It was odd, as discussion went, but Harry would not let go of such a chance anyway.
Ardilla, after bidding him to take a shower, brush his teeth and change his clothes, motioned him to climb into the large bed on the middle of the room. When he hesitated, she just pushed him onto the mattress herself and tucked him in, all in a matter-of-fact manner. Afterwards, with himself curled up in the comfortable bed and her painting away nearby, Harry began to think of what Hagrid had told him in the hut. If her family truly knew him so much, she could tell him…
"Am I really famous?"
She turned around on her stool and regarded him thoughtfully. After a while, she said, "Yes and no."
He frowned. "Yes and no to whom?"
Again she fell silent, but not as long this time. "You are, to the witches and wizards in England and its surroundings. But you are not, to us." Then, just as blandly, she returned to her work.
So she knew of the Wizarding World… But as it was, he was forced to examine himself. Would he complain that this family, who seemed to have claimed him for themselves, did not adore him so? Could he rely on them, then?
Later, later. Now he was tired.
"Someone visited me and the Dursleys. His name's Hagrid. Do you know him? He said he's my parents' friend. But he also dumped me with the Dursleys 'cause of someone's—" Harry clamped his mouth shut. He felt relieved spilling all that, but also vulnerable, and he did not want to feel so. But it appeared that the damage had been done, for Ardila forsook her stool altogether and climbed onto the bed, looming over him.
"Who ordered him?" she asked in a whisper. But to Harry's ears, her voice sounded deadly – for once.
"Professor Dumbledore," he stuttered, terrified but compelled. On that, her eyes, which usually seemed to wander everywhere, sharpened and lit up. He tried to shrink away from her, but her hands pinned his shoulders down.
Perhaps seeing his terror, she softened a little. "Do not defy those men directly, Harry." But she did not elaborate on that, and instead returned to her stool as if nothing had happened.
Still, Harry felt compelled. "Hagrid's taking me shopping for school things in the morning." What would she say to that?
"Should I go?" he continued when she did not seem to hear him.
She glanced at him. "Yes." Harry deflated.
He perked up again, though, when she added, "We shall be with you. We promised so."
He was not about to question how five people could accompany him unseen through London. They had their own ways. It would be better for all concerned if he did not know what they would hatch up.
He wanted to ask more, but then she began to hum a wordless song. His eyelids closed, as he floated into a dreamless sleep. So comfortable…