Chapter 123 — The Annoying Lockhart

Chapter 123: Chapter 123 — The Annoying Lockhart

Chapter 123 — The Annoying Lockhart

An hour later, they headed toward Flourish and Blotts.

Before they reached the bookstore, they saw a huge crowd gathered outside.

"What’s going on?"

Harry frowned. He didn’t want to take Vesey somewhere with so many people.

After all, Vesey had only just gone through that kind of ordeal, and there were always some wizards who looked at her with disgusting, pitying expressions.

"It’s Lockhart’s book signing!"

Hermione exclaimed excitedly.

Her eyes lit up, but she immediately glanced at Vesey guiltily.

When she saw that Vesey didn’t seem bothered, she felt a little disappointed.

"Then, Vesey, just wait here. I’ll buy the book for you..."

Harry spoke carefully.

Vesey shook her head.

"Brother, I can’t hide forever. The more frightened I am, the more some people will use it to bully me."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

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[...]

"Yes, that’s right. Vesey isn’t the one who did anything wrong. Why should Vesey be the one hiding?"

Mr. Weasley came over at that moment, his eyes filled with determination and approval.

A smile appeared on Vesey’s face.

Harry and the others knew that Mr. Weasley was right.

Vesey couldn’t spend the rest of her life avoiding everyone.

And Vesey wanted to go outside too.

Then she should go.

They were all here with her.

Harry and the others carefully guided Vesey through a gap in the crowd.

Gilderoy Lockhart was signing and selling his books.

Vesey and the others hadn’t come specifically for his autograph, so they each took a copy and prepared to leave.

But squeezing in was difficult enough.

Squeezing back out was even harder.

The crowd pushed them from side to side, and Ron was shoved toward a staff member holding a camera.

The man was squeezed so tightly that he frowned at Ron.

"Could you move over there?"

Ron’s face flushed, and he quickly moved aside.

However, his steps were a little too large, making his movements look rather awkward.

This clearly amused Lockhart.

He was about to say something to Ron when he suddenly spotted Vesey and Harry nearby.

His eyes lit up.

He had been worried about what he would do if he failed to make the front page of the Daily Prophet.

And now, an opportunity had practically delivered itself to him.

"Oh my God! It’s Vesey and Harry! I never thought the two of you would come to my book signing. You must want my autograph!"

Lockhart strode over to Vesey and Harry, threw an arm around each of their shoulders, and pushed them toward the front of the crowd.

Vesey looked uncomfortable.

"Could you let me go? I’m not really comfortable with this..."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

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[...]

She looked so pitiful that many people immediately gave her Energy Points.

But Lockhart didn’t feel sorry for Vesey.

Or rather, he didn’t care about Vesey or Harry’s feelings at all.

He kept his arms around their shoulders and said:

"The famous Harry Potter and his kind and righteous sister, Vesey, have come to my book signing! They were hoping to get my autograph, but they didn’t realize that they could have me as well!

"Yes, this year, I’ve agreed to Dumbledore’s invitation to teach at Hogwarts. I think I’ll get along wonderfully with Harry and Vesey.

"Hahaha! Vesey, aren’t you happy? I know I’m the favorite man of countless girls. Surely you like me?"

He lowered his head and tried to rub Vesey’s cheek.

Vesey quickly dodged.

She looked horrified, but still spoke gently and apologetically.

"Mr. Lockhart, I still can’t stand being too close to men for the time being..."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

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[...]

She was so cute, and even her attempt to avoid Lockhart was polite. She had also made the reason perfectly clear.

Anyone who knew what she had been through couldn’t possibly demand anything from her.

Instead, they were somewhat displeased with Lockhart.

This child had already experienced something like that. How could he force her to stand there like this?

Lockhart, however, had no idea that everyone was criticizing him.

He felt somewhat disappointed.

Vesey was exactly the type of girl he found attractive.

He was handsome, and his fame as an author only made him more confident. Women almost always fell into his arms whenever he showed them a little attention.

No matter how cold or aloof they were, they never seemed to resist him.

Yet Vesey had not only refused to let him touch her, she’d immediately pulled away even when he merely put an arm around her.

This made Lockhart extremely embarrassed.

With an unhappy smirk, he said:

"You’re not used to interacting with men. Is it because of what happened with those photographs?"

Everyone knew the reason.

And yet he had deliberately brought it up.

Wasn’t he intentionally reopening Vesey’s wound?

Unfortunately for him, Vesey had no such wound.

What she specialized in was harvesting Energy Points and holding grudges.

She suppressed the redness in her eyes, then stood opposite Lockhart and said:

"No. It’s not because of the photographs.

"But I did experience some unpleasant treatment. Even so, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.

"I can take off my own robes if I want to. Like this..."

She generously opened her robes.

There was nothing underneath except a vest.

Many girls wore tank tops as outerwear anyway, so it wasn’t considered revealing.

Vesey spoke loudly:

"I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. I have the right to ask other people not to touch me. Even if there were no reason at all, I would still have that right!"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

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[...]

Her words earned applause from many people.

Harry and the others looked at her proudly.

Why should Vesey be the one carrying the pain?

It didn’t matter whether anything had happened or not. Even if something had happened, it wasn’t Vesey’s fault.

And it certainly wasn’t Lockhart’s place to blame her for it.

Vesey stood opposite Lockhart.

Although she was small, she carried herself with remarkable force.

"You should be able to understand me now, right?

"I need you to understand that I don’t like being touched by you. I don’t like getting too close to strangers, and I hate doing intimate things with people I don’t know.

"So I’m leaving now.

"And you’d better not come looking for me again!"

The entire scene fell silent.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Vesey took her book and went to pay.

Harry and the others quickly followed her out, thinking she had been incredibly cool.

"That’s right, Vesey. You should do exactly that. Next time someone looks at you like that, stare right back at them. And if they dare bring up your scars, show them how strong you are!"

Harry clenched his fists.

Vesey, however, wasn’t very happy.

She said softly:

"Brother, my scar isn’t there.

"If he asked whether I felt guilty because I had harmed so many innocent people, then I really would have broken down."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]