Chapter 2: First Day Part 1

Harry Potter woke up on the first day of his new job as a crew member at McDonald's. He woke up a couple hours before he was supposed to start his shift. He headed into the bathroom to shave and shower. After he was done, he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the door and found a folded bundle of clothing on the apartment doorstep.

"Must be my uniform," Harry said as he took it inside and closed the door behind him.

He opened the bundle and analyzed the contents as he put them on. The uniform consisted of a pair of black slacks, a gray polo shirt with the McDonald's Logo stitched onto the front, and a gray cap sporting the same golden arches on the front. There was also a gray apron for if he was to work directly with the food. Harry wasn't quite ready for that. He grabbed a bookbag and inserted the apron and a set of spare slacks into it.

The clothing fit comfortably. Expected, seeing as how he had given the correct measurements to the providers. If they didn't fit, he could always use magic to alter the sizes. Thankfully he didn't have to do that. Even at home, he wanted to limit the risk of him being outed as a wizard. He kept his wand within a lockbox underneath his bed. If it was found by an outsider, they would probably just assume that it's jewelry or an heirloom keepsake. He didn't really see the need to get it out unless he was found and attacked by another wizard. The more inconspicuous he was, the better.

There were some spells he had practiced and then learned how to use without his wand. These required a bit more concentration. One notable spell he learned was the Accio summoning charm. Of course, that would be super suspicious if he were to use it in the presence of muggles. He would mainly use it his apartment.

Harry checked the time and decided that he should probably get going. He wanted to make a good impression and also wanted to see if they had some sort of briefing, or training they wanted him to do before he started his shift. He walked over to his new job and pulled open the door. There weren't any customers except for a lean, elderly man reading a newspaper in the back.

"Hey there!" a voice called from behind the counter. "you're the new guy, right?" The voice belonged to an employee chewing the end of a coffee stir. He was taller than Harry by a couple of inches and was built pretty well. It was hard to tell because he was wearing a hat, but Harry was fairly sure he was bald. He came out from behind the counter and walked up to Harry.

"Yeah," Harry replied, "I'm a bit early but today is going to be my first day here."

"Nice to meetcha!" the dude smiled holding out his hand for a handshake. "The name's Jon. I've worked here for about 5 years now." Harry accepted the handshake and was surprised by the firm grip and power that Jon had behind that shake. Once the handshake finished Jon pulled his hand back.

"Sorry if I come off a bit strong," Jon apologized, grinning big, "but it's been a long time since we've got a new crew member! Super excited to meet you brother." Jon had that sort of genuine friendliness in his voice. That was comforting, knowing that the environment he was going to be working in wouldn't be dull.

"Oh, you're fine!" Harry said. "It's nice to meet you as well. Are you one of the managers here?" Jon let out a hearty laugh, the coffee stir he was chewing on nearly falling out of his mouth.

"No, no, no." He said, "I may be good at my job, but I could never bring myself to travel and go to all those boring meetings. They asked me if I wanted to be a manager once but I politely declined."

"Ok." Harry replied, not exactly sure how to respond after that.

"Although," Jon said winking, "I'd be happy to show you around and help you get to know how we do things around here!" Harry felt relieved. Jon seemed to know what he was talking about. And his extroverted attitude seemed to be a good match to being able to show Harry around.

"Thanks!" Harry said, "I'd really appreciate the help!"

"No problem!" Jon said smiling. "Happy to help a new brother." Jon gestured for Harry to follow him behind counter and into the workspace.

"Let's first go to the back so that we can get you registered in the check-in screen. That way it'll be quicker when you come to work each day." Jon said to Harry as they walked past the other employees going about their duties.

Jon explained to Harry how the check-in system worked and helped him get his fingerprint registered in the machine. Much simpler than cards, Jon had clarified. Pretty hard to lose your fingers when they're attached to your hand.

Jon then showed Harry where each of the locations he needed to worry about were. The ice for the slushie machines were in the back, as were the refills for the cola syrup and the ice-cream machine. The fryer for the french-fries and hashbrowns was next to the grill were a few of the employees prepared the sandwiches to send down to the people at the window and the counter where they handed out the food.

At first glance, it was kind of intimidating, but Harry quickly learned where everything was generally located so he didn't have to ask about that too often.

"Since you're a newbie," Jon said bringing Harry back to the front, "we'll probably have you working on the front counter, taking the orders from the customers coming inside."

"Ok," Harry replied. He felt he would probably be more comfortable with that seeing as how he'd get to talk to people face to face instead of over a headset where there was the possibility of interference.

"I'll teach you about the interface of how we take orders." Jon said scooting next to Harry so they could both see the screen. He explained to Harry about the different sections and what to do if the customer had a coupon that they wished to use. He also showed him the button that toggled the price tag next to the buttons. That was a really helpful tip.

"Did chicken sandwiches use to be two and a half bucks?" Harry asked surprised. Jon shook his head.

"I remember back when they used to be a buck a pop." He said sadly. "Inflation's a bitch."

For some reason, this reminded Harry about the incident with his Aunt Marge several years ago. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Once you get used to it," Jon continued, "it gets pretty simple, then you just need to worry when they add a new bundle or deal to the menu. But they don't do that too often, so don't worry too much. Kay?"

Harry was comforted by Jon's extensive knowledge about the job he was assigned to do and felt relieved he wouldn't be just thrown in without any clue as to what he was doing.

"If you need any help, just holler for me and I'll come on over." Jon said patting Harry on the back and heading to the back. "I'll just be cleaning in the back. Someone dropped an ice-cream bag and it got everywhere." He laughed and hurried to take care of it.

Almost as if on cue, that's when Harry's first customers of his new job walked in through the main entrance.