PTNS-501 Lessons

Projected images of wars and fights flash in quick succession all around the room, showing the worst traits of humanity in each battle. Luckily, the pictures don’t depict any explicit results of violence, but you still can’t shake the feeling of unease you get from experiencing this kind of content so blatantly.

Differently from most days, the professor is already inside the classroom even before the bell strikes, as if he’d like to make sure that no student feels abandoned in that heavy environment. “I know this might be a bit too much, but I don’t share these images for cheap shock value or as an ill-natured prank; rather, I feel like it’s important to see the worst in people as a way to know what we are truly fighting for, to strengthen our resolve, to give us purpose. This was a lesson that I had to learn when I was younger than you all are and what cemented my will to change this world - and now, I hope to impart the same lesson”, the man stated. Albeit his stoic nature usually does not let any emotion shine through, you feel like there’s a tinge of personal feeling motivating his preliminary speech.

“That’s quite enough for now - we will have plenty of time to discuss morals later on. Let us get on with today’s plan, shall we?”

Introduction to Dark Potions

Although I was strongly urged by Professor Penrose to not discuss Dark potions until the beginning of Year Six, I believe that you are all mature enough to be exposed to this kind of knowledge on a precursory level. After all, as Professor Penrose himself would say, “mental preparedness is half of the battle”, and I would be doing you all a disservice if I denied you the chance to be adequately prepared for the dangers that lie ahead.

Do note, however, that we shall not be preparing most of the Dark potions studied in this course, with the exception of those that have positive applications and illustrate important elements of potioneering. We have had our fair share of past students that decided to partake in the Dark Arts as an easy way to fame and power, and I will not have that happening on my watch.

Now that we have dealt with that preamble, let us discuss what a Dark potion is. Essentially, a Dark potion is a brew whose main properties are inherently associated with the production of a harmful result on the drinker or on a third-party person, provided that the creation of the harmful result is a core element of the potion’s use.

Perhaps this definition requires some examples. For instance, Weedosoros is a stereotypical example of a Dark potion, as its main property (i.e., poisoning and killing the drinker) is harmful to the drinker and the potion is used in order to achieve that effect. Conversely, Doxycide is not a Dark potion: even though we might be able to poison a target by lacing their drink with Doxycide, that is not the intended use for the potion.

Likewise, side-effects are also excluded from our analysis, as they do not correspond to the original intent in using the potion. For example, even though an overuse of the Placating Philtrum will cause increased intracranial pressure and even intracranial hemorrhaging, which can easily lead to death, the Placating Philtrum itself is not regarded as a Dark potion as its intent is not to produce the results described above.

Conversely, and as stated previously, a Dark potion might have its positive applications. For instance, although the Draught of Living Death is still regarded as a Dark potion due to its ability to put the drinker into a permanent slumber, this potion is frequently used for therapeutic purposes in painful chronic diseases that have no known cause or cure, as a form to relieve the person from suffering. In other words, the patient can be kept in the suspended state promoted by the Draught of Living Death until a way to address their ailment is found.

Malevolent Mixture’s Traits and Administration

The Dark potion we shall study on a theoretical level today is the Malevolent Mixture. Before you get excited about brewing your first Dark potion, let me emphasize that final point once more - there will be no brewing section in today’s class, and I strongly urge you to not attempt brewing this potion on your own. This is done not only in light of the potion’s effects when successfully completed, but also because this brew, like most Dark potions, is associated with incredibly dangerous mishaps if the steps are not followed precisely to the letter. You have been warned.

Very well. The Malevolent Mixture has a deep purple color to it, smells like a cloyingly sweet roasted marshmallow and tastes like a mixture of plum and nutmeg. The concoction’s smell and taste do not subside even if the brew is blended into a person’s drink, so I strongly urge you to pay closer attention to these traits if you feel like your butterbeer might be laced with it.

The potion is able to produce effects by making mere contact with the target’s body, although the results are much more pronounced if the victim ingests food or drink laced with the Malevolent Mixture. In fact, it is for that exact reason why we use the term “mixture” when describing the potion, rather than “elixir” or any other equivalent term: since ingestion of the potion is not a required element for it to produce effects, these terms would be misnomers.

Emotional Empathy and Correlated Conditions

Now that we know what the potion is like and how it can be used, let us take a deeper look into how it can affect our bodies. The effects of the Malevolent Mixture are quite straightforward - the potion inactivates certain areas of our brain, including the anterior insular cortex, the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex, making it so we are unable to feel emotional empathy. In other words, we preserve the knowledge of what is considered moral or immoral, but don’t feel any of the negative emotions associated with immoral behaviors.

For instance, a person who drinks the Malevolent Mixture will still know that murder is an immoral act, but they will not feel any mercy towards the target nor any fear of being captured and thrown into Azkaban. In other words, the Malevolent Mixture acts as an off switch for all of the feelings that usually keep our darkest sides in check, opening up the floodgates for all kinds of negative acts.

Those that are acquainted with psychology might notice that this is exceedingly similar to a few disorders, such as psychopathy; however, for those that have never been exposed to this term in a scientific setting, an explanation is in order.

In common-sense daily speech, the term “psychopath” usually carries the connotation of a serial murder or other form of prolific criminal that would likely be the target of a documentary series or a fictional movie. However, this image is far from the truth; in fact, many psychopaths might hide in plain sight, beyond any kind of suspicion. I say that not with the intent of instilling fear or paranoia into you, but merely with the wish that you keep your eyes open for manipulative behaviors that might come from people you perhaps deem as “above reproach” - in fact, we will delve into the identification of behaviors that are commonly associated with psychopaths and manipulators in a later section.

From a scientific standpoint, a psychopath is an individual that presents deficient emotional responses, a lack of empathy and poor behavioral controls. As a response to their biological framework, psychopaths resort to underhanded tricks in order to unethically manipulate, extract benefit from and even hurt others, as long as they benefit from the process.

As stated above, this is directly linked to a strong biological component, as illustrated by the following diagram. This picture contains the fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, of both a neurotypical person and a psychopath’s brain - with warmer colors (red, orange and yellow) representing regions of the brain that are more active, and colder colors (green, blue, purple and black) representing less active regions. If you were to compare a psychopath’s brain to a neurotypical one, you’d be able to see that both the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex are less active, indicating that the psychopath feels less emotion than their counterpart.

Cognitive Empathy and Morality

However, this is not to say that having a psychopathic brain is a one-way ticket to being an evil person. Rather, one groundbreaking study carried out by James Fallon in 2005 had a very surprising plot twist: he proved that every person, including those with psychopathic biological features, can control their acts.

Picture this. A young James is studying the brains of serial killers, under the assumption that psychopathy is just caused by biological factors - according to Fallon’s theory, no amount of appropriate nurturing or support could fight against a person’s brain structure. For the sake of experimentation, he collects the brain scans of many accused murderers, hoping to see a pattern in their images. Still, no experiment can prosper without the presence of a control group - it is for that reason that he also collects the brain scans of several family members.

After looking at all of the images, a clear pattern in the brains of the tested serial killers is displayed - a pattern that strongly resembles the fMRI presented earlier on in this class. However, there is also a single member of James Fallon’s family that presents the same kind of cerebral structure, indicating that they are also likely a psychopath. Who could that person possibly be? Did he have an uncle or a cousin that was secretly a criminal in the midst of his family? With a shaky hand, he flips the brain scan over to read the name written atop the label.

FALLON, James.

Needless to say, this event forced Fallon to cast away his assumption that those with a psychopathic brain could not be rehabilitated through appropriate social techniques. Rather, the researcher amended his observations and wrote a compelling paper - which was later the source for his book on the topic, titled “The Psychopath Inside” - on how both biology, psychology and social factors have an impact on whether a person develops psychopathic tendencies.

Why is it that Fallon was able to act in a moral way, rather than just giving in to his impulses? The reason for that lies in the fact that psychopathy does not affect our cognitive empathy, or our ability to try and put ourselves in the shoes of others. Although cognitive empathy does not make us resonate with others in an instinctive and primal way, it is still a powerful tool in leading a moral life.

In order to better differentiate both concepts, perhaps an example would illustrate them quite well. Assume that an animal is being hurt by a person. If we were to react to that scene by feeling sorry for the animal, with a strong feeling of sadness and pity washing over us, that would be an effect of emotional empathy. However, if we were to react by trying to understand what the animal is feeling and acknowledging that it is in pain and scared because of the aggression, then that would be an effect of cognitive empathy. Naturally so, both forms can coexist, with people presenting both an emotional and a cognitive level of empathy at the same time - in this example, the thought process “poor thing, I feel so sad for that animal, he’s probably so scared” presents both emotional and cognitive components.

I digress. Since cognitive empathy is not affected by psychopathic tendencies, Fallon was able to act in an ethical way even if he did not have the emotional drive to do so. This is not an isolated phenomenon, but a state that can be achieved by nearly any person if given the appropriate role models, support and therapeutic techniques administered by a competent psychologist.

Historical Use of Malevolent Mixture

Let us take a step away from the Muggle world of science and back to the wizarding side of it all. I would be remiss if I did not mention the most impactful use of a modified version of the Malevolent Mixture, one that had a deep impact on the so-called Global Wizarding War, also known by some as Grindelwald’s War. Ah, I see some faces that seem to recognize the event - for all other students, I do suggest you review your notes from History of Magic, Year Three.

As it is commonly known, Gellert Grindelwald was an extremely charismatic figure who was able to influence many to do his bidding - including some people who were regarded as paragons of morality, such as Queenie Goldstein. Naturally so, his personal magnetism and persuasive ability played a key role in that process, but the use of a modified version of the Malevolent Mixture was also responsible for how these events played out.

Some of you might know that Grindelwald possessed a skull-shaped hookah, which enabled him to project a smoke that uncovered his divinatory readings for all to see. However, what you may not know is that the produced smoke was able to not only project his visions mid-air, but also influence those who breathed the fumes to lower their emotional inhibitions, in the same way the Malevolent Mixture does - albeit in a weakened form. The end result was an increased level of compliance from his listeners, as they would lose all moral objections associated with the unethical practices proposed by Grindelwald.

However, why is it that Grindelwald didn’t simply put his followers under the Imperius Curse if having control over them was so important? There are four reasons that account for this choice of method, which are as follows:

1. Grindelwald wanted to amass as many followers as possible for his proposed revolution. Under the “Für das Größere Wohl” (For The Greater Good) motto, Grindelwald wanted to create a movement that used the power of the masses in order to establish his desired new order. Using the Imperius Curse was not conducive to that, as the spell can only work on a single target at a time, whereas his administration of the altered Malevolent Mixture could impact many.

2. Grindelwald wanted to make sure that those who followed his plans felt like they were doing so of full accord. The Imperius Curse completely strips a person of their free will, making it easy for the individual to not feel emotionally connected to the acts they did while under the effect of it. On the other hand, slight manipulations of their mental state are much more insidious and difficult to detect, making Grindelwald’s victims more eager to believe they acted out of personal volition.

3. The Malevolent Mixture and its altered forms does not affect cognition, free agency or creativity, which means that those who are affected by it can still use their own ideas and knowledge in order to further a given cause. On the other hand, this is not possible through the use of the Imperius Curse: since the target is completely at the mercy of their controller, their individuality is suppressed and new ideas cannot be provided by the controlled person.

4. The Imperius Curse was severely criminalized as an Unforgivable Curse in 1717, whereas the same criminal status was not shared by the use of the potion employed by Grindelwald. Naturally so, this was just a drop in the ocean of charges that have been brought against Grindelwald; nevertheless, he had the expectation to perhaps escape life imprisonment, whereas that would be impossible had he patently used an Unforgivable Curse.

Recognizing Manipulative Behaviors

All of that theoretical talk might be a great way to contextualize our studied potion, but I would like to delve into the section of this lesson that I deem the most important - namely, recognizing these psychopathic or manipulative behaviors. As I have said earlier, manipulation can come from any person at any time, and as such it is crucial for us to keep our eyes peeled for any attempts people might take at devaluing, upsetting or negatively influencing us.

The first of such techniques is called “gaslighting”, which is defined as the use of lies in order to make the victim doubt their own memories or acts. For instance, a manipulator might lie about his whereabouts for the previous night even if you saw him in person, saying that you might have seen someone else similar or that you are misremembering another day. This technique attempts to create a sense of self-doubt, making the victim lose confidence in their recollection abilities.

Furthermore, manipulators might also work with another tactic called “moving the goalposts”. Simply put, this happens when two people have a specific agreement, which is then modified with extra conditions every time the victim gets close to fulfilling their side of the deal. This occurs quite commonly in fraud, particularly with catfishing on the Muggle internet: the criminal promises to meet the victim in person, but says that they need some money in order to travel to their place. After receiving the agreed-upon amount, they invent new excuses (e.g., their car broke, their mother is sick and needs treatment…) on why they need extra money, roping the victim in little by little. Once the target is unable to pay for the criminal’s demands, they simply cut all contact.

Another technique of note, and the last one I will mention in fear that my rambling will drag on for too long, is “devaluing” - a strategy that happens when the abuser attacks the worth or character of other people in order to make the listener feel special, or when the abuser attacks the worth of the listener in order to elicit feelings of inadequacy. Examples of these are abundant in toxic relationships as well - at first, a partner might state that “all of their exes are crazy, but you are the special one” in order to try and rope you in, only to say that you are “crazy, unreasonable and unable to be loved by anyone else” once the first fight between the two of you occurs.

These manipulation techniques are a small share of all the harm a psychopath or a narcissist can do to your psychology - if you feel like you are being manipulated, or if a trusted friend or family member raises the possibility that you are being influenced, by all means consult a qualified healer that specializes on psychology. Manipulation can have a long-lasting effect on who we are and how we perceive ourselves, and it’s always best to seek help as soon as possible in order to minimize its effects.

Dismissed.

Original lesson written by Professor Vaylen Draekon
Image credits here, here, here and here