CyberTech Worlds Clash

Chapter 64

Skills of the Beginning

Luke sat back in his office pondering the un-ponderable. He leaned back in his leather chair while multiple screens were before him giving him readings and whatever, that were stranger than magic or science, or both.

"Dimensional ripples?" he asked himself thoughtfully. "What the heck is going on with this crap? It just doesn't make sense… or at least shouldn't," he said using his hands to move the holograms, moving a few to overlap graphs. "What am I doing, sitting in the dark looking at freaky reading?"

"Sella?" he asked, even though no one was in the dark office with him, and all he had was a comfortable chair and large curved white desk with holographic screens floating around him.

"Luke-ee-pie!?" she asked as her voice came from around him. "I have no idea what this mess is either, but you must wait for Tyde to finish running her analysis, but I'm glad I'm here to share this with you."

"Please don't engage any soppy-mode," he replied with a smile, as he leaned back with a sigh as he ended up looking back, to where this all started for him – driving out of hell.

"So, he's still not even tried to blag his way out?" asked Len, one of the leading investigators with the London Police. "Hmm, the way his uncle was talking about him, you would think he's nothing but a lying piece of crap with... well, with nothing better to do than lie or cause trouble."

"Yeah, I noticed, it just seems... well, something isn't right with this," agreed his partner, Kevin. "The kids file is clean to near non-existent. It's like this kid just appeared out of nowhere, and looking over records; this Lily Evans; his mother just doesn't exist. Then, that's not mentioning how much contempt Petunia Dursley seems to have for her supposed deceased sister – it's quite sick, if you ask me. If someone you hate is dead. At least let them rest in peace."

"Yeah, but not even a death record for her or her husband?" Len agreed suspiciously. "In fact, Lily's husband seems to not even have a birth record," he added, frowning in thought as he sighed while tapping his fingers against the table they sat at in their office, (a habit he had when deep in thought). "Lily Evans, or Lily Potter, or whatever just seems to have disappeared sometime after her eleventh birthday, yet nobody reported her missing, which I find strange.

"Then there's this whole freak business," he continued, annoyed. "I mean, seriously. The Dursley parents must be mentally unbalanced, believing the boy has magical powers."

His partner Kevin, laughed, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, me, I wouldn't care even if he did have magical powers; he's just a kid and needs protecting. Plus, he seems pretty-oblivious to anything magical to me. If he had magic, wouldn't it defend him?"

Len laughed, rolling his blue eyes. "I know, and you know, if he did, why the hate; it could come back to turn you into a frog in the future if you're not careful!"

Kevin nodded, thinking. "Though, the Dursley parents are so adamant that they've only treated him right since his parents supposed deaths, and that he's just spit in their faces! Though, it's odd how his school says he's a genius of a student but every class he shares with Dudley Dursley seems to make him stupid!"

"Not to mention the teacher who supposedly called social services," Len agreed, frowning. "The paper and computer records are fine, but the investigators didn't do much but visit the Dursley's, and then, though the paper trail says that the Dursley's are unfit guardians, or parents, they just stopped looking into it."

"Maybe it is magic… we've all heard about this Bio-Terrorist nonsense from the States?" Kevin said nervously. "People with powers… like from comic-books, and secret agencies doing inhumane experiments, or whatever is what some weirdoes online are sprouting about that these days – maybe some twits are confusing reality for the films… or maybe magic isn't too far-fetched?"

They laughed together, and Len shrugged, trying not to think about it too much, as neither of them wanted anyone thinking they were conspiracy theory nuts.

"Well, whatever is happening, mate," Len said, "we have to look out for the boy. He's not even eleven yet, and already in trouble, but looking... he was certainly escaping in my opinion. We'll have to listen to his side of events. Let's just hope we can actually do something for him if he is just trying to run from them."

"Sirs!" interrupted a young man as he knocked on their office door and entered with some paper files in his hands.

"Martin?" Len asked, surprised by the interruption.

He nodded with a show of respect. "The doctor has finished examining Mr. Luke Potter, and isn't pleased. I was there, and he had burns, cuts, bruises, and healed lacerations, and is highly underfed and suffering malnutrition. You should have seen him eat. It was like a wild animal who barely got to feed or something."

Both Kevin and Len were wide eyed with horror as they were given the reports. "So, is he fit for interview?!" Kevin asked after a moment's thought.

Martin nodded his head. "Mentally, yes," he agreed. "Though, the doctor had said that we should get Luke to hospital soon after for X-rays and tests. His appropriate adult has already arrived since those... Dursley's didn't want anything more to do with him, not that his solicitor would let them near him."

Len quivered as he responded with a nod. "Good, that fat bloke gave me bad vibes. I'm glad they're not here. It could put the kid off telling the truth."

"Luke doesn't seem like a bad kid to me," Martin said as he stepped out of the small office, holding the door. "For what he seems to have been through, seems pretty good. I just hope this gets sorted in his favour or he could go down a bad path!" he finished before leaving the office, closing the door behind him.

"I'll have to agree with that," Len said to Kevin looking over the medical report. "We saw his supposed room. It didn't look like it was used for anything but broken toys and games. They said he broke it all, but that fat kid of theirs. He broke that robot toy he was playing with while we were there and didn't act as if that were new."

Kevin laughed bitterly. "It's looking more and more like a huge case of neglect and abuse to me. And I can tell you I would hate having them as members of my family. The more I hear and think the more, augh! Well, listening to their neighbours they barely see Luke even during holidays from school!"

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Len agreed thoughtfully. "Apparently Luke is to blame for everything that goes wrong around the neighbourhood, even though nobody sees him doing it. Then asking a few of those kids from the neighbourhood...?"

"They blame Dudley Dursley," Kevin interrupted, coldly. "Which means that the parents are too stupid to listen to their kids; if they had listened Luke might have been set free before now...!" he said, but paused as another knock on the door interrupted before Martin barged back in.

"We've just came up with some success," he said, entering, looking like he ran back. "The team just found a Mrs Evans. Lily Evans's mother," he said, shocking the other two. "Her husband had died a few years ago of heart dieses, and she now lives in a small cottage in Cornwall," he said looking over the paperwork he was holding.

"They've already contacted her," he continued, excited. "She thought Luke was dead, and she's on her way to come and pick him up when he's well enough to leave of course, given that it looks like he's the real victim here."

Len sighed in relief. "Did she mention anything about this magic rubbish?" he asked, curious.

Martin nodded his head. "Yeah, let's see," he said shuffling his papers. "The officers sent to the cottage mentioned the weird claims to her, and though shocked she quickly debunked it as her daughter, Petunia being a religious nut or something like that, and Lily having been involved with some Wicca religious stuff when she was younger. She was shocked to hear Luke is alive, and wants to take custody of him."

Kevin nodded respectfully. "Yes, the way the Dursley's ranted and raved about this secret, 'Magical World', I don't blame Mrs. Evans for turning her back on her eldest daughter. Though, why Luke wasn't sent to his grandparents, is beyond me… and some of these oddities, well, let's hope we get it sorted out as soon as we can."

"Well, thank you," Len said as he took the new papers and added them to their pile. "I hope we can sort this soon and hopefully, help Luke get on a good track with his grandmother!"

Martin nodded with a grin. "No problem guys, it feels good to be helpful, that's for sure," he said as he left again, closing the door behind him.

"It would be more helpful if he waited to get an invite rather than just barging in like that," Kevin commented, slightly amused. "This leaves us with more evidence against the Dursley's. It seems they've been treating Luke badly because Petunia Dursley's sister, Lily Evans used to be a part of the wiccan, or a pagan faith, or maybe still was when she died."

"Religious intolerance, always terrible," Len agreed sighing. "I honestly don't care whether you want to scream your hate for whatever religion you want with a megaphone from the top of Tower Bridge, but when you treat a kid like shit because of a religion, that's fucked up. Though, that still doesn't explain where Lily Evans disappeared too when she should have been heading to senior school."

Kevin nodded in agreement. "I see what you're seeing here, but thinking, really, it is likely that Lily was sent to private school for gifted children. I've heard of other kids seeming to disappear only to reappear, their records badly kept by the schools, but at least exam results will be somewhere if we look hard enough."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, and we can ask her mum about it," he agreed, nodding. "So, shall we get this over with; speak with the boy since he has an adult present; his solicitor has been here for a while talking with him so he should know his rights enough by now, and the guy with him is no slouch! Having crashed the car, he had stolen into Conner MacGrath's taxi, and him being in town, let alone being in the country; big time international solicitor."

"Then offering to take Luke's defence," Kevin agreed, looking as confused as he sounded. "For a blind guy, he seems to see more than most, I swear. Takes a lot of cases like this I hear. He seemed to realise that this was more than meets the eyes, quite literally, and even we've heard of Mr. MacGrath's cases over in the states with that... well crime syndicate thing, but taking on a kid, free of charge… maybe he's looking to become a saint."

Len chuckled as he stood up. "Maybe the universe was just giving the kid a break."

"I try not to believe in fate," Kevin said, smirking as he stood, stretching some kinks out of his body. "But I suppose that was a fluke and a half, and then maybe some more. If there is Lady Luck, Luke has just been favoured."

"Hey, he had to get something from her eventually," his partner replied as he gathered up all their papers and led his partner out of the office door, and down the corridor. "I mean, from the gathering evidence, let's just hope really hard that everything works out for the kid."

"Well let's hope we can give him some much-needed improvements," he agreed trying not to show his annoyance as he looked at the file picture he had managed to get of Vernon Dursley.

While they were heading down from the offices to the cells to see, Luke Potter; Luke himself was sitting on a hard bed 'mattress', which consisted of just a thin blue foam thing on solid concrete. It was hard and uncomfortable, but much better than he was used too.

Luke sat hugging his knees; his ten- and three-quarter year old emerald green eyes just staring off into space, not really looking at anything. He was wearing a baggy blue track suit, which needed extra string to hold it up since it was his elephant cousins before his.

Mr. MacGrath sat next to him in the cold cell, and there was steel toilet out in the open that was left uncared for, and wouldn't be a place Luke would want to go to the loo.

The brown-haired solicitor or lawyer, or whatever was wearing a black suit with white shirt and black tie and shoes. His hair was really-short, and neat, and he had a bit of a fighters build, like he would do well in a barfight, well, if he wasn't blind. He was wearing dark glasses over his eyes, and holding a white stick, and had smirked, showing Luke his eyes, they were such a pale blue they were almost completely white, and he apparently wore the glasses for the comfort of other. Luke felt bad about the man being blind, but he had serious problems too.

Though, looking to the cell door, it was nice that it was left open. Luke wasn't keen on any kind of confinement. It made him feel sick and trapped, and like he couldn't draw in any real breath. He ran his fingers through his mess of black hair, half worried, half curious.

Luke's mind was abuzz of possibility, wonder, and even an emotion he had long since had squished: hope. He had always wished to feel hope, to feel freedom; to be able to feel the wind through his hair without that chill of fear in the background. He had watched his horrid uncle driving before, quite a few times so knew from observation that it wasn't hard; well to him at least. However, some idiot who should have his licence taken pulled out in front of him, and that led to Luke's predicament.

It turned out he crashed into a taxi, and a blind man had saved Luke, as the car had flipped and set on fire; it was lucky he wasn't hurt. Then the blind man; a lawyer, wanted to represent him, for free.

Luke had found it awkward talking to a stranger about the Dursley's, and though he sensed some well-hidden anger, it wasn't aimed at him. Mr. MacGrath listened, asking questions when needed and encouraged him to tell the truth. He had an American accent, which was strange listening to in person.

Though, Mr. MacGrath wanted Luke to tell the police everything, so justice could be brought upon the Dursley's, and that they won't get away with the wrongs they had done. Luke had always known somewhere that the Dursley's were wrong, but years of mistreatment made him wonder sometimes.

Though, this time, the Dursley's, they weren't suddenly getting away with their lies. Luke had done something huge enough to finally get noticed. It felt quite exhilarating to know that for once, people were listening, and really helping; they were not running away, calling him a liar.

Luke had watched many times; the Dursley's would blame him for doing things that his cousin Dudley had done; bad things. However, though the parents, without proof would take the Dursley's side. He saw, from the shadows that the other kids tried at first to set the record straight, but parents being parents never gave a dam about what their children thought, over adults.

He had even been fed here, at the police station, though the food was rather tasteless, he ate everything, and then some more. Luke hadn't eaten so well in years, or ever thinking about it. He would rather stay in the police station than ever go back to those Dursley's.

It was with a quiver that Luke remembered the scarce suppers, and nothing while at school. The teachers either didn't know or care, but what got to Luke most was HE cooked up everything and got near squat but grief from the Dursley's. They called him a lazy good for nothing when he did EVERYTHING.

Luke did the cooking, the laundry, tidying the house, the gardening, and even washing the car. He had grown tired enough that dark circles had formed around his eyes and he wondered whether the lack of sleep was making him crazy enough that he stole his uncle's car, and five grand cash he knew from his chores that Vernon stashed in his bottom draw.

Though, Luke supposed he had gotten pretty good at cooking; though they complained, they eat it all greedily. He would just like to taste what he had cooked himself one day, rather than meagre scraps of nothing.

Wondering whether they called in the Dursley's yet just depressed him; but Mr. MacGrath had said that he would keep them away from him, and use the law to its fullest. Luke hoped he could get some more... hope, and then maybe, someday he could become someone important, someone powerful.

Luke seemed to go into some kind of automated mode as the police arrived and introduced his appropriate adult; a nice young woman who held his hand all the way to and through the questioning. He didn't much pay attention, but under his solicitors prompting he told them everything he knew: everything.

It was embarrassing, the amount of pity aimed at him before he was released and sent onto the hospital where he would-be put-on medications, and a few bones re-broke and set correctly after the X-rays, but he was okay with that if it would help him.

Luke was surprised after he had just gotten settled in the hospital to find out he had a grandma. She was old with greying red hair, but with bright green eyes. He felt smothered as she visited every day, apologising for never knowing about him. He didn't mind; it was new, unusual, nice, and quite comforting, and she brought him nice and tasty treats. He didn't understand how someone so kind could have such a child like Petunia. Though, he didn't ask her as she already looked so shameful thinking about her eldest daughter.

The police had raided the Dursley's house and arrested them, finding the cupboard under the stairs, and more evidence of the Dursley's abuse, even a letter from some old guy called Dumbledore, which angered his grandmother, but only he seemed to notice. It pretty much asked them to hurt him, to end him, and that he would become a danger to 'them', whoever that meant.

However, it was later that year when Luke was well on his way to mending, and had been accepted into a school for gifted children at the start of the new term; he had not long turned eleven, so he was rather excited. He heard his mother had too when she was eleven, but she wanted to go someplace else, and he was curious, as his grandma encouraged questions all the time.

"Oh, Luke," his grandmother said with a sigh as she sat at her favourite chair in the lounge, and he sat near on the three-seat sofa. "I guess it's time I tell you about magic, and the magical world," she had said shocking him. "Yes," she said smiling. "It really does exist, and your mother was a witch, but that doesn't mean she was bad or anything, never, your mother was the kindest soul around."

"Then why would she leave me with... them?" Luke asked, worried. "I mean, you were here, and Grandpa before he..." he trailed off as she looked sad, and he felt bad for never knowing his grandpa.

"It's an old magician called Albus Dumbledore," she said, honestly. "Even when your mother was young, she didn't trust him. She said he tries to control everything, and doesn't care about the consequences of being wrong. To him, if he's wrong it doesn't matter; if he's right, he lets the world know, but the in-between being right and wrong is what's worrying.

"He has so much control over the people," she carried on. "He's the Headmaster of a prestige's school of magic, so he grooms the children into worshiping his beliefs, and those who don't he'll call neutral if they step aside, and dark if they fight him, even if they're good people, he and his followers don't care.

"It was a while before your birth that I realised something went wrong, well, your grandpa and me," she said. "Lily had been acting oddly, and then out of nowhere was marrying James Potter. Now, we had met James before, and he was a good boy, but even he didn't seem to understand why, we could see it… he came to us; he was scared.

"James had liked your mother at school," she said chuckling at the memory. "But they had just become friends. Though, of course we were happy they had finally gotten together they started getting distant from their family. I had only been told that she had a son, but... something sounded off in the letter that I don't understand.

"However, it's Dumbledore," she said growling, angry. "If he did this to you, he's obviously afraid that you could dethrone him, too chicken to do the job himself. Often, these pretend heroes are complete cowards, not like your grandfather, who fought in the war you know," she said not elaborating in which war.

"S-so... I have magic?" he asked in awe, feeling terrible that not only having his parents taken, but grandparents and magic too, just because some old guy felt threatened.

She nodded her head readily. "From what I heard of the mental ravings of Petunia at court, yes Luke, but I'm sorry I wouldn't know how to teach you how to use your magic!" she said, sounding odd about that, almost amused, and not quite truthful, and he had heard half-lies and non-truths enough, but he didn't bring it up as he was grateful to have her.

"That's okay, Grandma," he replied with a rare grin, lightening her mood. "I'm going to be an awesome scientist one day, and then, then I'm, I'm going to find them, and make Dumbledore regret ever kidnapping me!"

She smiled; at peace with his sentiment, but there was that part of her that didn't doubt a word he said. "Of course, you will Luke... I can see great things coming from you, but don't spend too much time on revenge. You're one of the imaginative one's, with the smarts to match. There are so many people whose lives you can change for the better."

Luke grinned at his grandma, giggling. "I think... I think I want to change who I am... my name, so they won't realise who I am until it's too late, but it will be slow, simple, too simple for them to have a clue if they ever would. This way, they can't stop me, and maybe I can research magic too, if I have it, and stuff, right?!" he said having some faith for once, but only faith in his grandma and her faith in him.

"Yes, I think that would be a great idea, if that's what you want?" she replied, humouring her grandson, not realising he was one hundred percent into this idea. "Well, do you have a name you have in mind?" she asked, smiling, not realising he had given changing his name quite some thought before now, to spread his wings and be renewed, ironically like a phoenix.

He nodded, grinning as he startled her. "Yes, as a matter-of-fact grandma, I have," he said, excited to discuss this with her so she nodded for him to continue. "Luke Evans," he said smiling. "It's so simple that they won't give it a second's thought."

Luke smiled as his grandma stroked his cheek, proud of his thoughts. "Then Evans is simple as it is your name, and people can be so ignorant that they won't realise."

"I just want to hope, you know grandma, hope I can be something special!" he smiled at her sadly. "I want to prove something, something to myself and others! To bring new flames of change to the world!"

His grandma just gave him a look of pride as she pulled him caringly into her arms, hugging him as tightly as she dared. "You are going to be something special, Luke, something so much better than a pretend hero who would hurt innocent children to protect his fakery."

Luke grinned, embarrassed as he squeezed out of her hug while she smiled, pleased her plans for saving him were going so much better than she had hoped.

"Thanks Grandma," he said. "I just want to do something, and if I get to meet this Dumbledore, I'll get him back, and teach him right from wrong! You helped save me, but why... why did Dumbledore have too..."

"I really don't know. I wish I did," she answered, smiling softy, and this time perfectly truthful. "I just know that I'll tell you everything you want too, or need to know about these people, and maybe you can figure something out. From your test results I don't and won't ever doubt you'll do something spectacular.

"I know how to find the magical world Luke, and I'll tell you everything I can," she continued, patting his hands while he looked to her hopeful. "But you must promise me, promise that you won't go there until you're strong enough to go there and protect yourself from their powers. We'll get you some lessons in self-defence, and I'm sure, if you work your way high enough-."

"I'll make technology that can help me too," he interrupted excitedly. "And maybe, maybe I can figure out some magic too, and be... umm... awesome."

"But from my knowledge they need a wand, except for when it's an accident," she answered slowly and thoughtfully, just nudging at his intrigue enough. "I heard the woman who came to speak with us, and your mother, before her first year, Professor McGonagall says that accidental magic is caused by great emotions, mainly fear or anger, but I suppose other emotions might do stuff too, if they're great enough."

"Then, if I have to Grandma, I'll learn to control my emotions enough to be able to do something cool to help protect myself," he replied grinning at the thought of all the experiments he could do to find out everything he could about magic and how it worked, even before walking into the magical world to seek any kind of payback on this old man, Dumbledore.

"Seeing the way your mind works, sweetie, I won't ever doubt you can," she answered laughing before she stood from her chair smiling at her grandson, so full of hope. "So, Luke Evans, what do you want for a celebration supper before you head off to school for your first day come, two weeks Monday?" she said as they only had two weeks once Monday arrived, until the summer holiday ended

Luke grinned at her and started blabbering about all kinds of things he might like to have and try, neither realising that with this, everything, and anything, the worlds had just changed drastically, as he told her about all the different foods, he might like to try for the first time; his curiosity spiked.

It would be over the remaining holidays that Mrs. Evans would change Luke Potter's name from Luke Potter to Luke Evans as if Luke Potter never existed, and made sure that his new school registered him anew under this fresh start where he would someday soon prepare the worlds for a new future, and make great, impossible things!

to be continued...