Fursuit

Walking towards the gate, Harry was greeted by an employee slowly blinking at him, dressed in a baby blue polo shirt, white shorts, some colourful rainbow knee socks, and Fazbear brand sports shoes. She straightened up slightly, her blonde, shoulder-length ringlets (held back by a soft pink bandanna) bouncing slightly, a too-wide smile plastered on her face.

“Sorry kiddo, but the park is currently closed. Please come back during the hours of 10 am and 10 pm!” she chirped, voice high-pitched and a hair away from falling asleep. Her eyes darted up and down at his clothes, probably wondering what teen would turn up to a theme park in a navy-blue button-up, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Harry slightly shifts his white messenger bag further up his shoulder.

“Actually, I’m here for a job interview, with a Mr Graham Carlson?” he introduces, shuffling on his feet as she stares, before jolting slightly.

“Oh. OH! Sorry, I’m not usually up this early so I’m really tired but I was asked to restock the ticket machines at the front gates because one of the morning shift would be running late today due to an appointment she has to take her son to and now I’m rambling so just gimme a minute to contact one of the guards and they can escort you to Fredbear’s…” the blonde slowly gets quieter as she messes with some sort of watch in bright orange, a small screen on it. Harry couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle, waving off the woman with a slight upturn of his lips.

“No worries, one of my friends does the same when she’s distracted, except it’s usually about one of our homework essays or some history she’s learned. I’m used to it and it’s honestly quite fascinating to listen to. People can say the most fascinating things when rambling,” Harry laughs, running his hand through his hair, tamed into slight waves (a trick that Sirius had taught him). She lets out a little giggle, glancing down at her watch when it beeps and flashes something.

“One of the guards, Fritz, is on his way here to pick you up. He’ll escort you to Fredbear’s, where the boss man will meet you before you head to the main office. Hope you don’t mind; the wait might be a while. We had some delays with stuff this morning, so Boss asked us to direct the potential employees to a free breakfast, or coffee. If you want that instead. I’d die for a coffee right now… Oh! I’m Sherry!” the newly-named Sherry tells him, doing something to one of the ticket machines and popping it open, a near-empty roll of entry pass bracelets being exchanged for a fresh roll, before being closed back up and moving to the next one and repeating the process.

“I’m Harry. It’s nice to meet you, Sherry! I must inform you though, I’m more of a tea drinker, than coffee. Hot chocolate is my go-to in America though, tastes better I have learned,” Harry smirks, Sherry shooting him a mock-offended look, a hand on her chest.

“No coffee? How do you function in the morning?” overly dramatic, she places a hand over her heart, looking far more awake, the corners of her pale pink lips twitching upwards. The raven opens his mouth to reply when he gets interrupted by an amused, Australian accent.

“Having fun with the new kid, Sherry?”

Turning, Harry watches as a man approaches from a small side gate that he hadn’t noticed earlier. He has a mop of bright orange curls on his head, partially hidden beneath a guard’s hat. Pale skin decorated with dark brown freckles, the same brown as his eyes. He wore a standard guard uniform minus the jacket with a belt around his waist, holding a flashlight, pepper spray, a taser, a radio, a tablet, and a set of keys. He had a pair of black trainers on his feet instead of dress shoes and a pair of fingerless leather gloves on his hands. When he spoke, he had a very faint Australian accent.

“Morning Fritz! We were just having a little laugh. Can you believe the guy doesn’t like coffee? Blasphemous in this place!” Sherry giggles, straightening up, waving her hand at Harry as she talks. Fritz glanced up and down at Harry before meeting his eyes.

“Downright abominable! You just ain’t found the right brew yet. We’ll get you liking coffee yet, you hear?” a smile pulled at the ginger’s lips before he sticks a hand out.

“You’ve probably already guessed, but my name’s Fritz Smith. Been working at Freddy’s for 3 years now so I’ve shown quite a few newbies around. Follow me and we’ll get you up to the boss man asap,” Fritz introduced, gripping Harry’s offered hand in a warm, but not tight, hold, and shaking it a few times.

“I’m Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you!” Harry replies, offering a smile in greeting. Gesturing for the raven to follow, Fritz turns back towards the small gate, shooting Sherry a wave over his shoulder.

“See ya Sherry! Don’t forget to reset the counters on the machines again!” and with that, the two were off.

Harry was led through the park to a large building in the centre with a mural depicting a golden bear and a yellow rabbit. The bear was a sunny yellow colour, a paler accent colour on his muzzle, ears, and ringing his green eyes. He wore a purple hat, bowtie, and vest, with a white shirt. Black shorts covered his lower half. Beneath his image was the word “Fredbear”.

The rabbit was very pale, almost cream, yellow, with some pastel green stripes on the thighs, arms, and lower legs. She wore a white sweater and denim shorts. The name “Spring Bonnie” was printed underneath.

Beneath the mural was a sign reading “Fredbear’s Diner”. The building itself had a simple red brick exterior, dark grey paneling along the bottom, and several very large windows. Small, flowering bushes lined the smooth stone path leading to the glass doors, and connecting to the wide path that went around the park.

Pushing the door open, Fritz gestures for Harry to go first before following behind him. The inside was decorated worlds away from the outside’s simple design. The walls were a soft sky blue but were almost all covered with posters and drawings made by children. The reception area held a desk with a currently empty book. Next to the reception desk was a large purple and white gift box, the letters “SECURITY PUPPET” emblazoned on the front in yellow writing. Beyond that was the main dining area. There was a cluster of round tables scattered everywhere on the edges of the room while the middle was left mostly empty for children to run around and play. On the wall opposite the entrance was a small wooden stage, which currently held the two animatronics that were shown on the mural outside. They both appeared to be in resting mode.

Spring Bonnie held a pastel green banjo carefully, even when powered down, as if it were a treasure, or something sentimental. With the faded paint and light scratches, it might as well be. Unlike the mural outside, she had small pastel green freckles dotting her face.

Fredbear was… not what Harry was expecting.

Surprisingly, the bear had been designed to look quite muscled, with wide shoulders, a wide torso, and thick legs. He had dark gold, almost brown, dappling on his thighs, with rings around his eyes. He held a silver and purple microphone, with a hoop earring on his left ear.

Deep in his scrutiny of the two, Harry felt himself jolt as the two suddenly lift their heads, staring at him, Spring Bonnie’s ears straightening from their flopped-over position while Fredbear’s wiggled. Fritz places a hand on his shoulder as he leaned close to Harry’s ear.

“This here is Fredbear and Springbonnie. They’re two of the animatronics this park has but don’t let that fool you. They’re smart as hell and have facial recognition technology so they can catch any possible troublemakers. Fredbear’s the big boss of this park despite Freddy’s name on the plaque, so don’t do anything to anger him, and don’t mention Golden Freddy to him. He hates that bear,” Fritz whispers before straightening his posture, “Good morning, you two! This here is Harry Potter, one of the new apprentice mechanics that might be joining!” Fritz introduced, gesturing at the appropriate times. Harry was about to butt in and tell them that he hadn’t been hired yet when Fredbear stepped forward and stretched out the hand (paw?) to Harry. Springbonnie glances between the two men, keeping quiet while Fredbear spoke. Accepting the hand, Harry noted how soft the fur was and how gentle Fredbear was being while he shook it, although he still jumped when the bear spoke.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr Potter. I look forward to potentially working with you,” his voice was deep with a soft rumble but had no identifiable accent and was probably good for singing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too Fredbear, Spring Bonnie. I look forward to potentially working with you,” Harry greets back, gripping his bag strap with both hands once his was released. The golden bear stared at him for a moment before releasing his hand and stepping back so Springbonnie could introduce herself.

“Hi! I’m so glad you’re joining the family! You don’t sound like most people around here. Are you from a different country? Are you a traveler? Have you ever seen a dragon? Can you play an instrument? Oh! Can you play the banjo? Can you-…” She babbled immediately, not letting anyone speak until Fredbear gripped her shoulder with a look. Harry took the pause to reply.

“I just moved here from Britain, actually. I haven’t really traveled that much. I can’t play any instruments, but I’d like to learn. And I haven’t been given the job here yet,” he answered honestly, offering his hand to the rabbit, immediately regretting it when Fredbear started making a ‘don’t’ gesture. Springbonnie grabbed his hand gently but enthusiastically shook it, sending an ache through his shoulder, but he didn’t show it to prevent the bunny from getting upset. She beamed at him once she let go but steps back on stage without a word as footsteps approached from behind.