~ Two ~

"Rise and shine, it's TRAININ' TIME!"

A chorus of groans sounded from the girls' dormitory.

"Damn trainers!" came a muffled curse from underneath Celestina Warbeck's pillow. She was referring to the pair of Dr Quikspurter's Amazing Personal Trainers, which were at the moment disco-dancing around the circular dormitory singing badly, "Yeah, it's trainin' time, c'mon!"

"It's the crack of dawn, for crying out loud!"

"Somebody catch them!"

"They're dancing mud all over my uniform!"

Amid these cries, Bell leapt out of bed and on first attempt grabbed both rapidly-moving Trainers, demonstrating her flawless reflexes. "What did I tell you two?!" she scolded the shoes like a pair of naughty children. "No - more - singing! Sorry, girls…"

The Personal Trainers sulked in the corner as Bell dressed in her black Muggle tracksuit. It was only five o' clock in the morning, so the other four girls had lay back down to sleep for another two hours. Meanwhile, Bell performed some simple stretching exercises to warm up her muscles before donning the troublesome Trainers. As she jogged downstairs, she lectured the disgraced bewitched shoes.

"I'm telling you pair, if you pull a stunt like that again, I'm throwing you away," she threatened. "Remus gave me Personal Trainers so I could train efficiently, and so you could record my best times and distances, not so that you could irritate me out of my mind!"

"Ah, but Miss Figg," sad one of the shoes. "Dr Quikspurter gives his Personal Trainers each their own individual personality, like. Isn't not like it's our fault, like. We're been, like, well, cheerful Trainers."

"I thinks Miss Figg has got out of the wrong side of the bed, like," said the other. "You's bein' mean."

Bell began to stamp with anger, prompting the Trainers to moan with pain.

"You're Trainers! I don't care what you think!" Bell hissed. "Just shut up and do your job, or I'll bewitch you into a pair of quivering, frightful cowards!"

"Here, I'll not be talked to like that -" protested one of the trainers, until Arabella kicked it with the other one.

Bell had now reached the grand oak doors, which opened out onto the idyllic Hogwarts grounds. A slight morning fog was rising over the lawns, which reminded Bell of the strange phenomenon she had witnessed late last night. She shivered at the memory that was fading now and almost seemed like a dream. Perhaps she had imagined it all… Hadn't she seen an animal wandering about the grounds? What had it been? A fox? A badger, maybe? She couldn't be sure…

Bell shook off every disturbing thought to concentrate completely and utterly on her morning run, which would take her on a circuit following the forest boundary, over to Hagrid's hut, passed the Quidditch Pitch and around the great glassy lake. By that time everybody else would be waking and she could enjoy a hearty English breakfast.

"You're not goin' fast enough," warned the left trainer. "You were much better yesterday, like."

"C'mon, Miss Belly Figg! Run like a… a hamster!" cheered the right trainer.

"Shut up!" Bell snapped exasperatedly. "You're distracting me!"

After a few minutes Bell was dashing around the flailing branches of the Whomping Willow. Hadn't that been where the mist had emanated from last night? Yes, she was sure of that…

"OW!!!" she screeched, falling in an awkward heap.

"Watch where you're bloody well going, will you?!" complained somebody. Bell had let her mind wander, and in a daze she had hurtled straight into Sirius Black, Gryffindor sixth-year, famous practical-joker and the bane of her life.

"Where I'm going?!" Bell yelled back by instinct. "Where the hell did you come from?!"

"I - I was just walking, minding my own business!"

"At five o' clock in the morning -"

"Yes, actually! And, what, may I ask are you doing whizzing about the lawns at this hour?"

"For your information, I'm training."

Wobbling a little, Bell got to her feet. She faced Sirius, so close she could feel his breath on her pale skin. She stared coldly, never surrendering resolute eye-contact. "I'm training so I can make something of myself," Bell spat, shaking her finger at him. "Unlike you and your directionless loser friends, I actually want to be someone. I need to be at my physical best to get into Auror college. I do this every morning. Some people actually care about their bodies, Sirius. I don't just sit there stuffing their faces, never lifting so much as a finger. Perhaps you could learn one or two things from me - then you might finally get on the Quidditch Team!"

Bell's bright blue eyes glittered in triumph as she saw the outrage crinkle across Sirius' face. She knew she'd really hit home with that last comment; Sirius had been trying for a place on the team for the last five years and at every failure he had sunk into a bitter state of depression for weeks. Quidditch was Sirius' passion, and it crushed him to not make the mark at the one thing he really cared about.

"You're way out of line, Bell," he hissed. "You know full-well the reason I'm not on the Quidditch Team is not because I don't try."

Bell smiled unkindly, and said mockingly, "Oh yes. That's right. The reason you're not on the Quidditch team is because of ME."

And with that, Bell ran off.