Here is the third chapter. I thank all who read this story and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3: Tracking

It had been a week since the first training session with Etain and now Hermione was able to hit any target standstill to the maximum distance of 50 meters. After the first two days she had understood that all things bow and arrows weren't very different from the wand.

In addition to the bow Etain had given her also a dagger to take with her in case that some soldiers, drunk or not, bothered her.

Hermione had got to understand that the woman was deeply suspicious of the soldiers and in return not all the soldiers trusted her. However, all respected her and no one dared to say anything offensive, unless someone wanted to meet a very bad fate.

Every night the girl went to talk with her friends.

Often she found them full of bruises and cuts, evidently the training of soldiers had to be very hard. Not that Etain didn't make her run or fight, but she had never hit her.

Malfoy was the one who complained more, but now he was no longer blaming Lockhart. All the guys had resigned themselves to await the arrival of Dumbledore.

A glimmer of hope had arrived on the third day, when suddenly from Ron's wand had come out some blue sparks. Unfortunately, however, it had been a solitary episode.

Hermione felt homesick but tried to be strong not to arouse suspicion.

That morning was even colder than the others. Last night there was a storm that had upset the camp, but now what was left was just a strong cold wind and the pale sun that doesn't warmed at all.

Hermione was in the tent and was contemplating her wand, it had become a habit now try to do a spell before training.

She felt the curtain open, so she reached for the bow, knowing that Etain was ready to start.

The woman, however, put a hand on her shoulder and, ignoring the chills that came every time she touched Hermione, shook her head.

Etain motioned for Hermione to follow her, and together they made their way to the clearing where they used to train.

Once they arrived there, Hermione noticed that instead of the targets there was a wonderful chocolate brown horse. The girl's jaw almost hitted the ground by how nice the animal was. With all that had happened in the days before she had forgotten that Etain had promised to teach her how to ride.

The woman saw the surprise on Hermione's face and smiled. She pointed the horse and the girl took a few tentative steps until she was next to the animal.

"It's beautiful ..." she said and Etain's smile grew wider "How do I ...?"

Etain pointed at it again, and Hermione knew she had to go up. With every passing day the girl had learned to read Etain, the gestures she made, the look in her blue eyes ... With Hermione she was different from how she was with the soldiers, with her she opened and somehow they managed to make conversation.

"But I've never ridden ..."

After other gestures by Etain, Hermione, with a little help, managed to climb onto the saddle.

The horse was quiet but Hermione still had fear, after all it was the first time she rode, but it certainly couldn't be worse than a Hippogriff, could it?

When Hermione was finally on the saddle, Etain went up behind her, enveloping Hermione's waist with her arms to keep herself from falling.

The girl grabbed the reins and then turned slightly her head to look at Etain.

"Now what do I do?"

The woman gave a slight kick to the sides of the animal and it began to walk along the clearing.

Etain noticed that Hermione was holding the reins as if her life depended on that, so she removed her hands from the girl's waist and them rested on hers.

"What should I do now?"

Etain yanked the reins to the left and immediately the horse turned in that direction, taking a path in the forest.

She took her hands from Hermione and pointed to the trail letting her know to follow it.

As they walked Hermione gained more and more confidence, now she had become accustomed to the gait of the horse and to the feeling of Etain's hands on her waist.

"Etain, can we try to go faster?"

"Ah!" the woman gave another kick to the horse and he began to gallop.

After an initial moment of panic Hermione calmed and advancing more and more she understood that there was nothing to be afraid of.

It's better than a broomstick.

As she rode her mind freed from all the thoughts, she was aware only of the gait of the horse and the proximity of Etain's body, which was pressed against her back.

The contact was sending shivers down her spine and once again she wished that the woman did never let her go.

When they returned to the camp it was almost night and Hermione immediately recognized the red head of Ron. She walked over to her friends while Etain went back to their tent.

"Hello Hermione" Harry greeted her immediately.

They were all there, even Lockhart who that night had a black eye.

"Hello boys"

"Where have you been?" Ron asked "We haven't seen you all day, neither you nor the Pict woman"

"The Pict woman has a name Ron, is Etain" Hermione said.

"Well, the soldiers here call her She-wolf. I think that's because of the tattoo on her neck ... but I don't know. Maybe it's because she never speaks ... "

"Hey Red" a soldier came up to Ron "How did it go today?"

"Well, well thanks Thax. What about you? "Ron asked the soldier who seemed not to have noticed Hermione's presence.

"As usual. Were you talking about the Pict woman? By the way, aren't you her uhm...Pupil? " Thax asked noticing Hermione.

The girl nodded, then Ron continued to speak:

"We were wondering why they call her She-wolf… is it because of the tattoo?"

"Hahaha! It is also because of that" Hermione didn't understand why Thax began to laugh "But we call her that because she is a tracker. The best tracker, to tell the truth. They say she's partially wolf, but according to me she's just a Pict bitch"

Hermione was clenching her fists so tightly that her knuckles had turned white, she couldn't stand to hear talking this way about Etain but the worst was yet to come because Thax didn't stop there.

"She has earned the respect of everyone here at the Ninth but not mine. A Pict woman remains one. I will get close to her sooner or later and then... Ahaha, I'll show it to the She-wolf. She hasn't even the tongue, is perfect, there is more space to… "

Hermione was shaking with rage now, and if Ron hadn't interrupted him she was sure she was going to beat the crap out of him.

"What? She doesn't have the tongue? But how is that possible? "

"Someone had cut it out. We don't know how or why, it was when she was a child. Hahaha goodbye red, see you! "

And with that he withdrew from them.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked, noticing that her friend was still trembling slightly "You're all red"

"Yeah I'm fine Harry. I'm sorry but I have to go"

As she walked away she heard Ron continue the conversation with Harry.

"Wow who would have thought ... that's why she never speaks ..."

How can someone be so rude?! I hate that Thax, if he would have dared to say another word about Etain I, I ...

Outside the tent she saw Etain in front of the fire and she smiled at her before enter.

She was still angry when she found her wand and held it tightly.

If I ever see him again ...

Suddenly, red sparks came out from the tip of the wand but were extinguished before reaching the ground.

"ACCIO BOW"

Still nothing happened, as usual.

In the days that followed Hermione and Etain training alternating bow, fighting and long rides. Now the girl could ride alone and was able to keep up with Etain's white horse.

One evening they were returning from one of their rides when they suddenly saw a soldier come galloping toward them.

"Etain!" he said when he was close enough "You must come with me, the general wants you. We found two dead soldiers in the woods just outside the camp, it must have been the Picts "

Etain nodded, then turned to Hermione and motioned for her to follow her.

Together the three of them set off at a gallop, and after about ten minutes they arrived to the point of the aggression.

There, hanging from a tree, were the bodies of two dead soldiers.

The general Virilus was nearby and was giving instructions on how to remove them.

"Take it easy! They were your brothers! Take them back to camp. Those Picts will pay for this I swear in the name of the Gods "

The soldiers took away the corpses then the commander turned to Etain:

"Find them"

Etain nodded. The hard and impassive mask once again on her face.

"Tomorrow morning begins the search. Bring how many men you need. I want the heads of those who have done this"

After the last sentence the general mounted on his horse and rode to the camp.

Hermione looked at Etain with determination.

"I'm coming"

The woman seemed to consider the request, then nodded.

Returned to camp Hermione went to the tent, while Etain gathered some men for the research.

Hermione wasn't afraid to kill to defend her life. It was one of the things she had learned in the recent weeks. They were in war and her conscience had to accept it.

The next morning they woke up earlier than usual. They mounted their horses and went to the place of the killing. There, five other soldiers on horseback were waiting.

Among them Hermione recognized Ron and Draco and greeted them.

Etain came down from her horse and went to the tree where they had found the bodies. Everyone watched in silence. For the other soldiers it wasn't the first time that they followed Etain during a hunt and they knew how to behave while she controlled the ground.

Etain, like the wolf, had learned to hunt from her birth. She was partly right and partly instinct, she was careful, she knew how to recognize the signs of the passage. She managed to find her prey, squeezing it to the ground and then kill it.

The woman moved a few feet from the tree and then on the left. She bent down and examined the leaves and stones, then got up and nodded to the soldiers.

She motioned for Hermione to ride next to her and the other five soldiers followed them.

They rode for hours, sometimes Etain came down from the horse and controlled the ground, then reassembled and continued even more secure.

They were riding on the side of a valley. It was a sort of canal, where between two high banks about thirty yards high there was a river. It was almost sunset and Etain had decided that soon they would camp.

Suddenly she heard clearly the galloping of horses.

"Ah!"

She pushed her horse into a gallop, and soon the soldiers behind her did the same.

Shortly after everyone was able to see five Picts warriors on horseback who were trying to escape from them.

The horses of the Romans were more rested and immediately managed to get close enough to pull the arrows at the Picts.

Etain made a sign, and Hermione realized that she could now try to hit them.

She stopped her horse ahead of the others and picked up the bow and a arrow. She pitched carefully at the back of the closer Pict and shot the arrow.

"AAAAHHH"

The warrior fell to the ground screaming. His companions continued to run, but before the Romans could give chase Etain stopped them.

The woman then looked at Hermione because she knew that the girl would understand immediately what she wanted to do. She gestured to the Pict on the ground that was trying to get up.

"You want to question him?"

The woman nodded.

"But the others? Etain, we cannot let them get away "

Etain glanced to the soldier who had spoken, and then turned back to Hermione.

"We continue tomorrow" she said. By now she had spent so much time with the woman it almost seems that she could read her mind.

"Aaah!"

The Pict was raised, and now he was trying to flee with an arrow stuck in his back.

Hermione took aim again and took him in the leg, causing him to fall.

The group caught up with him and a soldier dismounted, lifted him up and slammed him against a tree.

"So Pict, it was you who killed two of our soldiers?" He yelled as he pressed a hand against his neck.

The warrior replied in an unknown language and spat on the ground.

"I didn't understand a word. What do we do? "

Etain knew the language of the Picts and realized that it was useless to ask questions to the warrior, he would not respond to the Romans and they needn't prisoners.

The woman walked over to the Pict and pulled out a dagger, took it to the man's throat and gave him a dry cut. The blood began to gush but neither Ron nor Hermione nor Draco looked away. They had to get used to it.

They left the body in the forest and went off to look for a place to camp.

When they had found it Etain and two soldiers went on a brief tour of patrol, while others lit a fire and prepared food.

"Did you see how she cut his throat?" Ron began looking in the direction where Etain had just disappeared.

"We've all seen it Weasley. Just as you would with a house-elf "

"Draco! Don't say that ..." Hermione began.

"Did I bother you? Well, this is war. You'd better get used to it and pray that the Picts doesn't get you. Those are much worse with the prisoners "

"R-really Bothos?"

"You bet Ron" the soldier named Bothos smiled "And close your mouth" he said noting the amazement on Ron's face "If you thought that Etain wouldn't kill, then you can change your mind. She is much stronger than any soldier of the legion, hope not to try her spear. I don't care if she's a Pict woman, only fools don't respect her"

"Hey Granger, but how do you understand her?"

"I don't know Draco. I'm with her pretty much all day "

After the last sentence they fell silent until Etain and the other two soldiers returned.

"All quiet, we can camp. We leave early tomorrow morning "

A/N:

Here's another chapter! Wow I must say that it's hard to write about Etain because she cannot talk ... Hermione can understand her in some way and Etain is used to make gestures to make herself understood.

As usual I hope you leave some reviews, see you soon!