Two Harry Potter/Death Eater general info. questions

Cafe Society
1

I’m halfway through HBP right now, and I just realized two things I have no idea about:

  1. What does the Dark Mark look like? Is it that skull-eating-a-snake thing on the back cover of HBP?

  2. Is it illegal, in and of itself, to be a Death Eater? Or is it perfectly legal, if socially awkward (like being a member of the KKK), and it’s merely the murders and other assaults they commit that gets them thrown in Azkaban?
    It’s just been so long since I read the other books, and I don’t have any of them in my possession anymore (else I’d just skim for the answer).

2

  1. There are two things, as I recall, that are referred to as the Dark Mark–the big, green skull & snake sigil that Death Eaters use to mark locations where they’ve killed, and the brand on each Death Eater’s arm that Voldemort uses to summon them. There has never been an explicit description of the latter (the closest, I think, is a reference in GoF to the “ugly mark” Snape shows to Fudge). However, we can probably presume that the symbols are the same.

  2. While most aspects of the wizarding legal code remain vague (except for those dealing with underage wizardry), there has been nothing to indicate that any law against being a Death Eater has been codified. This legal technicality is unlikely to afford any protection, however. Recall that at one point, Aurors were authorized to use Unforgivable Curses against suspects, and that being a Death Eater would almost certainly cause them to suspect you of something. The Ministry has also sent people to Azkaban without trial, and on some occasions without even a shred of evidence. When the witch hunt is on, it’s inadvisable to wear a pointy hat.

3

That was under Barty Crouch, though. We don’t know if things are as bad under the new Minister.

4

Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister O’Magic, seems cut in the Barty Crouch mold. He may or may not be willing to authorize the Unforgivable Curses, but he certainly is picking up innocent people with loud mouths.