Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, etc. belong to JK Rowling. I am making no money from this.

Summary: Slash. AU. Remus and Sirius meet briefly at a young age. When an older Remus shows up at Hogwarts a few years later, he captures the attention of many, including Sirius.

The Comfort of Knowledge, Chapter 1

The early morning sunshine, slowly leaking into the busy streets of London did not, unfortunately, reach the cold, desolate streets of Diagon Alley. The rain poured with a harsh intensity as the lone figure dashed into the nearest shop. Drenched and shivering from the unforgiving wind, the freezing air seemed to follow him into the store and filter in through the dusty cracks and darkened windows.

The boy took a moment to revel in the dry comfort of the small bookshop before looking around with his big, golden eyes. They took in the antique bookcases that stood tall—lining all the walls with authority. It was almost as if the shelves were somehow aware of all the knowledge they held.

And the young boy was certainly aware.

He loved the thought of perusing the many books – indeed, there was not a title in sight that he was not itching to hold in his small, eager hands – but he somehow managed to remain still.

After a moment, his eyes followed a rich, mahogany staircase up to another darkened area which housed more of the imposing bookshelves.

Looking back at the blackened door he'd come through, he started cautiously across the room. He was careful not to disturb the silence as he walked up the stairs. He wondered fleetingly at the apparent lack of customers within the shop.

When he reached the second floor, however, his mind quickly turned to other things.

In silence, he began to tip-toe around, allowing his fingers to ghost across the spines of dusty, aged books.

The boy explored half a dozen aisles before his wandering hands fell on a familiar title.

When he bent down to take a closer look, he half-expected an alarm to sound at his interest. Reaching out hesitantly, he took the plain, brown book in his small hands.

It immediately flipped open, pictures of ancient buildings and marbled statues staring up at him from the pages. He leaned in closer, quickly becoming engrossed in theextraordinary photographs. His fingers brushed over each page with reverence.

How long had it been since he'd seen these?

"The children's books are upstairs."

The arrogant, slightly bored sounding voice came from somewhere behind him.

The tawny-haired boy whipped his head around quickly and stood.

Leaning casually against the shelf behind him, arms crossed, was a pale, lanky boy of significant height.

The smaller boy blinked in surprise. "S-Sorry. I didn't mean –"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake – leave him alone, Shanks. He's only a little guy – probably lost his parents."

The boy turned towards the new voice and felt his eyes widen.

Leaning against one of the bookshelves nearby was an older boy – his shining black hair tied back neatly; his gray eyes glinting in the dim light.

The boy held himself with the arrogance and grace of a pureblood but the mischief in his eyes and the trace of a smile lurking about his lips hinted at something more.

At the moment, the older boy's mischievous gaze was fixed on him.

"What's your name then, little guy?" he asked.

The young boy blinked.

"Remus," he said softly. He knew his voice was barely audible above the relentless rain but the dark haired boy did not ask him to repeat himself.

"Pleasure to meet you," he replied quickly. "My name is Sirius, Sirius Black."

The boy's grey eyes glanced away from him for a brief second.

"Maybe you should come with me," he whispered, nodding towards the still scowling figure of Shanks.

Without another word, Remus began to follow the older boy down the length of the aisle.

He felt Shanks' icy stare on his back until they rounded the corner and had to suppress a shiver.

Finally, when the pair was suitably hidden amongst the books, the thought occurred to Remus that perhaps he should not have followed the older boy.

What would he say to him?

What could the two of them possibly have in common?

Just as he was about to open his mouth to excuse himself – and attempt to find his way back to the front door – the older boy turned to face him.

The wide grin he flashed Remus was full of mischief.

When the boy raised a smooth, black eyebrow in challenge and sprinted down one of the aisles, Remus felt an unfamiliar emotion course through him.

It was as if they'd known each other for years.

As if they were old friends.

Instead of turning away to find the entrance, Remus found himself racing after the older boy, unexplainable laughter bubbling up in his chest.

For hours the two boys played together.

They ran and hid and joked – and when they were finally too worn out to run around anymore, they settled down in a corner where they began a comfortable discussion about school, books and quidditch. Somehow they continuously avoided the subject of their respective backgrounds.

It did not matter much to them though. Not right then.

Although Remus appeared considerably younger than the dark-haired boy, the two of them quickly discovered that they were only separated by little more than a year.

Remus' reason for not yet attending Hogwarts – despite being of age – was never spoken of. Sirius would have liked to pursue the subject, but noticed the closed expression on the smaller boy's face and held his tongue.

It was not until Remus began to once again pore over the brown book that he had originally found, that Sirius noticed thepictures it held. He was stunned by the passion with which Remus spoke of the places and the people he saw in the book.

It wasn't long before Sirius found himself completely immersed in what Remus was saying. The young boy had the exceptional ability to draw a listener in. His voice, though soft, was smooth and soothing.

It was not so surprising, then, when Sirius nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of the store door crashing open.

A towering man stalked inside and glared around angrily. A chilling gust of wind followed him in.

The man's amber eyes searched the store bottom to top until they finally landed on the two seated figures upstairs.

"What exactly did you think I meant when I told you to stay in the room?"

Eyebrows raised, Sirius turned quickly to face Remus.

"You know him?" He mouthed.

"My dad," came the whispered reply.

"Ah," Sirius stood up as Remus did—intent on meeting the father of his new friend.

No introductions were made though.

The steely eyed man strode forward, and in a flash of pale skin and large, brutish hands, the angry figure rushed up the stairs and roughly grabbed Remus' arm, dragging him towards the door without a word.

He knew the shock was apparent on his face but Sirius could not help it.

How could this man be Remus' father?

Sirius remained still—following Remus' downcast eyes and blushing face as he and his father moved hurriedly towards the entrance.

Taking a quick moment to shake himself, Sirius quickly reached for the ancient, worn book Remus had been reading.

"Wait – Remus! Your book!" He rushed out after them, barely catching up to the retreating figures.

The small arm was still in the older man's cruel grasp and Sirius felt a strange twinge of anger at the contact. He had to force himself to smile when he caught Remus' eye.

"Almost forgot your book," he whispered.

"But—," Remus began.

"A gift…for getting you in trouble," he said softly.

Remus' eyes flashed with an unreadable look before he carefully took the proffered book.

"Thank you," he whispered back. The two grasped hands in a quick, youthful handshake before Remus was once again yanked gruffly into the still pouring rain.

This time, the boy disappeared completely into the cold mist.

Sirius stood outside the shop for several minutes, the air bouncing off his thick, black cloak. He gazed almost longingly into the mist – as if staring long enough might actually bring his young friend back.

With his pocket significantly lighter after paying for the book he'd given to Remus, Sirius made his way home, lost in thought.

That summer, he returned to the bookshop everyday with the hope of once again meeting up with the other boy—and perhaps this time getting his last name. But to his utter disappointment, Sirius never saw the other boy again that summer.

And little did he know it, but it would be all of three years before he would set eyes on the younger boy again.

Until that time came, though, the haunting glow of the golden eyes rarely left his mind.