Café

By King

Warning- If religious views of Christianity or atheism bother you to an extreme extent, please don't read any further.

Disclaimer- This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


"Hey."

Potter did not respond. His eyes were closed with his head leaned back. Those muggle contraptions called 'earphones' or whatever rested atop his mat of ridiculously breeze-tumbled hair. Reaching over, Draco pried away one of the 'phones'.

"Oy. Listen when I'm speaking."

He merely rolled his eyes and pressed a button on a small mechanism laid on the table beside his customary iced latte. Draco lowered himself into the chair reserved for whoever arrived last.

That was one of the unwritten rules. Never sit in the chair next to the window if you were last; it was something without meaning or purpose, but it had become sacred in this temple of mocha-amaretto scents and quiet conversations.

"That thing plays music or something, correct?" Draco inquired in what he had hoped was a casual enough tone.

Potter stared at him incredulously. "Malfoy, how the hell are you managing to survive as a muggle?"

Surprisingly, Draco merely smiled in an oddly spiteful way and replied, "I have my ways."

The other's brows plummetted in suspicion, but he let it pass. Draco smirked in his also customary chai tea. "Oh, Potter, if you only knew…"

Potter absently swiped at his hair and studied him with an unreadable emotion. "You know, I've been thinking."

Draco snorted. "There's a change."

Ignoring his snide remark, the dark youth went on, "What you said last week. It's not true." He looked up and stared directly into Draco's eyes. The ex-Slytherin almost flinched. Almost.

"Go on."

Potter rapped his fingers for a moment, a thoughtful look on his tired features. He seemed to be contemplating the best way to go about his altercation against Draco's claims. The blonde, exasperated at the slow progress of this 'contemplation', had the sudden urge to slap Potter. Not long ago, he would have immediately followed this urge. But then the war began in earnest. And he and Potter had run away from things that they did not have the will to face. Once, Draco would have killed Potter as soon as sit and converse with him, but things had shifted. The world no longer seemed so small and petty as House squabbles.

Of course, it was most likely also due to the fact that both were in that awkward age just between manhood and boyhood. Both felt the maturity of experience in life taking a part in their daily actions, and yet still that childish clinging to rashness and overstated passion influenced them to become stubborn and unruly toward the other simply because they were frightened. Frightened of something they still had yet to understand.

"Do you believe in God?" Potter's voice cut through Draco's musings like a javelin.

"God?"

"Yes."

As a pureblood and a wizard, Draco had been raised to only believe in the power of his own volition. When he had found himself alone and a fugitive, he had seen no reason to change this.

"No. I don't. Humans are formed by their own actions, not by predestined paths."

Nodding his head simply, Potter did not seem surprised. Glancing about the café, his eyes skimmed over the bent heads of studious researchers to settle on a balding man with a high, black collar underneath his tweed jacket. His hand on the edge of the table discreetly pointed out the man to Draco.

"Y'see him? He believes in God."

Skeptical, Draco turned away from the man in tweed. "How do you know?"

Potter sighed impatiently and retorted, "Can't you recognize a priest when you see one? It's the high collar."

"Oh. I just thought he had a bad sense of fashion."

"He does. But that's not the point. The point is that he believes in God while you don't-"

"What's this to do with what I said before?" Draco interrupted becoming peeved at how long it was taking for Potter just to make a point.

"If you'd let me continue," he glared, "I'll tell you. That priest believes in God so much that he is absolutely convinced that his prayers are answered and that his soul will live forever. He might become doubtful every now and then, but he remains steadfast. You disbelieve in God so much that your will to succeed only by your own hand gives you the strength to be confident in yourself. You find peace in knowing that everything is logical and all has reason."

Draco sipped at his tea and followed Potter's every move in expectation. It was funny how those jaded eyes became so animate at times like these. He wondered if it was the same with himself.

"So who is right?"

"If the priest tells you that God exists, it must certainly be true. And if you tell me that there is not a God, then of course it is true."

The blonde's eyebrows arched in surprise. Perhaps Potter had had one too many lattes.

Noticing his dubiousness, Potter continued, "Don't you see? It's the belief itself that matters the most. If you believe in something enough to stand beside that belief in confidence, then it will unquestionably be genuine to you. So, in that sense, all standards are true no matter how contradictory they may seem at the surface."

Leaning back, Draco examined the not-quite-man before him. Potter seemed feverish in his excitement and quite satisfied with his own deductions. They both looked at the other expectantly though for what neither knew.

Finally, Draco drained his cup and shook his head. "That's just like you. Saint Potter. It's just like you…"

He expected Potter to be angry, but he merely seemed to become extremely weary. Standing, the dusky-haired youth put on his jacket and stuffed his CD player inside.

"Going?" Draco inquired.

"Mm. Work."

"You don't work on Saturdays."

"Doctor's bills."

"I see."

He left, leaving behind a half-empty iced-latte and a reflective young man.


N/A: Thank you for reading at least this far if you have. And I'd particularly like to thank Yas for your insightful reviews on my stories; most of your questions can be answered on my bio, btw.

Also, I know the topic of religion is a bit touchy for some people, so if you've been offended by the views I expressed, please don't come and complain to me. It was your choice to read this; I didn't force you to.

The quote by Voltaire translated is –"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him."