A Better Man
is an AU Harry Potter fanfic by Valandar.
Harry attends his uncle's funeral to bid that part of his life farewell for good. But when he wishes that Vernon had been a better man, his uncle is given a chance to start over. As Vernon starts making better choices, the world changes around him and suddenly the future isn't so clear, for better or worse.
Contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Averted. Vernon gets to know the Potters and helps bridge the gap between Petunia and Lily. As a result, he comes to care a great deal more for Harry and both he and Dudley are raised happier and healthier.
- Adaptational Upbringing Change: Vernon Dursley, originally Harry's abusive uncle, gets a second chance at life after his death and becomes a better person. He and his wife Petunia raise Harry and their son Dudley as Good Parents. Instead of becoming a bully, Dudley turns into a protective big brother type to Harry, and Harry has a much happier, less lonely home life.
- Affectionate Nickname: Harry has "Pup" from Sirius, "Cub" from Remus and "Boy" from Uncle Vernon.
- Cool Uncle: Sirius becomes this to Harry and Dudley.
- Compressed Vice: The reason for Snape's hair having its distinctive sheen? Brylcreem.
- For Want Of A Nail: Harry grabbing the Triwizard Cup before Cedric and disappearing causes Cedric to immediately realise something's wrong and alert the teachers. As a result, Dumbledore alerts the Ministry, leading a massive rescue party to the graveyard and enabling Rita Skeeter, who had stowed away in her animagus form, to alert the wizarding world to Voldemort's return.
- Good Feels Good: Dudley comes to realize this and ends up as a protective big brother type to Harry.
- Good Parents: Vernon and Petunia to both Harry and Dudley. All four become better people as a result.
- Hidden Depths: Forced to confront Voldemort's return head-on from the start, Cornelius Fudge eventually proves to be a very capable leader.
- Honorary Uncle: Sirius and Remus become this to both Harry and Dudley.
- In Spite of a Nail: Anything that Vernon wouldn't directly impact happens, though often differently than in canon (for example, Harry apologizes to Quirrell for what he did).
- Last-Second Chance: Vernon dies and goes to Hell, but Harry's sincere wish that he was a better person during the funeral allows him to come back and be a better person.
- Marriage Before Romance: Vernon originally married Petunia because he thought she would make a suitable wife, but later he falls in love with her for real.
- Mistaken for Gay: During a vacation, Ron asks Dudley if anyone at school has caught his eye; Dudley turns very red and stammers about not being into that sort of thing. Since Ron has no experience with schools that only have one gender, he assumes that this means Dudley prefers males. Harry clears up the confusion but both Dudley and Ron are quite embarrassed until Dudley is able to talk about a girl from his sister school he's fond of.
- Noodle Incident: Sirius and the Weasley twins get into a prank war when Sirius becomes the DADA teacher. Sirius wins with a complex prank involving six tubs of whipped cream, forty yards of burlap, and two life-sized animated inflatable sheep.
- Point of Divergence: Vernon is given a second chance at life and chose to reach out to his sister-in-law and her husband. This rocks the world as we know it.
