anyway.

[rosina-alcona.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of Dark Marks sensing each other (like when you send something by Bluetooth on your mobile phone and it picks up all phones with Bluetooth activated within a 20 metre radius).

I also thought it could be like the Freemasons, who have a secret handshake (something to do with the position of the thumb) - subtle enough not to be noticed by someone who isn't a mason, but clear enough to someone who is. I suppose the Dark Marks would sense each other through a handshake or touch.

Dumbledore's manipulation aside - would circumstances not lead Harry to try and avenge his parents' death regardless?

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that Rowling meant them to, but I think it makes sense. More sense than showing your Dark Mark to random strangers, anyway.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Oh, I do agree with what you say. I don't think that my theory is "true" as in "this is what Rowling meant the Dark Mark to be". But I do think that it would make sense for the Marks to react to each other in some way, because it would be the easiest method for DEs to recognise each other. This is why I tried to organise my thoughts on the possible implications.

You're right about Moody being in the Castle before Karkaroff. I completely forgot. However, I didn't think that that theory was correct in any case, so there.

My idea was that the DM react differently to each other than they react to Voldemort's summons. No pain, no angry red/black colour, but merely a slight tingle, or a tickling sensation, or magical sparks crawling up and down the skin, or instant erection (if you're into Death Eater slash). Just a little something to let them know there is a fellow Death Eater around.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Yes, explaining away the plotholes is what keeps this fandom alive, isn't it?

Though I always get a headache trying to explain how the Voldie/Snape/Albus spy triangle bit is supposed to work anyway

After GoF, I was convinced that Snape's spying job did not involve going back to DE revels and communicating with Voldemort (whom I can't imagine holding a normal conversation in any case; he's probably having megalomanic tantrums all over the place, complete with flying spittle and mad frothing at the mouth) but that he would re-instate his old contacts and hang around at the fringes. I couldn't believe that Voldemort would accept him back just like that. But there you go. Canon.

That 'carefully trained to think so' says the truth of the matter much more clearly than Albus did.

I've just extracted the real meaning of Albus' words ;-)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Canonically, I think it is most likely that Snape did not realise Moody was a Death Eater. But I like playing around with canonical concepts.

Thank you for the link. It's very interesting indeed. Some of the answers did come as a surprise.

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think it is a plot hole. But when trying to explain the internal logic of the characters' actions and motivations, it's impossible to not consider Dumbledore either dangerously stupid or dangerously manipulative.

[obliquity.livejournal.com]

Hi! I hope you don't mind me perusing your other entries. I really like a lot of this theory too. I am going to friend you, I hope that's not a big deal. :)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Please, go ahead. I am very flattered. However, I should warn you: As you might have noticed, I haven't updated my LJ for quite some time and I'm not likely to be around much in the near future, either. But I'm definitely answering my comments. And I hope to be back to LJ-ing some time soon.

[obliquity.livejournal.com]

No worries. :D I like poking around and I'll definitely check out the other stuff you have written. I'm a big fan of HP fans who are well-spoken. ;)

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Feel free to poke around, then :-) I know what you mean about well-spoken HP fans. I have been so fortunate as to meet quite a few of them - apparently, I move around in the right corner of fandom ;-)

Thoughts on Dark Marks

[r-grayjoy.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the Marks react to each other only if the Death Eaters involved choose for them to do so. Presumably Death Eaters arrive to meetings clad in masks and robes for more reasons than simply to make a fashion statement. Some of them are likely high ranking political officials or members of society, and therefore would wish to remain anonymous, even to the majority of the Dark Lord's other followers. Also, anonymity prevents a captured Death Eater from revealing the identities of too many of his or her compatriots. Still, if a Death Eater did wish to identify himself as such, he could 'trigger' his Mark in some way, and wait for a 'response' from another nearby Mark...

Re: Thoughts on Dark Marks

[donnaimmaculata.livejournal.com]

Perhaps the Marks react to each other only if the Death Eaters involved choose for them to do so.

Yes, this is certainly a possibility. What I was basically trying to say was that I don't believe that the Dark Mark is used as a visual means of recognising each other. I think that, seeing as they have a Mark that can be activated in some way (by Voldemort), it makes sense that they use magic to check out whether another person has the same Mark instead of attempting to take a glimpse of another wizard's forearm.