Snape strode forward, 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. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. The Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."
~Goblet of Fire, Ch. 36 "The Parting of the Ways"
This is probably the most Snape's ever said at one time (not including lectures in Potions class). Usually, he doesn't go into full-out explanations like the other characters do, since he doesn't like people to know anything even remotely personal about him. I can't imagine how angry and frustrated he must be to just explain all of this to Fudge, and especially in front of Harry.
At this point, I'm pretty sure a lot of you were all, "OMG I KNEW IT SNAPE'S A DEATH EATER! (Well, he was a Death Eater, but still..." And it was at this point that the huge debate really started--Is Snape on the good or the bad side?
And I can't help but wonder how much it hurts when the Dark Mark burns. I'd also like to know how Voldemort gives his Death Eaters the Dark Mark... That's probably really painful too. And do you have to touch it intending to call Voldemort in order to actually call him, or can you just touch it on accident? Because if it calls him whenever you touch it at all, then what happens if you accidentally touch it while you're in the shower...?
