Sprawled by the pool, they lay doing nothing except working hard at doing nothing. They were a week into their honeymoon and this was the first dry day they'd had, as they'd arrived just as the wet season was coming to an end.
They hadn't objected to the weather, of course. Every morning they'd woken up, looked at the rain falling like stair rods, grinned at each other - and gone back to bed.
Now they lounged around, waiting for Mikhail's friend Manuel to arrive; he'd left a message for them saying he'd drop in on them today.
They saw him coming over, being shown towards them by one of the hotel staff. Rolf got up to greet him.
'Hola, Doctor Fernandez, mi nombre es Rolf Scamander.' Rolf had been practising that, but hoped his visitor spoke English – Norwgian might be a bit much to hope for.
'Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you' said Manuel, shaking Rolf's . He spoke English with a marked American twang. 'But, most people just call me Mano.'
Rolf nodded and smiled. 'Ok, Mano it is. This is my wife, Luna.' Saying that still gave him a thrill.
Luna and Mano nodded and greeted at each other. Luna's first impression was that he looked a bit like Hagrid. He was huge, and rather bear like, with a beard and moustache covering most of his face. Despite being a lecturer in Ecology at the local University, he was an outdoor person at heart. As far as he was concerned, the only place to really learn about the natural world was in the field.
Rolf asked what he would like to drink and Mano asked for a fresh lime squash. Rolf and Luna thought that sounded rather good, so ordered three. They sat chatting about the weather until the drinks arrived.
'So, how's Mikhail?'
'Drunk, the last time I saw him' said Rolf, with a grin.
Mano let out a laugh. 'Yep, that sounds like him! That was at your wedding, yes?' They nodded. 'Congratulations. So you came here on honeymoon? Shame the weather's been so wet.'
'It's not affected us much, to be honest' Rolf said, and noticed Luna blush as Mano let out another laugh. Yes, perhaps it wasn't quite the right thing to say.
'Say, how did you get to meet Mikhail?' Mano asked. Rolf had to have a think about that one. He didn't know what, if anything, this man knew about them.
'Aah…he knows a bit about a species I was studying, and gave us some technical advice for an expedition.'
Mano's eyes crinkled and his voice dropped to a whisper. 'Did you find any?'
'One' said Rolf, cautiously.
Mano looked a little awkward, now. 'I take it we are talking about the same thing?' He looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard. 'Dragons?'
'You know?' asked Luna.
'Yeah, we got talking over a few drinks one time. Mikhail told me to keep it a secret. So…are you two…Jeez, this sounds strange…witches?'
Rolf had already decided this man could be trusted. If not, they had their wands. 'Well, I suppose Luna is. I always think of myself as a Wizard.'
Their guest was trying not to let his jaw hit the ground. 'That's logical. So…sorry, but do you fly on broomsticks, or is that all just comic book stuff. I'm not quite sure if he span me a line or not.'
'Not' said Luna. She saw Mano relax – too early. 'I'm not very good on them. Rolf does, though.'
'Wow!' They all took a drink, to give him a chance to catch up with himself. 'Mikhail said you're zoologists? What do you study…apart from…dr…dragons?'
'We're magizoologists, so anything really. We not come down to a speciality yet.'
Mano looked a little puzzled. 'What makes an animal magical? Is it just ones we think of as mythical?'
They had to think about for a while.
'They aren't really mythical at all' said Luna. 'Manticores, hippogriffs and dragons all exist. I think we just try to keep them quiet.'
'True' said Rolf. 'Just like we keep ourselves to ourselves. To be magical an animal has to have …magical ability, I suppose. Like dragons or unicorns it may be special properties they have in their bodies like their blood or liver. Some animals can make themselves invisible, like Thestrals. Redcaps can have an almost psychic quality.'
Mano shook his head and laughed. 'I can see why Mikhail told me to keep it secret; if I repeated this to anyone else I'd be locked up.'
'Yes,' said Rolf 'the truth is often the best kept secret there is!'
Mano considered that for a moment, and then laughed again. Luna had already decided she liked him; somebody who laughed that much had to be reliable.
'Are there any magical creatures out here?' he asked.
'I'm not sure' said Rolf. 'You have your mythical animals in South America; the Chupacabra or the Alicanto in Chile. I've not heard of anybody doing any work down here though.'
'You think they're all real?'
Rolf shrugged. 'They're mythical until proved otherwise. It would surprise me if some of them existed though.'
Mano mulled on that one for a while. 'Well, I tell you, it could be possible. We don't even know what have round here; there are new species being discovered in the rainforests all the time. Have you visited yet?'
'No, we've not had the chance' said luna.
'Well, I tell you what; I've got to go see one of my research students tomorrow. He's working up the Cabo Blanco reserve about an hour's drive from here. It's not a big place but it's pretty pristine environment and it runs right down to the most perfect beach you've ever seen!'
'Working out here must be hell' Rolf laughed.
'Yeah, but somebody's got to do it!' Mano gave another great laugh.
-o0o-
So that was how they first met Mano, and the start of Rolf and Luna Scamander becoming the most famous magizoologists in the world.
