~ One ~

"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!"

"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 goldfish!" 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 come forth from last night? Yes, she was sure of that… the image of it sliding eerily across the ground like a dragon’s breath was clearly imprinted in her memory.

"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!"

"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 rebuked spikily. "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. They 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.

"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.

* * *

The comforting, gentle sound of babbling chatter filled all corners of the Great Hall as the first trickle of students entered for breakfast. Among them was an excitable Celestina Warbeck, her voice rising above all others as she talked animatedly to James Potter.

"I mean, it has to be a sure thing this year, right? I mean what with you being Quidditch Captain and all, of course you'll let your best friend on the team -" she gabbled in her usual bouncy, shrill voice, her deep brown eyes glistening.

"If he's good enough, Celestina," James attempted to be patient with her. "I'm going to be unbiased - it's only fair -"

"Sirius is a good flyer - you know that, James - "

"Yes, he is," James said firmly, "but we'll just have to see." He was being completely honest; Sirius was a true Quidditch ace. It was his misfortune that his forte was the position of Seeker, a post in the Gryffindor team already filled by an unbeatable, international professional-standard flyer. Her name was Arabella Figg, and she was a dear friend of James', although he couldn't comprehend why she was so set on becoming an Auror when she was so talented on a broom. She found her a little odd and suspected she was very insecure, although she would never confess it.

"It's going to be so much fun having you and Bell and my boyfriend on the team, you know - it'll be even more exciting in the stands with three of my best friends up there -"

"C'mon, James, you know he'll make a great third Chaser -" Celestina whimpered falsely, fluttering her eyelashes and swishing her long, blond hair from side to side. "I mean, he'll never fly as well as you, obviously…" Celestina seductively smothered James with flattery. "You're the best Chaser this school's ever had, you'll probably make the England team one day…"

James smirked in mild amusement. "You think so?"

She took James' arm and drew him close. "Oh, definitely," she said softly. "You know, sometimes I get so jealous of Lily having a man like you… I mean sure, Sirius is alright, but you… you're…"

"What? What am I?" James inquired playfully.

"You look so sexy in those little glasses of yours, you know, James…"

James fell in to fits of laughter. Celestina looked positively horrified.

"Sirius put you up to this, didn't he?" James laughed. "Well, now he has tried bloody everything to get on the team…"