Open Making a Splash

[Manaia Te Rangi]

((Open after Donna!))

Manaia had been enjoying Hogwarts life... it had been good to go home for the summer holidays, but he wasn't sorry about being back at school either. It had been easier than he feared to settle in, being lucky as he was to have cool roommates and Auntie Kahu watching his back. There was one thing from home that Manaia found himself missing though, and now that he had had a taste of it again, he felt worse than ever. Usually Manaia spent half the summer out on a boat with his dad, and he desperately missed the water. And despite having such an awesome lake, Hogwarts didn't seem to have so much as a kayak available for students to enjoy it. But he was at least going to do what he could, especially on a hot summer day. Manaia tossed his T-shirt aside once he reached the lakefront, wearing just his boardshorts as he dipped his feet hesitantly into the water. It was cold, sure, but not unbearable, and Manaia was eager for a proper swim. After checking the depth he backed up a little bit, giving himself a good start as he sprinted straight for the water and flung himself hard, cannonballing into the lake with a powerful splash. He laughed as he surfaced, treading water and looking around as he adjusted to the lake's temperature and depth, glad to finally feel a bit closer to home.

 

[Riley King]

While there were many things wrong about boarding schools, Riley's biggest pet peeve was the lack of time to yourself. Sure, Hogwarts was big, but was there anywhere she could go without being bothered? She supposed with a school that big, they could support thousands of students, which meant that no matter where you went, you were bound to find a person. All the girl wanted to do was lie down in the sun and read her book, but the lawn was far too noisy for that. And on a hot summers day, everyone was outside, and as stubborn as she was, Riley wasn't going to let anyone ruin sitting in the sun and reading a book for her.
So far, so good. She had managed to block out the world around her and dive deep into another John Flanagan book. It was a big moment for Will, and Riley had to stop herself from skimming the page and finding out his decision, when a big, random drop of water landed and scattered all over her page. The Gryffindor's head snapped up, looking out and seeing a boy (that she was sure she had seen before), surfacing from the lake. "Dude!" Riley yelled out frustrated, taking the bottom of her top and dabbing it on the book to try get the water stain to dry.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia had been paying far more attention to the lake than its surroundings when he cannonballed, so he wasn't fully aware that he wasn't alone until he heard a voice from shore. Turning to look, Manaia laughed gently at the sight of the girl he had splashed. "Sorry!" He called back, treading water slightly closer to shore. "You should come for a swim, it's way nicer than on land."

 

[Riley King]

"Oooooor I could keep trying to read my book in peace." Riley responded grumpily to the boy, not managing to get the wet mark off the book. With a groan of frustration, Riley grabbed two rocks to hold down the pages while she placed the book in the sun to dry. "I didn't bring my togs down, anyway." She said to the boy, now unsure what to do with herself.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia gave an easy shrug when the girl turned down his offer, continuing to tread water. "Your loss." He said with a mild smile, unable to be upset when he was back in the water. "What's even that book anyway?" He added, swimming a little closer but unable to see the cover pressed under the rocks.

 

[Riley King]

Riley was surprised that the boy continued to talk, people were quite often put off by her bluntness - even her mom told her she needed to chill. With a small breath, Riley kept her mom's advice at the forefront of her brain. "Oh, it's uh - John Flanagan. He's this guy that writes like, these really cool stories." Wow. Real chill Riley, real chill. "Have you ever heard of him? He's Australian." She added, trying to keep up the conversation.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia nodded as he listened to the girl, content to just float in the cool water of the lake. "Never heard of him, but he sounds cool." Manaia said in agreement, giving the girl a smile. "What's it about?" He added, shifting to float on his back for ease. "I might read it if it's good..."

 

[Riley King]

Riley smiled, feeling more confident at the boy's smile and interest. She sat up a little straighter, excited about the book. "Well, it's one of twelve books! It's about a boy, he's been chosen to become a ranger's apprentice, and they have to fight battles. Anyway, it is good. You can borrow mine once I'm finished... if you wanted." She finished, not noticing she had moved closer to the water's edge during her chatter.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia listened with interest as the girl described her book, and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Ohhh chur, that sounds mean as!" He said enthusiastically, grinning at her. "I'll definitely read that when you're done if it's all good!" Manaia mostly liked books about big grand adventures, so it sounded exactly like the sort of thing he would enjoy.

 

[Riley King]

The boy's enthusiasm made Riley grin back at him, and she decided to take her shoes off and dipping her toes into the water. She flinched slightly at the cold but kept the toes in. Riley nodded her head in response. "Of course. You're...Mania, right? I think we have Astronomy together?"

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia grinned when the girl joined him, at least slightly. He treaded water as they talked, nodding when she got his name right. "And you're... Riley, aye?" He asked, hoping he hadn't remembered wrong. Names could be a headache sometimes, with the amount of classmates he had. "Astronomy's mean as, aye? I love it."

 

[Riley King]

Riley nodded her head, beaming that he had remembered her name. She didn't really stand out - not that she wanted to, but it was nice that her name had some memory to it. "Yeah, it's alright! I wouldn't say like, a favourite subject, but definitely like, top five maybe." Riley said. She didn't want to offend Manaia, it certainly was an interesting class, but had nothing on subjects like History of Magic or Potions.

 

[Manaia Te Rangi]

Manaia nodded, grinning slightly at her opinion. "Oh yeah, for sure. I like the ones where we really like, do stuff, you know? Like, charms and transfiguration and stuff. Real cool." Manaia smiled, shifting to float more on his back and stare up at the sky, enjoying the day. "My auntie teaches Ancient Runes, I really wanna take her class. Sucks it's only for teenagers."

 

[Riley King]

Riley moved forward a little bit, letting her ankles get into the water swirling her feet around. She regretted her harsh and stubborn decline to swimming a few minutes ago. Riley nodded her head enthusiastically, agreeing with Manaia. "The practical ones, where we get to make real use of our wands." Riley said in concurrence. Her mouth dropped slightly in a small gasp when Manaia said his aunt worked there. "That's so cool! Do you see her much?" Riley asked.