A/N 1: For anyone who has been following the story, I've made some minor edits to the previous chapter. It was posted in something of a hurry at the time, and frankly it showed.
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"That's three Galleons, five Sickles, Mrs. Potter. "
Leslie watched as Ginny handed over several strange looking coins to the trader. He pocketed them before turning to her. "Anything for you, luv? I take Muggle money too."
"Um, no, thank you," Leslie replied distractedly, watching as Ginny dropped several packages of fruit and vegetables into a bag roughly a third the size of her purchases. "Hang on, how do you know I'm a Muggle?"
"Probably the way you're gawking," Ginny grinned, offering her the bag. "Standard Undetectable Extension Charm. Not strictly legal to make them yourself, but so many people do that the Ministry gave up trying to stop it. I've added a Featherweight Charm to this one as well." Leslie's eyes widened as she took the offered bag from Ginny. Had she emptied it when Leslie hadn't been looking? She pulled it open and checked inside, then looked back up in amazement.
"I want one of these," she said fiercely.
"I'll bet you do," Ginny laughed. They moved away from the stall and headed further into the throng of stalls, Lily and Albus stopping continually to point things out to a wide-eyed Amanda. "So what do you think?" Ginny asked, gesturing around as they pored over a stall selling what appeared to be costume jewelry.
"It's…difficult to describe," Leslie replied. "On the one hand it doesn't look too different from any other market I'd go to on a weekend. Then again, I'd be hard pressed to find somewhere selling 'Traditional Wizard Robes' anytime except Halloween."
"Mummy, look!" Amanda interrupted excitedly. She held up a brooch shaped like a Unicorn.
"That's pretty," Leslie said, leaning down to inspect it. But we can get these at ho..," she stopped, her jaw dropping in amazement. Her face screwed up in concentration, Amanda had jabbed the Unicorn shape which immediately started squirming in her hand before morphing into what looked like a very misshapen butterfly.
"That's not a random change," the Witch who ran the stall had appeared behind them. "You have to imagine what shape you want it to be. It's a good way to teach them how to start focusing their magic," She gave Leslie a wink. "Very low powered spell, so she wouldn't get in trouble for using it at home either."
Leslie rounded on Ginny. 'Did you tell everyone you were bringing us today?" Ginny returned her glare with an embarrassed grin.
"Not quite, but, well…let's find somewhere to sit down and I'll explain. How are you with chocolate by the way?"
"I have a very big problem with chocolate," Leslie replied, wondering at the change of subject.
"Really?"
"Yep. Two hands, only one mouth."
"Aargh, I can't believe I fell for that one," Ginny groaned. She gave Leslie a solemn look. "And is this tragic condition hereditary, by any chance?"
"Yes, sadly my daughter is similarly affected," Leslie replied poker-faced.
"Well in that case I think it's my duty to introduce the two of you to Chocolate Frogs. You'll learn far more from them than you will from listening to me witter on."
Several minutes later Ginny had led them over to a seating area surrounded by numerous food and drink kiosks. The five of them had made short work of a box of Chocolate Frogs, and as the children had inspected the cards inside ('Uncle Ron again,' Albus had groaned) a couple of boys had wandered over from another table clutching their own collections, and the small group were now engaged in the kind of ruthless negotiations that only children can manage. Leslie smiled at the normalcy of it. It was just a shame Dudley wasn't here; he and Harry had headed off elsewhere shortly after entering the market.
"So," she said, turning to Ginny. "You had something to explain?"
Ginny nodded as she swallowed the remnants of her last Frog. "The full explanation would take a long time, and isn't for the kids ears," she started, "But basically, before the war there was never much effort made to help Muggleborns integrate into our world. It was literally 'Here's your invitation to magic school, see you in September'. It was pretty much assumed they would learn everything they needed at school – either from teachers or friends.
"I'm sure that worked well."
"Oh, perfectly. Anyway, there's been a number of different things tried to remedy that. This market and the store have existed side by side for years, and Katie's dad came up with the idea of making the market into a communal area where Muggleborns and their families could come to whenever they want. It's actually worked very well; like you said it's something you can relate to, and the range of stalls are wide enough for you to see more than just school supplies."
"And the stall holders don't mind having to explain things all the time?"
"They were all for it. Archie Mercate – the greengrocer I stopped at first – is the head of the traders association here, and his view was 'I don't care if I'm selling to a Wizard or a Muggle, as long as they're buying from me and not that thief Greengrass!"
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"I'll bet that's the censored version," Dudley snorted in amusement.
"The original quote might have been a bit more salty," Harry conceded. "To say he and Cyrus Greengrass don't get on would be an understatement." He lapsed into silence and Dudley fought to hide his frustration. They had been walking through the market for over half an hour, Harry occasionally stopping to point out various items of interest, but at the same time the conversation between them had been strained. They rounded a corner and Dudley spotted Ginny and Leslie in the distance, sitting at a bench and gossiping merrily. At the next table Albus, Lily, and Amanda appeared to be playing cards with two other children and similarly enjoying themselves.
"Looks like they're all getting on," said Harry flatly, having also spotted them.
"No need to sound so disappointed about it," Dudley commented. "Look," he added as Harry rounded on him, "It's obvious you're holding back on saying something, and that probably means I'm not going to like it. But I want to hear it. I think you've earned the right to give me a taste of my own medicine."
Harry suddenly pulled him over to the high wall that bordered the market and slumped against it.
"You said you were in the Army," he said bluntly. "Have you heard of PTSD?"
Dudley swore under his breath. Of course, why hadn't he and Leslie seen the signs? "I have a couple of mates who have it," he replied. He looked at Harry carefully "How long have you known?"
"Only a few years," Harry replied. "Mental Health is one area where we are way behind you. There's no such thing as a Wizard psychiatrist. I had to swear a Muggle one to secrecy. Apparently I'm a 'textbook case'. But it seems I also have other problems that stem back to my childhood."
Dudley's heart sank as Harry's face started to darken in anger. "Ginny and her family do their best, but it has affected how I've raised my children. I'm not sure that's something I can ever forgive, Dudley."
The last sentence had been delivered in a snarl, and Dudley took several seconds to consider various responses. Try as he might he couldn't see any way of responding that wouldn't potentially make things worse. There was really only one viable option. Sighing he carefully took the pass token out of his pocket and offered it to Harry, who stared at it in confusion for a moment before looking up angrily.
"You're just going to walk away? So much about being worried about your daughter."
"My daughter," Dudley replied, looking Harry in the eye and fighting to keep his vice level, "is currently smiling and laughing for the first time in three weeks. If the price for that is that I 'walk away' and you and I never see or talk to each other again I'll happily pay it."
It was Harry that broke eye contact first, looking back in the direction of their families. "See the boy next to my daughter?" he said eventually. "His Grandfather is serving life in prison for torturing people. It might be too late for us to build our bridges, but that's not important. What is, is making sure our children don't repeat our mistakes. They're what's important." He looked back at Dudley. "I can't make any promises, there'll be times that I'll say or do things that will hurt, but if you can deal with it, if you can keep disagreements just between the two of us, I'll do my best to do the same." He slowly reached out and closed Dudley's hand back around the pass stone. "Truce?"
"Truce," Dudley agreed.
A/N 2: Annnd that's it. Possibly. I have had an idea forming for a while now, for a 'Diary of a Hogwarts Student' type story covering how I think a 'normal' Hogwarts education would be. I.e. one without possessed teachers, Basilisks, Dementors, Death Eater attacks, or a manipulative Headmaster making what in hindsight were some very questionable decisions. If it does see the light of day I may well use Amanda as the protagonist rather than creating another OC. Watch this space!