Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Dragon Age, or any other games, books this series may reference to.

Chapter 1: Into the Age of Dragons

Shouting/Written Messages

Thinking

"Talking"

"Demonic/Draconic Speech"

Red slit eyes watched the home where the Potters had taken shelter with interest. The defenses were of the highest caliber, rune arrays surrounded the property, and if he understood their meaning correctly; and given his record in the subject, he most likely did; these were meant to warn of intrusion. He took a moment to congratulate himself on the brilliant idea to apparate out of the ground to Godric's Hollow before he turned to his minions, who'd come with him in order to create the anti-apparition field. As the ward was cast, Lord Voldemort took his first step into the Potter property, and to his destiny.

He remembered quite clearly the prophecy Rodulphus had acquired for him, of a child born to those who'd thrice defied him, and while the Longbottoms could fit the description as well, it was the child of James Potter and Lilly Potter he feared would become a threat, because much like the child, he was a half-blood; a secret none of his followers were privy to, of course; and in his thirst for the power he'd discovered in his youth, he became the most feared Dark Lord in the history of magic. He passed the runic away that would alert the Potters to his presence, but now it would do them no good to know. He was here, and he had one goal in his mind, to rid himself of the threat of little Harry James Potter; he'd learned the name through his newest follower, one Peter Pettigrew; but he had planned differently for this occasion, even if his first thought was to simply kill the child, he was a smart man, and he could tell something was off with the information he'd been given, and as such he concocted a new strategy, a new course of action.

He was coming closer to the door now; he took his time, Voldemort wanted to savor this moment, his triumph over all other Dark Lords in history, the moment where he would outsmart Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore once more, for the last time. He went back to his previous train of thought, his new strategy to rid himself of any future threat one Harry James Potter could be. He was a clever man, Voldemort, and as such once he was certain the prophecy he had acquired was incomplete at best, instead of killing the child; the obvious course of action; he decided to try a ritual he had come across in his ever increasing research. The basics were quite simple, the spell was supposed to act much like the Veil of Death did, creating a rift between two realities, but instead of being a rift between the world of the living and the world of the dead, this rift would send little Harry…away. Even in all his research, Voldemort could not find the exit point of this portal he was to conjure, but in the end it also did not matter, as the ritual was rather clear wherever it was, the exit point was in another reality altogether.

He was in front of the door now, and he pulled his wand from the holster he had on his forearm, blasting the front door to Godric's Hollow off its hinges as he casually stepped inside, as though visiting old friends. "Lily! He's here! Take Harry and run!" James Potter; in a way he admired the man, his devotion to young Lily and their son was absolute, willing to sacrifice himself for their safety, he was much the same way with the small daughter he'd had with Bellatrix, his most faithful; yelled to his wife as he took a dueling stance, defying to the last. The man launched many powerful spells, which served to show Voldemort this man was more valuable as an ally than a foe, or even a corpse. It took him little time to overpower the Potter heir; the rituals he'd undertaken to increase his already immense power showing their effects as he simply deflected the spells before disarming the man; and the man knelt before him, tired and hurt from the power behind his own spells, blood at the corner of his mouth, his glasses broken on the floor along with his wand, but even then, even then he showed defiance, James was staring him down, as though daring him to finish the deed.

"Potter, I have no desire to kill any member of your family this night…" The Dark Lord spoke slowly, giving James the necessary time for the information to sink in before he continued. "Instead I come to open your eyes to the truth of one Albus Dumbledore" he continued, and saw that the man seemed rather unsurprised despite what he was saying; the fact Dumbledore, powerful wizard he is allowed one he knew was a Death Eater to follow him to his interview with Miss Trelawney, or how he had insisted upon the Potters changing secret keeper, from Sirius Black, a man who'd shown time and again his loyalty to his family, to Peter Pettigrew, the coward marauder; and as he finished speaking, James chuckled, shaking his head. "You think we don't know that? The Potter family has cut ties with Dumbledore as soon as Lils and I discovered the truth behind his schemes, but even though I would love nothing more than to see the man pay for this, I have no intentions of letting you kill my son, Riddle."

The fact that Potter knew his birth name was a shock, and it showed as his red eyes widened minutely, something the Potter heir seemed to have caught up on, and he laughed outright. "Lily did some research on you. You seem to know quite a bit about my family, so it was only right, you know?" This time it was the Potter who gave the monologue, as his mind was still processing the fact that they were not with the Order of the Phoenix anymore, and they knew of his past; there was a good reason Lily was hailed as the brightest witch of her age; but it only took him a moment to recompose, and the Dark Lord laughed, the sound had no real joy in it, and it seemed more than a little unhinged. "Oh, Potter…as I said, I have no desire to kill any member of your family" before the man could dare hope, he continued "of course, there is a prophecy to consider, and I will not have a threat lurking about. But I can guarantee he will live, past this night, only not here." He knew there would be a retort, and the Potter did not disappoint, as a moment later he chuckled bitterly "of course, because I will let you send my son away just so I can live. What kind of parent do you take me for?"

Voldemort smirked, his respect for the Potter heir rising further. "Well, you'll take the alternative then?" The man offered him an inquisitive raised eyebrow, so he elaborated "I kill you, go up those stairs, capture your wife; one of my Death Eaters wants her as trophy; and lastly I imprison your son, waiting for him to die of starvation" while he could simply Avada Kedavra the infant, he would not leave anything to chance, and to ensure the child would die, he would go about it the muggle way. "So, what will it be, Mr. Potter?"

Lily looked into her baby boy's crib, her eyes watering as she thought of how he would not have his mommy and daddy with him as he grew up. She had ensured at least he would live through a ritual she had discovered when they were preparing for the inevitable attack. It had no real name, so she decided to call it, for this specific case, the mother's sacrifice. It didn't require much, she had prepared an array around the protected person; in this case, Harry's crib; and keyed the runes to her own life, which would mean that, the moment she was murdered, her killed would be ever unable to touch her child lest he risk killing himself. One could argue that as a wizard, Tom would not even need to come close to her child in order to kill him, but that is where the real genius behind this ritual came to action.

Her murderer would not only be unable to touch her son for the remaining days of their life, but their magic would not work against the protected, in fact it would always backfire, and hurt him instead. She had thought it all through, believing without a doubt the Dark Lord would kill her before turning his wand on Harry. James' plan was for her to run away with their son while he stalled the Dark Lord, but she knew better, there was no place on this Earth she could hide from Voldemort given the determination he had on killing her only son. She took what time James could buy them to spend a few last moments with her dearest son, the person she loved the most in this world.

"Harry…my brave boy…" she fought the tears that threatened to fall as she spoke, her voice cracking "a very bad man is coming, and mommy will have to go away…" his big, green eyes watched her, he smiled at his mom, not really understanding what was being said. "I just need you to remember that I love you very much, okay?" She heard steps coming up the stairs and closed her eyes for a moment, to gather her courage in order to face Voldemort. The steps grew closer, and mere moments later, as she finally turned around, she found herself face to face with…her husband. He was very hurt, and no longer had his wand, but he was alive, and for a moment she dared hope, until she saw the frown on his face as he looked toward their son. "Lils…we need to talk."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing "and you just agreed to this? Sending our baby away so we can live?" The man flinched, but he was resolute it seemed, and he stared her in the eyes about to speak something, when she heard a voice that made her blood run cold. "Shall I tell her the alternative, Potter? I left a few details out when I presented such option to you, maybe she'd like to hear how my Death Eaters would enjoy her as she watched her son starve to death?" She looked from her husband to the Dark Lord, the gravity of their situation sinking in as she turned to her baby once more. Her ritual had been rendered null; since if she didn't die her son would not be protected at all. She was not afraid to die, or any other fate that awaited her at the hands of Voldemort and his cronies, but she would not be able to bear watching her only son suffer. "It…it doesn't really seem like we have a choice in the matter." She watched as Voldemort passed her, to stand in front of her child for a moment, as though savoring his victory momentarily, before he turned to them. "You two will help me prepare the ritual…consider this your…initiation."

She stared at the parchment in which Tom had written the ritual, anger temporarily forgotten. This was genius! The way it worked, simulating the Veil of Death; she'd seen the Veil in action as she had been the one to capture more than a few Death Eaters, and it was mandatory the captor be present for the execution. The possibilities this opened, different realities, different people to learn from…she turned from the parchment to the material she'd gathered; it was in her son's best interest that this went without any accidents; making sure she had gotten everything they'd need. As she finished revising the materials, she was reminded why this was needed in the first place, and she grew once more angry, angry at herself for failing her son, not being able to foresee Voldemort's actions properly, angry at her husband for accepting Dumbledore's proposal and changing the secret keeper, angry at Voldemort for being every bit the intelligent bastard she feared him to be. But most of all she was angry at Dumbledore, she was angry at the man who played with her family, scheming behind their backs so whatever future he designed could come to fruition.

"I hope everything is in order, Lily. We wouldn't want anything to happen to little Harry, would we?" She heard Voldemort speak and wanted to lash out at the man, but knew he held her child's fate in his hands; and she didn't mean because of the wand he wielded; so she simply nodded, starting the preparations for the ritual that would send her son away. She hoped that wherever he went, he would be loved and cared for in a way she couldn't do. "Good…I shall remain here for the proceedings then, if it's all the same to you." She heard him, not really looking his way as she concentrated on the ritual. She didn't really bother replying either as, although presented in the form of a request, he was just letting her know that was what he would be doing regardless.

"What do you make of this portal, Lily?" He was truly curious to know her thoughts, if only so he was able to have an intelligent conversation with someone who was as curious about magic as he was. He noticed that, for the first time since he entered the room, the Lady Potter stopped her work and turned her attention to him. "Where did you come by it? The simple fact that this person theorized about other traveling to other realities is a wonder in itself, but that he was able to create this spell, it's…nothing short of genius." Voldemort favored her with a smile; it was good to hear someone who could appreciate the nuances of magic like he did. "In truth I came upon this specific spell purely by chance, as I searched the Black family's personal library." He watched as the girl nodded absently, not really noticing just where he'd found the spell. "It is incomplete, did you notice?" He watched as she nodded, taking a look at the notes made by the author near the bottom of the parchment. "I searched high and low for the continuation; sure that there would be mentions of what other realities the creator of this spell had come in contact with…or even details on how to specify what reality one desire a portal to" he noticed that the red haired Lady Potter was listening intently "but all further research was proven pointless, as apparently the rest of that parchment has been lost." He finished, and the female seemed rather disappointed he hadn't been able to find more about it, but a moment later she gave the paper in her grasp an inquisitive look, and began speaking as though to herself. "Maybe…maybe by changing a few of the key ingredients in the array, like here, it states it requires dragon's blood, but I don't think it's actually a requirement for the spell to work, but for the location you want to go…" he watched as she went through the notes in the paper once more "yes, see here? These are the actual requirements for the spell to really work, but the ingredients further down from here…the, extra ingredients so to speak, are about the location…if only I had more time…"

Voldemort, although impressed with her ability to break down the spell like that, decided to cut her off before they ran out of time. "That is indeed very interesting, and I will absolutely want to continue this particular conversation in the future, but at the moment I want a second with your son." She turned her head toward him faster than he thought possible, and her eyes showed the defiance he saw back in their home once more, and really he admired that, but now was not the time for this. "If you please…I promise you from one parent to another, he will not be harmed in any way." He watched her leave, his words not really sinking in, and too late she realized what he'd said, stopping just outside the door and turning to confront him, but he simply waved his hand and the door shut and locked in her face. "Now, then, young Harry…" he began, wondering why Bellatrix had set him up for this. Maybe having a child of her own softened the witch a little, if he were to ever confide in anyone, having a child softened him even if just a little. "I am sure you will not remember any of this, but in the event that you do, I want you to know that your parents love you very much, and only agreed to this because I left them with no other option." The small child inside the chamber watched him with big, emerald eyes, a smile slowly forming on his face as he raised his chubby hands to try taking hold of the older wizard. "Now, I'm going to leave a little knowledge for you to use in your new home, along with a piece of advice. Never accept anything at face value, boy, for good and evil are subjective. If you believe anything, believe this, there is no good or evil there is only power, and those too weak to seek it." He wanted to leave it at that, but decided to add a little more wisdom for the child. "You see, good and evil are subjective, not because of such idiocy as it's in the eye of the observer but because no matter what really happened, it will be only the victor's version that is perceived as the truth, and their actions, good. Dead men tell no tale..."

He watched as the young boy giggled at him and continued trying to catch hold of him. It made him smile fondly at the infant. Dumbledore's ever growing idiocy made them enemies, but, otherwise, he could see himself growing to love the child as his own one day. He pulled the bag filled with scrolls that Bellatrix had arranged for the boy, with spells of all sorts; from things to help in house chores to the Cruciatus; and his own present, a bag full of books containing all sort of knowledge, from magic theory, to a nobleman's duties and even a book or two on diplomacy. After placing both bags with the child, he unlocked the door and called in Lily, who arrived alongside her husband. "I will give you a minute with the child, and then we proceed." He didn't wait for their inquiries, instead walking past them and out the door.

She walked slowly through her estate, her eyes downcast and thoughts far away, on the child she had been robbed of years ago. It had been something she never truly got over, her second son's death. Eleanor Cousland, wife to the Teyrn Bryce Cousland of Highever had been a sad woman since that day, not even her oldest son's wedding and subsequent arrival of her grandson easer her pain. She looked at the gardens of her castle; the beautiful flowers that she would tend to herself, the life the seemed to emanate from the sight did nothing to her. Once she would simply close her eyes and smile as she felt the wind hit her face, bringing the sweet smell of her garden to her senses. The woman sighed, ready to turn in for the night, when a cry caught her attention.

It had been a child's weeping voice she'd heard, and she rushed in the direction she heard it, arriving at the sight of a small boy, crying loudly as a brand appeared upon his breast. A triangle, with a circle inside it and a line passing exactly in the middle of both…she barely took notice of such a thing, rather focusing her attention on the boy, who she picked off the floor, causing a note to fall from somewhere to the ground. The Lady of Highever crouched, picking up the note. The child's name is Harry there was two other names, but both were crossed out just Harry. His parents…we sent him away in order to protect him from what is to come, so please, whoever finds him…love him as we could not, that is all I ask. It was clear the note was written in a hurry, as there were many mistakes and the paper seemed wet with what she could only conclude were tears from the boy's parents. Eleanor took a moment to see the things that were near the boy, two bags and a few letters that simply read To Harry. She looked at the boy; she had subconsciously been trying to calm him down by moving her body in a steady rhythm from side to side, humming a lullaby; and saw his big green eyes aimed directly at her, still wet from crying; from the pain of the brand, no doubt; a pout upon his lips that had her cooing. "Of course I'll take care of you…" she said, flicking his nose gently, causing the boy to try swatting her hand away and pout harder, to which the woman simply laughed.

"Harry Cousland…I like it, what do you say little man?" The little boy simply looked at her, making an unintelligible comment and she chuckled; the first time in years; as she wondered how her husband would react to their new son. It wasn't quite common for a Teyrn of all things to just adopt a child, but she was sure she could convince Bryce, as the man scarce denied her requests. "Come on, let's take you to bed." She said leaving the bags she had found near him for the servants to pick up in the morning. At the moment she could only care about the small baby in her arms, who unknowingly breathed new life into her with the simplest act of needing her.

AN: Ok so, lemme talk seriously for a second here...I wanted the beggining of the story to be different, and the manner in which Harry arrived in Thedas as well, so instead of the usual "Veil" usage, I went a different route, and I tried to rationalize it in this first chapter. Magic isn't exactly rational though so maybe it's going to be kinda conflicting in that regard...when I say magic isn't rational, by the way, I mean there isn't an exactl explanation where it comes from(in the HP series anyway), kinda like the force, although George fucked up using midichlorians to try explaining it...anyway back on track here...

I hope you guys like it =3 It's going to be a single pairing, this one, although, maybe, just maybe I'll to a triangle.

See ya \o