Chapter 6 here for y'all:

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Harry slid silently into his room from the Library, a smooth Vitesse wrapped around his middle and an owl cage in hand. In the other hand, he held his wand. Severus had taught him to somehow levitate his bags and cauldron using a charm, which it seemed Harry was quite daft at. Severus seemed somewhat proud when Harry had successfully levitated his bag full of robes on his first try, then quickly moving on to levitating all three parcels easily.

He set down his things in the corner, next to the grandfather clock, then moved to sit on his bed. He noticed a package resting on it and wondered what it could be. Opening it, he gasped as a lovely silver silken material flowed out. He picked it up and wrapped it around himself. In the reflection from the glass window of the grandfather clock, he saw... well, it wasn't what he saw; it was what he didn't. Looking down at himself, he saw nothing but empty air.

He quickly pulled off the cloak and rushed into the Library to show his Potions Professor.

"Professor! Professor!"

"What?" Snape snarled. He had just got down to work, and was finally making progress before this interruption.

"There was a cloak on my bed when I went into my room, and when I put it on, I disappeared! Gone! Without a trace!"

Severus leaned back with some, however little, interest. "Let's see it then."

Harry put on the cloak and was invisible.

Severus was mildly surprised but had known that his father was in possession of one such cloak in his Hogwarts days and figured Albus had delivered it to Harry via owl. "It's an Invisibility Cloak, Harry. Chances are it was your father's. The Headmaster probably wants you to have it. Maybe now you can explore Hogwarts a bit. Did it come with a note, perchance?"

Harry looked a little flustered. "I don't know. I didn't really notice. I'll check." He ran back into his bedchambers, and sure enough, there was a note.

~This was left in my possession by your father before his death. I think it is of more use to you at this moment, because you are not known to be here. As long as you are not seen, anywhere within this castle can be tread by your feet, with the small exception of the locked door in the third corridor. Use it well, Harry. And I suggest, that if Vitesse is around your waist while you explore, you go to great lengths to stay away from Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris.

A nice day to you,

Albus Dumbledore.~

Harry stared at the note for a few minutes before running triumphantly back to Severus. After handing the note to Severus, he questioned, "Is it just me, or does that man know everything?"

After reading the letter, Severus handed it back to Harry. "He knows almost-if not-everything, I assure you."

Harry smiled and sat down in his customary recliner, the silvery cloak lying across his knees along with the note from Dumbledore.

"I'll go out later. I want to finish this book."

Severus nodded and went back to his work, as Harry read, with Vitesse curled up on his lap.

Suddenly, the Potions Master looked up. "Why 'Vitesse?' Why that name of all things?"

Setting his book down and petting the snake coiled on his lap, he responded, "I don't know. She just looked like a 'Vitesse.'"

"Do you know what that means, Harry? The word 'vitesse?' It is French. The French word for 'speed,' if I'm not mistaken. Why would your snake want to be named 'speed,' if you'll kindly inform me."

"How do you know that's what she wanted? Maybe it was a spur of the moment decision, like Hedwig."

"No. It wasn't."

The snake in question lifted its head and hissed at Harry, "There was a girl, like you, she could talk to snakes. She ssssssaid that she would come and get me as soon as she got the money, and she said she would do it as quickly as possible. For that reason she named me Vitesse, what she claimed was the French word for 'ssssspeed,' of course. She said it sounded good with a hiss, and she was right. It doessssss. Because that was the only name I was ever given, and I liked the way it sounded coming from my mouth-Vitesssssse-I decided you could call me that as well. I do wish I could see the girl again, though. But I am fine right where I am."

Snape listened to this rather long series of hisses, not understanding, but clearly noting that Harry did.

"What did she say, Harry?"

Before he realized it, he responded, "She said that a girl named her that before I met her, because the girl could talk to snakes as well. Vitesse was the name the girl gave her because that was how the girl was going to come back-with speed. Vitesse says that the girl claimed she would come back when she had the money to pay for her. I can't blame the girl, myself. Vitesse was rather expensive." He blanched. "Oops."

"It's alright, Harry. I could tell at the store when you hissed at the snake."

"I hissed?"

"Of course. How did you think you spoke to snakes?"

Harry looked at Vitesse, who, once again, was curled comfortably on his lap. "I hisssss?" he asked.

"Of coursssssse." Vitesse replied sleepily.

Harry leaned back uneasily, and closed his eyes. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of hissing.

Severus watched Harry closely, expecting more. When nothing came, he went back to his work, satisfied that Harry would come to him if Vitesse did anything strange. But, he was struck with an idea. "Did the girl have a name, Vitesse?"

"Vanella," she hissed. "Vanella Incendie, I believe. I remember it because her last name means fire, or so she said. Curious. Very curious indeed."

Harry sat in shock. Vanella Grace Incendie, the witch he ran into in Diagon Alley could also speak with snakes.

Severus was not quite as surprised. It was strange, sure, two Parseltongues entering Hogwarts in the same year, since the most famous Parseltongue was Voldemort, and Salazar Slytherin himself, founder of Hogwarts' Slytherin House. He was rather proud of himself for stringing the pieces together, the French names and such.  Heh heh heh. he thought. No wonder I'm a Slytherin, eh?

Then Harry dozed off with Vitesse, and Snape got some work done on his lesson plans.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In a rundown shack north of Hogwarts...

"El! El, get up, it's a nightmare!"

Vanella Incendie groaned and opened her eyes to her mother, the older splitting image of herself. A nightmare, maybe, but a nightmare is still a dream, and dreams-hers, at least-always had hidden meanings.

"Mum?"

"Yes, hon. Mum. Now, do you want to tell me what happened this time?"

Vanella shook her head, but her mother persisted.

"It's just a nightmare, mum. Nothing special, honestly."

"If I knew what it was I could help stop it. Or, in your case, prevent it."

"No." Vanella lay back down with her eyes closed, pondering the dream, waiting for her ever-too-patient mother to finally give up. As a girl of 11, she seemed much older. She was forced to be, to act, to appear older, because of who she was, or who she was destined to be.

Going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was supposed to protect her, apparently. She couldn't see how being placed with her father's two most powerful enemies could possibly protect her, although she was being protected from her father, not for her father.

Being the daughter of one of the most powerful wizards in the world was supposed to be rewarding, a real treat. But being in hiding all of the time, running with her mother for fear of that same wizard killing her, it was not a treat. It was hell, pure and simple.

Her dreams... ah, yes. They always ended with the gruesome demise of someone. She did not know who, where, why, but the worst was knowing how. Because that was the one thing she did know. She experienced almost everything. As her father changed bodies constantly, trying to avenge his own downfall.

And running into Harry Potter earlier that day! What a shock that had been! She hadn't let surprise come over her, nor awe at this boy's power. She did not honor him, of course not. But she could not hate him, not when he was the one that was probably the reason for her to even still be living. As long as her father's attentions were focused on this-this 'Boy- Who-Lived,' she would almost be safe from his deadly anger.

She wanted to know more about this Harry Potter, she knew that much for sure. They would both be going to Hogwarts together in little over a week, and that would be good for her. The problem, of course, would be getting close to him. She, of course, would be a Slytherin, through and through. After all, her father was the greatest of all time. But what would he be? Surely not Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. But Gryffindor could pose problems. What would the infamous Harry Potter be? Gryffindor or Slytherin?

She knew she would have to wait and see. But until then, she was forced to worry about her father. Whose untimely death have I witnessed in her last dream, she wondered. And whose would she see in her next? Ah, if only these things could be known. But if they could, things would be different.

Oh, she wished things were very different.

Many wishes come when you're the only daughter of Lord Voldemort.

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Author's Note: Oh, jeez, I feel evil now. But that was fun. I voted to keep Vanella, because the nine muses planted an idea that I liked. I knew she'd be interesting. Ah, well.

On to the reviews. Thanks for those who did. I must say sorry for the half-chop-off in the last chapter. That was a technical difficulty; in short, I had one half-finished 'Chapter 5' and one fully finished 'Chapter 5' and ended up uploading the wrong one. My idiotic mistake, apologies. I fixed it as soon as possible after realizing it and am really sorry for the inconvenience.

Well, reviewers: (4&5 chapter reviews, if you're wondering)

Mikee: Thanks, and I think eventually he will open up about more of his past, but for now he's somewhat guarded. It's fun to bait the reader... I think it may become one of my favorite tactics...

Lady Lightning: Thanks!

leggylover03: And here it is for you!

animealam: I'm gradually building the characters to the way I want them. I know, they need more "fleshing out" as you put it, but the way I write, that kind of comes in time. Sorry, though. As for Harry's emotional state, I need him the way he is for future chapters. He is an abused child, but he is also used to masking this, and will continue to mask as many emotions as possible. The way he goes, gradually, in the wizarding world he opens up, and lets people know how he feels. But until then, he is the way he is, I believe. I know it is difficult to be original; I've read many of the FF.Net stories, though there are so, so many I couldn't read even 1/32 of them. I'm hoping against fate that I can make a story here that is both interesting to read, and interesting to write. I may eventually get a beta-reader, although I've always * been * the beta-reader myself. Usually the grammar mistakes I make are intentional, though not always. As I've said before, I'm not perfect, no matter how hard I try. If you want to, you can be my beta-reader, though I can not promise to agree on grammar terms. As for the rules of grammar and spelling... I know them -almost if not all-very well. I also like to know what I'm doing, and how to support it. I've been told I've got the heart of a lawyer, and am willing and capable to back up most of my decisions. However, if you do want to help me here, I am open-minded and up for it. Thanks!

misao-werewolf: Thank you. Ahh, which underwear incident? I bet it would be embarrassing. It was fun to write, though!

shirriez: Thanks for taking the time to review, today! I know, it is very easy-going, but I hope to up the exitement once term starts. This actually has been very fun for me to write, and I suppose that's why I've been devoting so much time into writing it. I'm afraid this may be the only fan-fiction story I write for a while, because usually when I write more than one at a time, two ideas come into my head for two different stories and I confuse myself. I'm not sure I have the brain capacity some other brilliant people do! : ) I do love the reviews, though!

End of reviews. I have Chapter 7 and part of Chapter 8 written, but they need to be typed. I assure you all, that as soon as I can, both chapters will be up.

Chapter 7: "He Knows All"