Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

if anyone had asked harry he would’ve told them this video idea was a stupid one. a haunted house. really? they’d done haunted videos before. the tunnels, the sidemen show, they both stunk! so why on god’s green earth are they trying this again? no one wants to watch this. the viewers already complain enough about hide and seek. now they’re just walking around some dark hallways not even looking for each other… that’s the content! harry really didn’t think this was a good idea.

he was even pretty sure none of the guys believed in ghosts anyway, so they really were just talking to the walls of some house. some old, dark, rotting, creepy house that some serial killer had apparently lived in. best sleepover ever, right? who wouldn’t love this?

they had a bunch of little gadgets with them that were apparently part of the ghost hunting essentials. they had ones that were beeping and lighting up randomly as they walked around the house. emf meter, ouija board, spirit box, those spinning metal sticks harry couldn’t remember the names of. they had eveything. harry was currently clutching his camera and torch close to him as they poked around in the attic of the house. one of the worst rooms.

‘this place stinks man.’ harry complained, looking at the mold lining the top of the walls.

‘imagine haunting a mouldy house.’ josh laughed at his own joke.

‘if there are any spirits here can you make a knocking sound.’ vik called into the air, lulling the room into silence to see if anything responded. nothing did.

harry felt too exposed stood alone in the middle of the room so he safely placed himself near the attic door between simon and ethan. simon was currently reading the instructions for the spirit box, harry pointed his torch at the page to help him see.

‘honestly, i think you just turn it on and speak to it.’ simon flipped the page to read the back of it. they’d been trying to set this stupid device up for about ten minutes at this point (they as in jj. simon had taken over and figured it out rather quickly.)

‘alright well just try that then.’ jj’s tone told the room that he was annoyed by the fact it was that simple. simon turned the box on and everyone jumped, being completely unprepared for how loud it would be as it switched through the channels.

‘christ.’ harry muttered.

‘okay, any spirits in this room, you can now communicate with us through this… glorified radio.’ simon didn’t care for the spirit box but addressed it anyway, speaking over the racket it was making. everyone listened carefully, trying to find a response in the mess of sound. they moved in closer and kept talking to it.

‘maybe we should tell it our names?’ tobi suggested. harry was not a fan of giving the supposed ghost of a serial killer his name, even if he didn’t believe in ghosts, but everyone else seemed to like the idea so it seemed he had no choice.

they went around the room introducing themselves one by one, even the cameramen. harry was next, the final person to introduce himself, but the box beat him to it.

‘HARRY.’

it was so clear. a deep voice in the mix of radio stations. harry felt like he’d just been punched in the stomach, the air stolen from him. the room was in a shocked silence. mouths agape, hands shot up to their faces in shock. harry could’ve thrown up.

‘holy fuck.’ ethan spoke first, followed by a fearful laugh.

‘what the actual shit??’ vik was frozen across the room.

‘nah, bruv. nahhh that’s not okay, man! simon, what did you do??’ jj was pacing as he blamed simon.

‘me? nothing! it fucking did that on it’s own!’ simon was holding the box further away from his body, further from harry, trying to hand it off to someone else. like holding it would make him a target or something. josh seemed to be unfazed by the spirit box so he stepped forward and took it from simon’s outstretched arms. the room settled for josh to talk.

‘who’s harry? are you called harry?’ classic josh. trying to prove that this (supposed) ghost had not known harry’s name before he said it. obviously the (supposed) ghost was just introducing himself first. obviously. harry tried to follow josh’s thinking but he wasn’t really convincing himself. he inched closer to simon, feeling exposed.

the box didn’t seem to have a reply, which settled harry’s racing heart the slightest bit. it was a coincidence. ghosts aren’t real. harry is a popular name, if it even said harry, it wasn’t anything to do with him. simon’s arm had made its way around harry’s shoulders in an attempt to reassure him.

‘i don’t like this, man, this is fucking weird.’ simon’s other hand pointed at the box accusingly. ‘keep that thing away from me.’

‘you turned it on!’ vik reminded him.

‘don’t know what you’re complaining about! at least it didn’t say your name, mate!’ harry felt simon’s grip loosen from his shoulder as he yelled at him, thinking harry didn’t want him there. harry moved in closer to simon, silently telling him that he was wanted. he tightened his grip again.

‘let’s ask more questions.’ ethan moved to stand with josh looking at the box. ‘are you the serial killer that lived here?’

the box spat out a string of unclear words and everyone began debating what it said. harry couldn’t bring himself to add to the conversation, it didn’t sound like real words anyway. he focused on simon’s arm around him.

‘HARRY LEW-IS.’

the box broke through the conversation with that same deep voice from before. the room was in uproar. simon’s arm slipped away from harry and he couldn’t hold himself up. jj and ethan were yelling. harry dropped his camera and torch. josh was yelling. harry fell to his knees and held his head in his hands agasint the floor. even the cameramen were yelling. his eyes stung. his chest stung. his head was spinning.

simon dropped down beside him and tried to pull him away from the floor, towards him. tobi crossed the room to where josh was standing with the box that was still spitting out half words. he passed his camera off to josh and took the box instead. he switched it off leaving the room in a deafening silence. if it wasn’t for the fact harry could hear his heart thumping in his ears he might’ve believed he’d died. or gone deaf.

‘it’s okay, it’s okay.’ simon’s voice blended with the beat of harry’s heart. simon finally managed to pry him away from the floor. the other guys were yelling again but it didn’t sound like words to harry. nothing seemed real. hands placed on either side of his face directed his attention to simon next to him.

they didn’t speak. or maybe simon did speak and harry’s marathon heart was too loud to hear. harry blinked rapidly and flicked his gaze between simon’s wide eyes. simon’s thumb caressed his cheek in an attempt to soothe him. it took a second for harry to realise that simon’s lips were moving. it wasn’t to form words, but to imitate deep breaths. harry nodded slightly, as much as he could manage and copied, only now noticing how he wasn’t getting any air. was that why his vision was blurry?

harry brought his shaking hands away from the floor and reached for simon, grabbing handfuls of his shirt. tobi was crouched down with them now as well, rubbing circles on harry’s back as he heaved breaths in. the thumb on his cheek moved to swipe under his eye. was he crying? he closed his eyes, hard.

he could hear past his thumping heart now. he could hear simon’s panicked breathing, only then realising that his hands weren’t beating at a different speed to his heart but that simon’s heart was racing too. harry reached further for him, his shaking arms barely making it to simon’s shoulders before he got the hint and pulled him in for a hug. tobi’s hand on his back dropped and was replaced by simon’s arms wrapped around him.

‘are you okay?’ harry could feel simon’s lips against his ear as he spoke (whispered?) he squeezed his eyes shut and held simon tightly, pushing his face between simon’s neck and shoulder. he managed to force out an unconvincing nod. simon held onto harry just as tight.

harry knew this video was a dumb idea. he’d told them they shouldn’t have done it. now he’s probably going to have nightmares for the rest of his life over some stupid little spirit box that’s probably programmed to scare the shit out of people. ghosts aren’t even real. harry was desperately trying to convince himself. ghosts aren’t real. simon is real. simon is holding him. ghosts aren’t real. simon is. simon. simon. simon.

cameras. cameras are real. three cameramen and seven vlog cameras are real and in this room. they’re probably all pointing at him right now. his stomach twisted in a different kind of fear. he forced his eyes open and could already see two cameras pointing at him before he even turned his head. he took a deep breath and forced himself away from simon. simon stayed close, arms still half wrapped around harry. the look on his face made harry’s chest tight. he looked around and saw that nearly every camera was pointing at him. at them.

harry wished for nothing more than to stay wrapped in the safety of simon’s arms. for simon to carry him out of this rotten house and take him somewhere that they’d never have to deal with ghosts (not that they’re real) or weird talking boxes (that make you think ghosts are real) or cameras pointing at them (very real)

it took two tries for him to push himself off of the floor. his first attempt being somewhat pathetic. his legs felt like jelly. simon didn’t move his arms away, just let them slip down harry as he stood so they were lightly holding his legs, ready to catch him if he fell again. harry honestly wasn’t sure if he was holding himself up at all or if simon already was. he cleared his throat, trying to force the shake away from his voice.

‘we-we can’t leave that in.’ his voice shook anyway. he cleared his throat again. ‘let’s just- let’s just leave it there and-’

harry felt simon’s hands drop from his legs and watched him as he stood up and hovered close by. harry cleared his throat. again.

‘and- and can- can’t we just go home now.’ harry had given up trying to fight the shake in his voice, it obviously wasn’t going anywhere. ‘i don’t want to sleep in this- this fucking old ass creepy house.’

most of the cameras had lowered, understanding this was a private moment that wasn’t making it to the video. tobi picked up harry’s dropped torch and camera and passed them back to him. harry muttered a ‘thanks’ and switched his camera off too.

‘we can either go home or leave that in the vid.’ josh’s words registered and harry couldn’t even respond.

‘what?’ simon’s tone was harsh, begging josh to be joking. he wasn’t.

‘well we can’t leave the video on nothing can we? if we leave that bit in we can use it as a reason to leave but if it’s taken out then we’ve left for no reason with no content.’ josh was thinking about the video of course. it made sense, kind of. if they leave now they might as well scrap the video. not that they could really afford to scrap this video since it was meant to come out in just a few days. simon put up a fight regardless.

‘are you fucking kidding? listen to yourself, man. you can’t make him stay here after that. how would you feel if it said your fucking name?’ simon stepped just in front of harry, as if it would shield him from josh. tobi stayed in line with harry, something he was thankful for.

‘it’s a glorified radio, that’s what you said isn’t it? ghosts aren’t real. it was a coincidence, simon. harry and lewis are just two normal, common names. it’s not that big of a deal. we can just go to bed now and it’ll be done.’ josh began collecting the equipment they’d brought into the attic, ready to leave the fight behind. simon scoffed in disbelief.

‘we just watched him have a panic attack. you know that’s not fair, josh.’ tobi’s tone wasn’t nearly as hostile as simon’s was, but he was still fighting for harry.

‘it wasn’t really a panic attack...’ jj added an unwanted addition to the conversation and simon stared him into silence.

‘i know it’s not ideal. i get that, i’m sorry, but we need this video. there’s no point missing an upload over this.’ josh handed tobi his camera back and he genuinely looked apologetic. he spoke again. ‘let’s do a vote then.’

simon scowled bitterly before turning to harry, the expression wiped away. harry felt like he wasn’t in the room at all, like he was hearing this conversation play out through someone else’s ears. he felt floaty and light headed, like he was high. simon fell back in line with him and put a hand on harry’s shoulder, grounding him.

‘okay, who votes sack the video off.’

simon’s hand was up first, strong and sure, then tobi’s. harry pushed his hand to hover up in front of him, not having the strength to put it all the way up. they watched for someone else’s hand to raise. no one’s did.

‘are you guys kidding?’ simon’s stone cold voice even made harry flinch.

‘josh is right… we really do need this video.’ ethan defended his stance, jj nodded. vik looked ashamed of his decision.

‘vik…’ tobi tried to sway him, vik looked away for a moment.

‘i’m sorry, harry.’ he spoke directly to harry, something most people in the room hadn’t been doing. harry understood. the whole reason they were doing this last minute shoot was vik’s fault. his video had fallen through and now they were here. he couldn’t take the blame for a second video. harry understood, really he did. he nodded at vik and averted his gaze to the floor. tobi sighed in defeat next to him. simon’s clenched fist was in the corner of harry’s eyes, he could see his knuckles turning white even in the dim torchlight.

‘it’s alright.’ harry looked up and nodded, trying to convince them (and himself) that it really was alright. ‘it’s fine, simon.’ he patted simon’s tensed arm. ‘majority wins. it’s fine.’ harry took a shaky breath and tried to shake the nerves out, he cleared his throat. ‘i need some air.’

his voice was weak, unconvincing, vik couldn’t look at him. any other time he would’ve been on harry’s side and he knew that. harry made his way to the attic door and hesitated to push it open, realising he’d have to walk down three flights of stairs alone and in the dark.

‘i’ll come out with you.’ cameraman john offered, breaking the silence the cameramen had been holding. harry had honestly forgotten about them for a moment there. he could see the sympathetic expression written all over john’s face. his camera hung around his neck, turned off. harry figured he was on his side (not that it mattered anymore) and nodded to accept the offer. they began to make their way out of the house together.

the room was still for awhile after they left. silent. tobi shook his head and let out a sigh to break the silence. simon was trying to force himself to calm down. trying desperately. he was fuming. he didn’t think he’d ever been this angry at the guys. harry had said it was alright, that should’ve reassured him, but it wasn’t alright. the shake in his voice, the shake in his entire body had told everyone just how ‘alright’ it really was. simon could’ve said he hated his friends in that moment.

‘you guys are fucking pricks, you know that?’ simon spat each word slowly, through gritted teeth. ‘you call a vote for something like this again and i’m out, i mean it.’

josh tried to protest but simon didn’t let him.

‘majority wins. i fucking know.’ simon threw his camera to the floor, probably breaking it. he didn’t care. ‘some best mates you are.’

he stormed out of the room to go and find the only thing he did care about. harry.

Chapter Text

harry yanked the front door open and stepped out of the house. making his way alongside the driveway on the grass until he reached the old wooden garden gate and leant against it, catching his breath. he hadn't realised until the cold air hit his face that his breathing had started wavering again.

john shut the door behind him and followed harry over to the gate. once he reached him he passed over a bottle of water. harry wasn't sure where he got it from but he was grateful.

'cheers.' harry spoke with a sad smile and let their eyes meet for a second before growing uncomfortable and looking away to take a drink. 'sorry about that.'

'what are you sorry for?' john seemed genuinely confused. harry had nothing to be sorry about. 'it's not your fault.'

'yeah, well.' harry took another swig of the water, keeping his eyes away from john's. 'i've apparently just ruined a perfectly good video.'

'don't say that. we both know they were out of line.' it was nice to hear someone say it. it made harry feel validated (even though he already knew they were in the wrong)

'well sorry anyway.' john considered telling him that he didn't need to apologise again but knew it would be a pointless battle so he left it, letting harry have the apology.

they stood quietly for a moment. john tried to think up a topic that would bring harry's mind away from the spirit box, away from the house, something he could do to help.

'that footage... it can't get out.' harry barely spoke above the wind and it took john by surprise. he sounded devastated, his voice gave away the fact he was on the verge of tears. john felt awful. he felt guilty for hearing him like that, for seeing him in the attic, for filming it (even though he'd turned the camera off the second he saw harry was really crying)

'it won't get out.' john assured him, he was willing to wipe each memory card himself. harry looked to him and nodded tearfully in a silent thanks, understanding that john would cover for him. it meant a lot.

the door of the house swung open and simon appeared from behind it. he slammed the door after he walked out and looked around until he spotted john and harry. his shoulders visibly settled when his eyes found harry's in the dark. he made his way towards them and they met him in the middle.

'you don't have to stay, harry. i'll drive us home right now, i don't care. we can leave.' simon rubbed harry's arm reassuringly and waited for him to say something.

they could leave, of course they could. no one was going to physically force them to stay, harry knew that, but it wasn't worth it. the arguments, the damage it would cause to the group (as if this night hadn't damaged it already) it was fine. it was like josh said, a coincidence. nothing really happened. all he had to do was go up to the room he was staying in with ethan and jj (seemed like a good idea when they were picking rooms) and go to sleep. he'd wake up in the morning and be able to go home drama free.

'it's fine, simon. it's just one night. barely even a few hours.' harry knew he wasn't convincing anyone, especially not simon. it really was a few hours though. he'd stayed in worse places for longer. 'i'll just go to bed and... and it'll be fine.'

'you're a terrible liar, harry.' simon shook his head and pulled harry into a hug. 'whatever you wanna, i'll do it with you.'

harry was beginning to think simon's arms around him could fix everything. his embrace could rival the softest blanket in the world. harry found himself wishing that he could stay in simon's forever. he wished that a lot.

'want me to ask tobi to switch rooms?' simon (regretfully) pulled away and let his hands fall to harry's wrists, holding them gently. harry shook his head 'he wouldn't mind.'

'i know he wouldn't.' harry assured. he wanted to be near simon, obviously he did, but he knew how much simon and tobi had been looking forward to sharing a room. they'd talked about it almost the whole way here like children going to their first sleepover. he'd already ruined the night for everyone else, he didn't need to ruin it for simon and tobi too. 'i'll be fine. seriously.'

simon wasn't convinced but decided to let it go. he looked over his shoulder at the house, glaring daggers at it. harry took simon's hands into his own and squeezed them.

'ghosts aren't real.' harry told him (and himself) and simon nodded, squeezing back and bringing his eyes back to meet harry's. 'it's... just a stupid house.'

'just a stupid house.' simon agreed.

it's a stupid idea, is what it was. why the everliving fuck had harry convinced himself that this was the right move. nice one, harry. let's stay in the creepy old house with (alleged) dead residents that mysteriously know your full name and make unsettling knocking sounds every five bloody minutes. great idea. i'm sure we'll fall asleep instantly and get a full nights rest.

if harry had a time machine he'd slap his past self in the face.

it had just passed 3am, everyone was in bed. asleep, probably. the cameramen had left to their hotels (lucky bastards) and harry was laying awake on a half deflated air mattress, ethan and jj asleep on their own mattresses either side of him, at what he'd learned to be the 'most active' hour in the house. amazing. so fucking great.

to add to that (as if anything needed to be added) he had to piss. desperately. he'd already looked around the room for a bottle, it was that desperate. he weighed up his options. hold it? no. piss out the window? unfortunately, all of the windows were nailed shut. piss in ethan's bag? tempting, honestly. piss in the antique teapot they'd been instructed not to touch? yeah, maybe not. walk down the long, dark, haunted hallway to get to the bathroom? god, harry really didn't want to do that one.

'ethan.' he decided to try and wake someone up to make the journey with him. he shook at ethan's shoulder. 'wake up.'

'what?' ethan was annoyed already, harry was pretty confident he knew how this would play out. he tried anyway.

'can you come to the toilet with me?' harry crossed his fingers and hoped. ethan grumbled and tried to ignore him. harry shook him again. 'please, ethan!'

'no!' ethan rolled over and settled back down. 'just go on your own.'

harry sighed and turned to jj. he'd hadn't even reached out for his arm when jj told him no and turned away too. harry sighed and fell back onto his flattening mattress.

well, he was going to have to either piss himself or make the journey on his own (one barely outweighed the other) he eyed the teapot again, considering it.

'for fucks sake.' he huffed out as he threw the blanket off of him and stood up. he wished that he'd taken simon up on his offer to take him home, or at least the offer to to switch rooms. harry knew simon wouldn't have made him go on his own.

he tried to keep his thoughts on simon as he picked up his torch and walked to the door. he gave a glance back to ethan and jj's sleeping bodies, hoping one of them had changed their mind and was coming with him, but they were asleep. thanks guys. he opened the door and shone his torch down the hallway.

his skin was crawling. why, why, why did they have to pick the furthest room from the toilet. he started walking, trying to move silently. when he heard scratching behind one of the doors he walked past he prayed they had mice. it's old moldy country house. mice made sense, he told himself, ghosts didn't make sense.

his heart hammered in his chest, threatening to give him away to the shadows dancing in the corners of his eyes. he could've sworn the hallway was longer now than it was when they'd gotten here. he'd made this same journey before going into the attic and it felt so much shorter then. he considered going into simon and tobi's room as he walked past.

his torch flickered and he honestly could've cried. he could've laughed too. of course this was happening right now. of, fucking, course. he squeezed his eyes shut and held an arm out in front of him, hoping to god he was walking in a straight line. luck seemed to be on his side for possibly the only time that night and his hand hit the bathroom door.

he opened his eyes to find the handle and felt panicky. like he was being rushed, watched, as if something was behind him and getting closer. he hurried to open the door and almost fell through it when he did. he locked the door behind him and balanced his torch pointing at the ceiling, lighting the room up. he leant against the locked door and caught his breath, suddenly feeling ridiculous, he shook it off.

he went about his business and tried to ignore the weird sounds the house continued to make. he was working on convincing himself that the owners had put speakers inside of the walls to scare people when he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. clear, real footsteps.

'just a sec.' he called out, making quick work of washing his hands. he picked up his torch and unlocked the door, swinging it open to be met with nothing but the dark, empty, hallway staring back at him. he froze, head spinning.

speakers in the floors too maybe?

he didn't bother sticking around to find out. his pace was faster getting back to the room, his torch swung wildly and he wasn't able to stop himself from checking behind him a few times. it felt like something was right there, following him. his heart pounded in sync with his footsteps and he finally made it back to his door. he reached out for the handle but didn't make it. the handle twisted from the other side and the door clicked open, leaving harry's hand hovering in the air.

he dropped his arm to his side with a slap and puffed out an annoyed (relieved) breath. of course jj and ethan would do this to him. refuse to walk to the end of the hallway with him but walk up their anyway just to try and scare him and then run back to wait by the door for him to return just to do it again. this night had him wondering if his friends actually liked him. the door creeped open.

'nice one. really funny lads.' harry pointed his torch into the room expecting to see ethan and jj laughing at him.

they hadn't moved since he left the room. they were asleep.

harry didn't think, his mind was on autopilot. he spun on his heels and darted back down the hallway. his ears were ringing, his heart threatened to beat out of his chest and he was sure that someone was chasing him, catching up, reaching out for him, fingertips just brushing the back of his t-shirt.

he swung simon and tobi's door open and shut it behind him with enough force to startle himself. he stared at the door, at the handle, waiting for it to open, waiting for something to happen.

'harry?' harry jumped and spun around, his back hitting the door. it was simon, obviously. had he come in here and not expected simon? the sleepy look was wiped from simon's face the second he saw harry's face. he threw the blanket off of him and made his way to harry in an instant.

'hey, hey, hey, what happened?' simon's hands clutched harry's face. harry couldn't breath. it felt so much worse that earlier, his throat was tight, his eyes were wide as they darted around the room. he'd woken tobi up as well. 'hey, look at me. what happened?'

simon shifted his head to try and catch harry's eyes for a response but it didn't work. he couldn't respond. he couldn't talk. he was so sure his throat was closing up. could it be? was he being choked? are ghosts real? is one choking him?

his violently shaking hands reached up to his neck and tried to pull the ghost hands away from his throat. there were no hands, he wasn't being choked. tears blurred his vision, threatening to spill (the only reason they hadn't was because he wasn't blinking) he tried to breath but the air kept getting caught in his throat.

'simon.' he cried desperately. simon's eyes were wide and panicked. he didn't know what had happened, he didn't know how to help. his grip tightened in harry's face and he looked to tobi desperately.

harry finally managed to push air past his throat and got all of two decent breaths before heaving. he crumbled down the door, slipping from simon's grip, not managing to catch himself when he hit the floor. sobs racked through him, shaking his entire body.

harry had never felt fear like this, it consumed him entirely. his limbs didn't feel attached, his insides burned. it was like he was going to pop, like his stomach would flip itself inside out.

warm arms surrounded him.

'-harry, harry, you're okay. what happened, please tell me. are you hurt? tell me what happened.' simon pulled him away from the door and checked for injury, just in case, there wasn't a mark. he begged harry to tell him something.

'...footsteps.' harry tried to force words out but ended up coughing on them. 'th- the door... opened.'

simon and tobi exchanged looks, understanding enough. simon pulled harry into him, into his lap, and kept his arms safely locked around him. harry clutched onto simon desperately.

'let's leave.' tobi's tone was even and calm. simon nodded and tried to move but harry didn't want to go out there again.

'no! no.' harry was panting and he hung on to simon's arms. simon looked at him, confused. 'we can't. it's- it's dark and- it's... let's just wait. please. just- don't leave me.'

'never, harry. never. it's alright. it's okay.' simon soothed and caressed harry's cheek. if harry didn't want to leave then they'd stay. a small part of him was thankful harry wanted to stay as the cameramen had taken all of the cars with them when they'd left (great idea josh!) leaving them stranded in this house in the middle of nowhere. simon still would've left if harry wanted to though, he'd have walked through the deserted roads as far as harry wanted. simon started trying to get harry's breathing to even out. 'not leaving you.'

once simon had calmed harry down as much as he could, the only sound in the room was harry's loud breathing. tobi eventually spoke.

'what happened, bog? take your time.' tobi wanted to understand what had spooked him. simon was thinking about burning this place to the ground once they'd left.

harry told them what had happened. he felt silly for being afraid but they reassured him. he was sat up leaning against simon now, tobi was pacing in front of them. simon was so angry at ethan and jj for refusing to go with harry, especially after earlier. he wasn't sure if he'd be able to control his anger the next time he saw them. he kept himself calm now though. for harry's sake.

tobi asked if harry wanted to leave again but he declined. harry didn't want to walk through this house in the dark (which was fair, considering...) it was only a couple hours until sunrise now, the big windows would soon light up the house and the crew would be back to pick them up.

'did you get any sleep?' simon asked him softly, pushing his fingers through harry's hair, he was pretty sure he knew the answer. harry shook his head no. 'do you want to try and get a few hours? i'll stay up.'

harry considered it. his body ached with exhaustion. this night had drained him, especially mentally. he wasn't sure if he would be able to sleep though, even though he wanted to.

'i'll stay up too.' tobi nodded, beginning to pull blankets and pillows over to where harry was curled into simon's lap on the floor. harry reluctantly gave in, taking everything from tobi and making himself comfortable.

it took awhile to settle. at least an hour, maybe more, but harry managed to fall asleep eventually. hands tucked up into simon's shirt around his middle, simon had one hand over harry's body protectively and the other was trying to calm him by playing with his hair (it worked)

harry was still scared of the house, of the maybe real ghost. he jumped everytime something knocked or creaked, but as he drifted in and out of sleep with simon surrounding him the house felt far away. he knew simon would keep the ghosts away (was that even a thing someone could do? harry wasn't sure, but he was sure simon would do it anyway) tobi was sat against the door, making it unable to open. him and simon spoke quietly to try and drown out the old house. harry was safe. he'd be okay here. they wouldn't let anything happen to him.