Everyone at Privet Drive always knew that something was wrong with the Dursley's neice. She was never seen outside, except during the spring, but only in the backyard, and at night, screams could be heard from the house.
Then on one fateful day in 1985, it got too much and an ambulance was called to the Dursley home at 4 Privet Drive. Neighbors left their homes to see the little girl being led out of the home on a stretcher, blood covering her face and hands. She wasn't seen again at the house until 1987, but then left after another 'episode' a couple of months later.
Wisteria Asterids Potter was truly a troubled child.
On November 1st, 1981, the day started out crisp and fresh for Petunia Dursley. Everything was perfect. Vernon's, Petunia's husband, breakfast came out perfect, and their son Dudley had a full night sleep and was complacent when Petunia woke him up that November morning. She left him in his walking chair as she left to pick up the mail and milk. After stooping to pick up the mail, she opened up the front door, but a horrifying sight that shook her to the core stopped her in her tracks.
She dropped the mail and shrieked, "VERNON!" Her husband barreled out of the kitchen and down the hall to his wife. He pulled her aside and gasped at the sight, his face turning a puce color.
A baby in a basket, wrapped up in a violet blanket, with a letter resting on her chest laid out on their front stoop.
Vernon quickly picked up the little package, and quickly looked around at the neighboring house, making sure that no one else saw the baby. The baby yawned, and stretched her little arms out. She rubbed her eyes, pushing her long hair out of her face, showing a long jagged scar on her forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"Oh, Vernon, what are we going to do? My freak sister left her kid here!"
"Hush Pet and read the letter. There has to be meaning behind all this."
Petunia unpinned the letter from the girl's blanket and ripped it open, skimming over the letter. Her hand rose to her mouth, face paled, and she gasped. Her hand dropped to her side, dropping the letter. Her eyes glazed over in shock
Impatient, Vernon urged Petunia to tell him what is going on. "Come on, Pet, what did the letter say?" He kneeled down to pick up the letter, steadying himself on the front door. The front door groaned from the morbid weight. He looked down at the letter in his hands, eyes skimming it while urging Petunia to tell him what she had read.
"Her name is Wisteria Asterids Potter. Her parents, James and Lily Potter are dead, and we must take her in because we are her only blood relatives left in this world. It says that if we take her in, we'll have protection from those that killed her parents. My sister…"
Petunia gazed at the rising sun, a thoughtful expression also rising on her equine face.
"Well, then it looks like we're stuck here. But she can't take Marge's room, or Dudley's rooms. Where should we put her?"
They stood there, Vernon holding Wisteria, before they looked at each other, then turned spotting the cupboard under the stairs.
Things were fine in the Dursley home at the start of the Potter babe living there. She was unusually quiet, never crying for anything. It was easy to forget about her until certain nights where she wouldn't fall asleep. There were never any tears but she would scream her lungs out through the night. When Petunia went down to the cupboard, she would just sit on her cot and stare at her, still screaming, and point at the far corner of the dark little cupboard.
During the day, Petunia was always busy with Dudley, so she would sit Wisteria in a corner with one of Dudley's rejected broken toys. She would stare at the ceiling, reach at a certain ceiling, and clap her hands.
One day, Dudley tried to take a forgotten teddy bear away from Wisteria, the sad little bear only had on eye, the other eye had long fallen off from one of Dudley's major temper tantrums.
But Wisteria screeched and clawed at Dudley's face, her eyes changing into an insidious red. Petunia snatched her large child out of Wisteria's grasp and slapped the child across her face. Wisteria plopped down on the carpet, tears starting to peak around her eyes, upper lip quivering, but the tears never fell.
Her little hands curled into fists, and her eyes flashed red again, and she started to bang her fists against her head, pulling at her hair in a mad rage. Petunia quickly put Dudley in his walking chair, his little feet barely touching the floor and ran back to Wisteria, picking her up and pulling her hands away from her face.
Her hands quickly grabbed Petunia's hair and ripped it from the strict bun, screaming. Petunia almost dropped Wisteria, but swatted her on her bottom. She dropped her as she started to thrash and scream, and Wisteria quickly started to bash her head against the floor this time.
Petunia didn't know what to do. Dudley never had any temper tantrums this bad before, she had no experience. She pushed his walking chair with Dudley out of the room and left Wisteria by herself. Wisteria had knocked herself out, her scar open and weeping blood as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.
Petunia couldn't believe that a little two year old child could do so much damage. Her curly black hair was stuck to her neck with sweat, and her cheeks were a rosy color. After wiping up the blood and tears from Wisteria's face, Petunia quickly placed the little girl in the cupboard and locked the door.
When Vernon got home from work that night, they discussed her little episode, and decided that it would be a one time thing, and if it occurred again, they would give her a real reason to cry and send her to the cupboard without dinner.
Sadly, it did occur again, this time with Vernon home.
They were sitting in the family room, a large fireplace sitting at the far wall, in front of the telly. Wisteria was happily playing with that sad teddy bear in front of the fire, when her eyes flashed again. She stood up the only way a toddler could, bending forward, unevenly and pushed herself up. She stood in front of the fireplace grate, keeping the fire back, and wobbled, staring at the fire for a few moments.
The Dursley's were busy with a cartoon playing on the television to pay attention to the little girl, when they heard a scream. She was sitting off to the side of the fireplace now, blood streaming down her face. Petunia could see a large chunk of skin stuck to the brick fireplace. Not looking, Vernon yelled at Wisteria to shut up, but Petunia shushed him, and ran to Wisteria, picking her up like a football and left the house. She got into the family car with Wisteria in the passenger seat.
She sped all the way to the hospital, and carried Wisteria to the emergency room. One look from the nurse, they quickly brought Wisteria to a room and got a doctor, bypassing all those that were waiting. Her forehead was quickly cleaned and stitched, Wisteria crying the whole time. The doctor, nurse, and a detective interrogated Petunia on what happened, but she couldn't tell what happened. She told them that Wisteria was playing by the fireplace with her favorite teddy bear, and that she went into the kitchen for a quick second to grab a drink, when she heard screaming, and she saw her niece sitting in front of the fire with blood streaming down her face, and she just ran out if the house to get over to the hospital.
They let her leave the hospital with Wisteria with the promise to come back if the gash on her forehead reopens, and to remove the stitches in two weeks. Petunia quickly agreed and drove back home. The detective let Petunia off with a warning and if Wisteria was in the E.R. again they would be sending in CPS.
Things with Wisteria cooled down for the next three years with only occasional temper tantrums from Wisteria. There were only slight scares where Petunia would catch Wisteria trying to hurt herself. She grabbed a fork and was poking at her scars on her forehead, trying to cut off the skin. She slowly stopped trying to grab at the fork after multiple tries had failed.
Wisteria never spoke, even at the age of five. Dudley was in kindergarten, but Petunia held Wisteria, explaining to the school board that she was not mentally prepared to start school so early. She brought Wisteria with her to the board and showed that the little girl was still not potty trained, and just sat on the ground, still with that now ratty teddy bear.
They tried to get Wisteria to speak to them, but she just stared at them, then started screeching. She stood up and toddled towards Petunia and sat on the floor behind her chair. The school board excused Wisteria from school, and gave Petunia a list of pediatricians, speech therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists specialized in autism and selective mutism. There was even suggestions of an intellectual disability and talk of special education.
It was after years of complacency that Wisteria struck. She was sitting in the kitchen, mumbling to herself, after a successful appointment with her speech therapist, when she stood up and ran at the countertop corner. Petunia tried to grab her as she streaked past her from her spot at the sink, washing dishes, but Wisteria slipped out of her soapy hands. She struck her face on the corner and bounced back onto the floor, hands flying towards her face. She started to mumble to herself louder, and rock herself, holding her face.
Petunia crouched in front of her and pulled her hands from her face and regretted it. She cut her forehead against the corner, and her eye popped out of the socket, hanging off of the optic nerve. The eye was almost flat, like a popped balloon, intraocular fluid dripping from the pupil. Wisteria started to howl, and Petunia yelled for Vernon. Vernon barreled into the room, but quickly backed out.
"Vernon! Call an ambulance. I cant get the bleeding to stop!"
Help quickly arrived at 4 Privet Drive. Neighbors left their house to stare as the blood covered child was carried out of the house strapped down on a stretcher, with Petunia running after them, her light cardigan covered in blood.
She pulled herself in the ambulance after Wisteria and the ambulance sped away. Dudley and Vernon stood in the open doorway of the house, watching the vehicle drive away.
Mrs. Figg from across the street walked over to the house, trying to see what was going on, but Vernon dodged her questions and just said it was a terrible kitchen accident, closing the door in her face.
