I've been on the FNAF bandwagon again (mostly on YouTube). This is one of those franchises that I find interesting from a lore/story but not really something that I enjoy playing. Sure, I might be robbing myself partially of the "experience," but whatever. I just like interesting ideas and FNAF happens to be one of those. But anyway, what is this idea about? A while ago, I'm talking pre-coof ago, I came across an idea made by another creator on the site named Harry Leferts and their story "Five Nights with Harry" (id: 11474098). In it, they proposed an idea where Harry is forced to get a summer job and ends up taking the night guard position at the infamous pizzeria from the game. Now with all the additional lore and additional details that have been learned over the years due to additional installments in the series, it appears said author has stopped updating that work considering it diverged so hard from their original proposal. Also, it's been about 6 years since it was last updated, so there's that. But what am I proposing in this specific idea?

I'm going to propose a hybrid idea. No, not the hybrid you're thinking of (cyborg or whatever). No, what I want to do is propose an idea where initially Harry becomes a security guard for Fazbear Entertainment during the era of FNAF 1 (that being the mid 90's or thereabouts) and discovers the horrid things that happened to the children and animatronics due to his magic and being able to commune with spirits due to magic. Now, it's never quite stated how exactly the "Happiest Day" minigame exactly frees the souls trapped in the suits in FNAF3 due to none of them actually being present in the game, only Afton in his suit is there with some phantoms that may or may not be there. Are we viewing this as information revealed or actually participating in it in freeing them? That's sort of left up to the imagination and I assume this allows people to speculate on. I'm proposing that Harry helps free their souls.

After this freeing he starts investigating as a private investigator leading to the events and information of FNAF2's information, Sister Location, FNAF3/4, and finally Pizza Sim for the original timeline. Things would appear fine until returning once again to his private obsession with the events of Help Wanted and Security Breach. This does seem like quite the task, doesn't it? But there's one thing that I do have going for me if I were to continue down this route, and that's the games. They're concrete and all of the events are backbones of the story that could be written. It wouldn't be easy, but it'd be easy to keep on track.

Title: [undecided]

Rating: Either T+ or M for mentions of murder and the investigations of said murders, language for sure, unsure of anything else.

Planned romances: Nothing is planned in this regard.

Summary: During the summer of 1994 Harry finds himself in the United States in specifically Hurricane, Utah, and finds himself bored. Sirius and Remus seeing an opportunity for Harry to learn a lesson in money management suggest that he get a job, so he does at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria as a night guard. But things aren't as they seem as eerie and spooky happenings reveal a great horror that happened inside these walls almost a decade prior. It's up to him to discover the great horror's villain.

Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my copy of MS Word and my desktop. Five Nights and Freddy's belongs to Scott Cawthon and Harry Potter to JK Rowling. I only get to explore this idea. See the foreword for the full disclaimer.

XxXxXxX

Night 0 – Interview Day

Harry sat in an office in his 'Sunday Best' for probably the first time in close to six years. Of course, it wasn't the same set of clothing that he would have had back then. That set of clothing was not only too small for him, but was Dudley's hand-me-downs that were as tacky as Dudley had been massively overweight at the time. This set of clothing was purchased during a recent trip to the muggle side of clothing shops and consisted of a black suit jacket, matching black pants, a white collared shirt, and a red tie. All in all? Very professional. As he sat there waiting for the interviewer to enter the room, he reflected as to why he was there.

"What?" Harry asked in shock at the breakfast table.

"You heard me," Lupin said. "You're getting a summer job."

"But we're in the United States!" Harry stated as if it were obvious.

"I know. And I have a few friends in the muggle government who can get you a temporary work visa to allow for a summer job."

"But why?"

Lupin looked over at him as Sirius tried to be as small as possible mostly because he felt uncomfortable. "Both Sirius and I agree that you need to learn financial responsibility."

"But I'm already responsible!" Harry argued.

"With school and life in general we'd both have to agree. But there's one thing that you haven't really been taught, financial independence and responsibility with those finances. Do you think I wouldn't hear from Hermione during your first year how you threw close to twenty galleons at the snack cart? Do you know the amount of money you truly wasted that day?" Lupin asked.

"Not really?" he asked unsure himself due to it being four years prior.

"The conversion rate is close to one hundred pounds sterling to one galleon," Lupin revealed.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't know he threw close to three thousand pounds at a snack cart where the stock was worth maybe five hundred at the most, and he only got a small amount. Was he truly ignorant to the amount of money his parents left him?

Lupin placed a hand on his unofficial godson's shoulder. "Harry, neither Sirius nor I are mad at you, but we'd both be doing a disservice to both your parents if we didn't teach you proper money management skills to allow you to save money for your future children and manage your family fortune properly. Therefore, from this afternoon going forward you will not be allowed to spend any of your vault funds on any personal purchases. If you want something, you'll need to save up your summer job's savings for it."

"This afternoon?"

"Yes, we'll be making a stop at the local MACUSA outpost and bank to access enough funds for you to get proper interview attire."

"What about my vault, though?"

"I know some investment bankers who'd be more than willing to invest money on your behalf in various stock markets, mutual funds, and commodities."

"Can you trust them?" Sirius spoke up for the first time in this conversation.

Lupin nodded. "I've known some of them from my time after the war in my travels in searching for a cure for my condition. They're all either squibs or muggles with magic in their family. They handle some of the high-profile accounts for individuals in the MACUSA and a few others abroad such as over in Magical Nippon as well. They would balk at the accusation of ruining an account of an ancient family such as Potter."

"How so?" Harry asked.

Sirius spoke up considering he had more experience with this, "Goblins."

"Goblins?"

"Cheeky, greedy little buggers. If these people are who he says they are, they likely are forced to work with the goblins." To confirm this, Lupin nodded. "Which means that if something happened to an ancient vault in which doesn't involve the account owners or the goblins themselves causing a massive loss in the account, there's hell to pay." Harry raised an eyebrow to which Sirius continued. "The last time someone tried to cheat an account in Gringotts they were slowly disemboweled by a rusty spoon in the middle of one of their main lobbies as an example." Harry shivered at the thought. "If these people are who Lupin says they are, then your family's vault is in good hands."

And so, they traveled to one of the small hidden outposts for the MACUSA in Salt Lake City, Utah, and withdrew the funds for a new suit and Harry signed 'investment custody' of his account to the firm that Lupin had specified. Lupin spent the rest of the day conversing with that firm with starting investments on top of speaking to his friend in the local government to get Harry a worker's permit/visa. And so, a week and several job applications later, Harry found himself in the office of the manager of a pizza restaurant. Before he could wonder any more about the job he had applied for, the manager of the location walked into the office. This was obvious as the name placard had 'manager' written under his name.

He looked at a clipboard and asked slightly bored, "Mister Harry Potter?"

"That's me, sir," Harry replied respectfully. He stood up to shake his hand but he was ignored as the manager sat in his chair in front of a computer that had the company logo as a screensaver. Harry, being ignored, sat down.

The manager set the clipboard down in front of him and looked the new prospective hire down. Harry could almost read his mind from his expression that stated that he was too overdressed for this interview. "My name is Kurt Allen and I'm the manager of this location. What made you apply for the position?"

"My caretaker, deciding that I need to learn money management skills, made me choose a job for the summer."

The manager looked down at the clipboard which contained his application clipped to it. "You know that this is for the night guard position here, right?" Kurt asked.

"That is correct."

"Why?"

"It was the only one available."

"Ok, fair." He then changed vocal tone; it became much darker, more suspicious, "How much do you know about our company?"

"It's a pizza company that does children's entertainment, right?" It seemed like the obvious answer.

The air was tense as the uncomfortable silence lingered on. It was like Kurt was looking for a specific answer but wasn't getting it. He pulled out a form and handed it to Harry. "Here is the proposed pay that HR has approved, it is the current standard minimum wage." Harry took the paper and looked it over. "If you agree you can sign down below, and date it."

Harry looked closer. The amount of money was listed as approximately $150 weekly before taxes were collected. This seemed remarkably low, but this was a summer job and not a permanent career. If it were the latter, he'd have very strong words to say. But there was something else. He was intrigued by the man's caginess regarding their company. Was he sussing out some kind of urban legend of sorts? But why would there be an urban legend about a pizza parlor of all things? Sure, when he walked through the very busy restaurant, he felt uncomfortable under the gaze of the animatronics. It was like they were alive. Was it just because they were creepy by accident? Against his better judgment, he found a pen and signed his name, and put today's date.

The manager stood up and extended his hand for the first time. "Welcome to the Fazbear Entertainment family," Kurt droned. Harry shook his hand. He sat down and pulled out another form. "Please write down your sizes as we'll need to get you a security uniform." Harry started to fill it out and Kurt added. "By the way, are you able to start tomorrow night?"

XxXxXxX

Night 1

It was 10 pm and Harry stood across the street from the pizzeria. Beside him was Sirius. "Nervous, pup?" he asked.

"Sort of," Harry replied. He had been requested to appear an hour early, with extra pay – which wasn't much in the grand scheme of things – in order to provide him with his uniform and to fill out various tax and employment forms. Not to mention orientation.

"Why did you decide on this place? Surely there were other places?"

"Yeah, but there's something with this place."

"Something?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, something's off about this place. Something that the day manager knows about but refuses to say."

"What makes you think that?"

"He asked if I heard anything about this place I had answered honestly and said that it was as it looked: a pizza restaurant that caters to children."

"What makes you think otherwise?"

Harry was silent for a moment before answering. "Today I went to some local teenager haunts – malls and video game shops – and I asked around, I heard of an urban legend that five children went missing about a decade ago and no one ever found the bodies; they were all allegedly last seen at a 'Fredbear and Friends' restaurant a few states over. Not only that but it's rumored that the kids of the then co-owners were also killed at the restaurant too."

Sirius's eyebrow was still raised. "Do you believe the rumors?"

"I don't know, there's always a bit of truth in rumors, usually exaggerated. Take for example the rumors about you being a serial killer. The only bit of truth is that you tried to kill Wormtail after finding my parents and me in the aftermath. Or that of me being the 'heir of Slytherin;' the only bit of truth is that I'm able to speak Parseltongue just like both Riddle and Slytherin were able to."

"Well, whatever it is whether they be exaggerated rumors or truth, be careful, pup," Sirius said to his godson. "I'll hang around a bar nearby. Shoot me a Patronus if you need help." Harry was about to rebut him but he added, "You're a night security guard. While this is a smaller town there's still a chance that an opportunist thief may try and break in to steal the valuables. If you need my help, just message me and I'll be there in a flash."

"I will," Harry relented.

"Good. Now enjoy your first day as part of the working class!" he said as he started walking away.

Harry walked inside the building and was let in by the waiting day shift security guard. "You Potter?" Harry nodded. "Come in." He followed the guard through the restaurant and as he did, he saw several day shift workers finishing their closing routine. Cleaning tables, resetting chairs, and so on. The animatronics that he had seen the day prior was hidden behind the curtain that surrounded their stage and since there was no movement, it was safe to say they were offline. He was taken into the back where the offices were but specifically the locker room. One of the lockers – they were a two-high, one-foot-wide type – had a piece of masking tape on it that said 'H Potter.' "This is your locker, here is your combination for it," the guard said as he handed him a piece of paper. "Go ahead and open it up and get dressed, I'll be waiting outside when you're done." And with that, he left.

He opened it and stripped down to his boxers and undershirt before putting on the guard uniform including comfortable boots. It looked like your average 'rent-a-cop' uniform, but with company branding instead. It was a long-sleeved, white button-up shirt with breast pockets that came with a black tie. There were black pants with a single yellow stripe running down the outer pant leg, this came with a leather 'gunfighter' belt – to clarify, it was a heavy-duty belt used by law enforcement to help carry their equipment and easily allow for quick fastening and unfastening without a belt buckle – to hang his equipment from. Inside was also a black hat that said 'SECURITY' in all capital letters. The last two things were a name badge with 'POTTER' stamped into the bronze plate and a badge that had the Fazbear Entertainment logo on it. He fastened these and put on the hat after lacing up the boots. He looked at the small mirror included in the locker door, nodded, and placed his folded off-work clothes inside before closing it.

He stepped outside to see the guard waiting, "Good. Follow me, we need to get you your equipment." He followed the guard to the night office. Inside he handed him a flashlight and holster which hung on his right hip, keys to the entire complex, and a small bottle of mace which went on his left hip.

"Mace?" Harry asked.

"While the likelihood of a break-in is unlikely, you never know. Company policy states you have to keep that on you and keep it in your locker when off-shift," the guard explained. The last thing he was handed was a police-style radio, the big, bulky kind. "Only use that in an emergency. It's pre-dialed to the sheriff's office." Harry nodded as that went next to the keys and mace. He then walked over to the desk itself where there was a computer monitor which looked remarkably advanced, then again living at Hogwarts most of the year in a technological wasteland made everything look advanced when it may or may not have been. "This is the security monitor which has access to all of the cameras in the complex. Tap on one of the listings on the map to cycle to that camera. There is a microphone which will allow you to listen to the audio as well." He proceeded to cycle to the dining room and he could hear the chatter of the cleaning staff.

Harry looked off to the side and saw that the security office was double-sided, that being a door on either side of the office. On the sides of those doorways were two buttons, a gray and white one. He looked above the doorframe to see that there was a lip with striped yellow and black caution paint on it. "What are those buttons for?" Harry asked, unsure if he liked the sight of that.

"Those are for the hydraulic doors and outside lights. Switch above is for the light, below for the door mechanism, on for closed and off for open."

'Now, why would you need such a door?' Harry asked himself.

"And that's all there is to it," the guard concluded. "You get one paid lunch hour but no one's going to ask when you took it, at least not on night shift. You get free pizza as a meal in the kitchen, the staff usually make one last one at the end of the night for the night guard and keep it warm, you can take as much soda as you like as long as you don't go insane with it. Any questions?"

"Not really?" Harry replied quizzically. He was unsure how to react.

"Alright, the rule is that all day staff has to be out of the building by 11 pm so that the night guard – you – can lock up." He looked down at his watch, "And it is 10:55, time to start ushering people out." And so, the two of them started ushering people out until all that were left were Harry and the day guard. He proceeded to show him which key was for which door outside including the back-alley doors. "See you tomorrow, probie," he said as he walked away. As the door closed, Harry could barely hear the guard say, "Ave Maria, piena di grazia," in Italian. Harry didn't like the sound of that. He didn't know Italian, but that sounded like a prayer.

Finishing locking up, he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the freshly made pizza. If he was going to eat, he may as well have the best part of a freshly baked pizza while he still could. He sat in the office and turned off the lights for the complex. The phone started to ring which surprised Harry. The day guard didn't say anything about phone calls after dark.

'I swear if this is a bunch of punk teens calling for a pizza delivery,' he thought. But he heard someone else. Someone older and the voice sounded tinny, old even.

"Hello? Hello, hello? Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you... to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm... finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact, so... I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you: there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine! So... let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?"

"Okay?" Harry asked aloud but it seemed like the man on the other side ignored him, didn't hear him, or it was a recording.

"Uh, let's see. First, there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Eh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza: a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovery of damage or if death has occurred, a missing person's report will be filed within ninety days or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced.' Blah, blah, blah..."

"What!?" Harry said as he spat out the drink he'd been in the middle of consuming and started coughing to clear his airway.

"Now that might sound bad, I know. But there's really nothing to worry about."

"You just mentioned death!"

"Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing... those same stupid songs for twenty years, and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember: these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children, and you need to show them a little respect. Right? Okay."

"Okay?"

"So just be aware: the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uhh, they're left in some kind of "free-roaming mode" at night. Uhh... something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uhh... they used to be allowed to walk around during the day, too, but then there was the Bite of '87. Yeah... I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"

"Wait, go back about a man missing a frontal lobe in due to the robots! What!?"

"Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uhh, if they happen to see you after hours, probably won't recognize you as a person. Th-They'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to... forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort... and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh. ...Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up..."

"No shit! That'd be uncomfortable as hell!" Harry exclaimed.

"But hey! First day should be a breeze; I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uhh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power."

"Nuh, uh! Don't you dare hang up on-!"

"Alright. Goodnight." The line went dead.

"Mother fucker!" Harry exclaimed. Suddenly it all made sense. Why the manager asked if he'd heard anything. Why the day guard had said a prayer that he was certain was Catholic. Why everyone had to clear out by 11 pm. Why the hell does a pizzeria need a night guard INSIDE. He wasn't there to keep people from getting in. He was there to keep these psychotically programmed animatronics from getting out! And everyone was certain that he wasn't going to make it until morning.

He withdrew his wand from its holster, a hidden one that looked like a watch. But underneath the clasp was a single little hole large enough for a wand to pass through. The salesmen they purchased it from said it operated on the same logic that a moleskin pouch or like wizard tents: larger space on the inside than is on the outside. He gripped it in a way that he saw in one of those 80's action flicks that Dudley liked to watch when his mother wasn't home and dad was sleeping. The being he held it like a gun and swept from side to side looking at both doors. No one was there.

He sighed in relief for now. 'Ok, so I know they're coming. But when?' In his adrenaline rush state, he forgot he had cameras. He opened the camera and saw that the power bar at the bottom rose from the green level to a slightly lighter green as he looked at it, cycling through the cameras. For now, the animatronics were standing on the stage, but they were looking at the camera. This was not normal behavior.

But there was something else, something deeper down he felt. It was something he remembered when attending Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party. That feeling when ghostly energy was concentrated all in one room; the sheer spine-tingling sensation and primal fear it brought forward in his subconscious. These animatronics weren't programmed to be psychotic killers, they were possessed by the spirits of the dead!

The rumors he gathered from the kids his age locally about the five dead kids… was the rumor true? Were these the murdered children of five years ago? There was only one way to find out.

To be continued…?

XxXxXxX

And that's all I'm going to write up for this entry. In terms of an introduction for a concept, I think it has merit. There are two challenges that I see. The first is that I somehow need to make the first night terrifying exciting for readers, but here's the thing: I'm not good at horror. I may have to get my hands on the "Twisted Ones" book to see how those are written in the same universal style. The second is that with Harry discovering who these kids were when they were alive, how do I continue to make it exciting for a horror story? I mean, do I go existential horror? In all fairness, the Charlie bot and the fan theory that Gregory is a robot would be enough on that since it asks the "am I really alive?" question itself by existing. I think that's one of the toughest challenges with a concept like this. Mainly because any normal person would quit that job day one after they survive the night, not come back night after night like the characters from the first trilogy of FNAF games do. Any normal person would peace the fuck out of there. I don't know, let me know what you guys think of this as a concept. I like the concept, but I don't know how to make it a long-term thing or able to come full circle and close itself out.

On to real-life stuff. I bought a new toy. An expensive toy, more than I wanted to pay for. I do plan on doing a review on it over on my Odysee channel and then cross-posting it over on YouTube so if you're interested in the preview I put on it you can look forward to that. I'll give you a hint, it takes 33 count "fun sticks." I'm finally working my way through my games backlog but added a new game to it, that being Yakuza 3 (remastered) and Bully: Scholarship Edition. Also added a bunch of new manga to my collection including the first volume of Chainsaw Man, Marginal Operation volume 2, and two more volumes of the Persona 3 adaptation. It's springtime so I've been trying to get outdoors and enjoy it while it's nice out, I recommend doing the same, even if it's just walking to your local park and sitting in the sun for a bit. As always if you want to leave a tip, addresses for anon tips are in my profile.

Let me know what you thought and if you have any ideas of your own that you'd like me to explore DM me and we can talk it over since I usually have questions to follow up on. See you in whatever I decide to do next.