long gone champion

Jermaine Tolke sat there, aloof towards the rest of the world. He wasn't expecting anyone to come visit him either way. His younger sister was currently at Hogwarts, his older siblings would never even dare come to a place considering they were muggles, his mother was long gone and his father was in a coma. He looked down at his hands, wondering what had encouraged himself to harm himself. I should've kept in touch with people at Hogwarts, he thought to himself as he slumped down on the couch.

I should've, he thought once more. He was a somewhat popular in school, he had amazing grades, amazing friends, amazing everything - except family but that was a different story. The young man had a bright future ahead of him and now... now he had absolutely nothing.

The soft spot Alice had for sick people was so big, she could've become a Healer- if her healing spells didn't suck. Instead, she would help out at St. Mungos and Furmage Asylum in her free time, doing whatever she could to cheer people up and help the workers take care of them.

It was helping out at Furmage that she saw someone she never really thought she would run into. "Jermaine?" she exclaimed, seeing the older boy before her.

Jermaine's head snapped up at the female voice and his hand subconsciously fell onto his lap and his hands tightens up against his thighs. The blonde looked vaguely familiar to him and once he realized it, his lips turned into a small frown. Jermaine remembered her as the young girl who hanged out with one of their mutual friends. He never had talked to her much though but he remembered her name. Poots. Alice Poots.

Jermaine was ashamed to say the least. The girl seemed like she had her life put together and he... he was in Furmage for attempting of killing himself.

"Hello," he said out loud evenly, "Alice,"

Alice looked carefully at the boy, who seemed almost ashamed to see her. "Hi. It's nice to see you again," she said softly, giving him a small smile, "How are you?" Right after the question was out of her mouth, she mentally facepalmed. Something was not alright, or he wouldn't have been there, in an asylum.

She wondered what could've happened to the boy, because, while they hadn't really talked much during their Hogwarts times, he seemed to have such a bright future ahead of him. Jermaine had friends, he was smart, he was good-looking. . . Alice wondered what had happened.

The dark headed boy chuckled and shurgged, "I'm sure I've been better. What about you? How are you doing?" He assumed she wasn't a patient, considering she wasn't wearing the Furmage clothing and had never seen her before. He would've recongized her if she had seen him.

"You still at Hogwarts or have you graduated already?" He asked as small talk. He really didn't know what he'd talk about considering he had been stuck here for the longest time... well six months, three weeks, five days, 12 hours and 42 minutes. But he wasn't counting - of course he was.

"I'm fine, I guess. I've been better, but I've also been worse, so," Alice shrugged and smiled, looking around. "It's a pretty nice place," she noted absentmindedly before turning back to the boy, "I mean, for me, that is. Someone who hasn't been here longer than a few hours."

"Um, both, actually," she said with a small laugh, "I graduated just last year, but I'm working as Librarian as of now. Not exactly what I hoped I'd be doing the year after I graduated, but oh well."

He trailed his eyes along with hers and returned to look at her with a semi-shrug, "It's nice enough but it's not home. Being held against my will in a place isn't where I expected to see myself today but things happen. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?"

Jer raised an eyebrow interested, "A librarian? That sounds... fun. Glad they got rid of that old bat from before. She was a pest at times but that was her job I suppose." Tolke looked at her with a curious glint and his lips quirked into a small smile, "Do you get to kick those little kids out of the library too? Because if you do, that sounds fun."

"If that's not what you want to do, then why are you working there instead of pursuing your dreams?" He asked her bluntly.

"Nothing ever compares to home," Alice said and her eyes softened when she looked back at the boy, "You won't be stuck forever, though. And when you leave, you'll be free to do whatever you want to do."

"I'm helping out," she answered, "I like helping people, as clichéd as that sounds. So I help out in a lot of medical facilities."

Alice smiled, "Can you believe some of the sixth and seventh years actually congratulated me? They were really glad to see that one out of there, but now I sort of understand her. I bet I'm not as bitchy, though." She gave a small laugh and shook her head, "I haven't yet, I really should do that at least once, though."

The girl bit her lips and shrugged, "I don't have a dream. I have things I like doing, things I would like to do, but not any real dreams. Besides, I needed a job, I couldn't live on the streets." And my stupid parents won't give me any money, she added mentally.

"Being stuck here forever seems like an awfully long time," he agreed as he looked away from Alice, to the nearby woman who he recalled, had Alzheimer. He remembered a nice conversation he had with her one day... but she didn't remember at all and she would never. Jermaine's mind started to wander slightly but he did realize that Alice was telling him that she liked to help.

"It's odd that I've never seen you here," he said at once. "Unless... is it your first time here?"

"Wy would they congratulate you?" Tolke asked as his eyebrow raised curiously, "Because you beat the old cow at her game? Or because they actually know someone that works there?"

"I'd rather work, you know," he stated. "I'd rather do anything else that be stuck here. I've been stuck here for what feels like ages and nothing. I feel like I've missed so much but I don't know. What kind of things do you like to do?" He asked.

Alice shook her head, telling him it wasn't her first, but third time at Furmage. "But I'm not surprised you haven't seen me, I haven't been here in a while," she explained, "Last time was at least two years ago, I was still in my 6th year, if I'm not mistaken."

"Because I actually got the job, and they were too excited to see her go," the blonde told him with a small smile as she remembered that day. Their old librarian had been there for so long, Alice herself had begun to think she would die on the job. Of course, her parents probably had done something in order to get their daughter the job, as much as she hated it.

She took a seat next to Jermaine and looked at him, "You will have a job, when you get out. And I told you, you will get out. As soon as your treatment's done, I'm sure they'll let you leave - and then you can make up for all the time you lost."

"I like traveling, helping people, reading, parties, animals, photography, kids - though I would be the worst professor ever. What about you? What do you like to do?"