What happens if Death Eaters ignore Voldemort's summons?

Question

I know they feel a burn from their Dark Mark when summoned by Lord Voldemort, but is it just a fleeting pain?

Answer 1

The Dark Mark is just a conveyance for a spell like the Protean Charm (it may not be that specific charm, but it functions similarly). When Voldemort makes it flare and burn, it only does so so long as he triggers it, and it happens (so far as I can tell from the books) for everyone.

Thus, it's reasonable to assume that the Dark Mark doesn't punish people who do not respond to Voldemort's summons.

Voldemort, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be a very tolerant boss when it comes to being tardy. I'd expect people who don't respond and don't have a very good excuse get fired, Avada Kedavra-style.

Answer 2

It most likely is a fleeting pain, because there were several Death Eaters that did not respond to Voldemort's return and the surrounding events. For e.g. Igor Karkaroff. His Dark Mark too started burning in Goblet of Fire. Yet he fled, and chose not to respond to the summons of Voldemort. Based on that, we can say that the Dark Mark can be ignored, or the burning sensation is not long term.

Answer 3

The Dark Mark burning doesn’t seem to last.

Snape describes how the Dark Mark burnt black, then “faded” somewhat. When it burnt black seems likely to be when the Dark Lord was summoning the Death Eaters to the graveyard.

“The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was, an hour or so ago, when it burnt black, but you can still see it.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 36 (The Parting of the Ways)}}

Bellatrix describes the summons by the Dark Mark as a notice to go to the Dark Lord at once - she doesn’t mention any “automatic” punishment caused by ignoring it.

“But you didn’t return when he came back, you didn’t fly back to him at once when you felt the Dark Mark burn –”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 2 (Spinner’s End)}}

The danger in ignoring the Dark Mark burning is that the Dark Lord will be angry, knowing his summons is being ignored, especially if he believed the reason to be disloyalty or an attempt to desert.

“The scar on Harry’s forehead seared with a sharp pain again, and Wormtail let out a fresh howl: Voldemort removed his fingers from Wormtail’s Mark, and Harry saw that it had turned jet black.

A look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

‘How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?’ he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. ‘And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 33 (The Death Eaters)}}

Snape ignored the Dark Mark’s summons, and after convincing the Dark Lord he had a good reason, was unpunished.

“The Dark Lord’s initial displeasure at my lateness vanished entirely, I assure you, when I explained that I remained faithful, although Dumbledore thought I was his man. Yes, the Dark Lord thought that I had left him for ever, but he was wrong.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 2 (Spinner’s End)}}

Death Eaters who had deserted the Dark Lord were punished, but that didn’t have anything to do with the Dark Mark’s summoning them.

“And they’ve found Igor Karkaroff’s body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it – well, frankly, I’m surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius’s brother Regulus only managed a few days as far as I can remember.”
_{^{- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 6 (Draco’s Detour)}}

Their ignoring the Dark Mark summons wouldn’t have directly caused it - their desertion would.