Chapter 24: Unaware of Beauty

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Unaware of Beauty

Chapter Twenty-Four: Unaware of Beauty

Neville stayed in their compartment for a while. After telling Vesey which compartment he was in, he left in tears.

Ron looked at his back and said helplessly:

"I don’t understand why he likes a toad so much. If I had a toad, I’d get rid of it as soon as possible...

"Oh, Vesey, I was just kidding! I didn’t even throw Scabbers away."

Ron quickly explained, and Vesey smiled.

But she asked doubtfully, "Why don’t you like toads? Aren’t they cute?"

Ron sighed.

"It’s just too cute. I thought they were pets for girls. How could I, a man, touch that kind of pet?"

He spoke with disgust.

Vesey looked at him disapprovingly.

"Actually, toads are great pets. Ron, you can’t judge something by its appearance. Just like me—although I’m ugly, I’m actually very nice, right, Brother?"

Ron and Harry stared blankly at Vesey.

They looked at each other and saw the same confusion in each other’s eyes.

What on earth is she talking about?

"Ugly?"

Harry shouted in shock.

If Vesey’s face is ugly, then what does that make my face? A nightmare?

"Don’t be ridiculous, Vesey."

Ron quickly agreed.

"You’re really beautiful. Much more beautiful than Ginny!"

Vesey shook her head, pretending to be disappointed.

"Don’t praise me so much. I know you’re only saying I’m pretty because you’re embarrassed to tell me the truth. I actually know very well that I’m not good-looking at all. Whenever I look in the mirror, I feel inferior."

Harry and Ron became even more confused.

Vesey had obviously looked in the mirror, so why did she still think she wasn’t pretty?

Is she just being humble?

But when they looked at Vesey’s eyes, they were filled with genuine sadness. It really didn’t seem fake.

So Ron immediately took out a Chocolate Frog card featuring a beautiful witch and showed it to Vesey.

"You’re prettier than this witch. Do you know that?"

Vesey tilted her head and studied the picture for a while.

"Really?"

Harry’s heart stirred.

He took out another card for Vesey to look at. This one showed a wizard.

He covered the wizard’s clothes and hair, then asked Vesey to judge which one looked better—the wizard or the witch.

Ron hesitated.

Anyone with eyes could tell that the witch was much prettier than the wizard.

But Vesey hesitated for a long time before finally saying:

"They look about the same."

Harry looked enlightened.

He even went outside, changed into his wizarding robes, put on his hat, and then walked back into the compartment to let Vesey identify him.

Vesey recognized him immediately.

But in order to maintain her shamelessly beautiful persona, she naturally put on a confused expression.

Before Harry could say anything, she pretended not to recognize him.

She kindly asked, "Are you looking for something too? You can tell me what it is, and I’ll help you look for it later!"

Ron was stunned.

"This is Harry! You don’t recognize him?"

Only then did Vesey seem to react.

She quickly cried out:

"Brother, I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize you... I didn’t mean to. I can’t distinguish people’s faces. In the past, the matron’s mother and the others always beat me because of this. I’m too stupid!"

Ron was stunned.

He had no idea what was happening when he heard Harry explain:

"Vesey is probably face-blind. She thinks everyone’s face looks the same, so when other people tell her she’s ugly, she thinks she’s ugly. In reality, she recognizes people through their clothes and voices.

"She’d never been to school before, so she probably didn’t know about her condition. There used to be a face-blind student in our class. At first, she also thought she was just stupid."

Harry looked at Vesey sympathetically.

He reached out and touched her fiery red hair.

"It’s all right. If you can’t recognize someone, your brother will help you!"

Vesey immediately smiled happily.

"Thank you, Brother!"

Only then did Ron realize that there was actually a condition called prosopagnosia.

He walked around Vesey several times, then ran outside, changed his clothes, and came back in.

He stood in front of Vesey without saying a word.

Vesey pretended to be uncertain.

"Ron?"

Ron nodded.

"I really can’t recognize him anymore. I barely changed anything! Vesey, your face blindness is really serious.

"But you always identify people by their voices and clothes. Doesn’t that affect your life?"

Vesey shook her head.

"It used to affect me. The matron’s mother thought I was doing it on purpose. She said I was too stupid, and that if someone had seen me many times, I should have been able to recognize them.

"Later, I worked hard to overcome it. Now, once I’ve gotten to know someone, I can remember their voice. As long as they speak first the next time, I’ll know who they are.

"I can also remember everyone’s walking style, the length of their hair... In short, I’ll definitely try my best to remember everyone.

"After I learned these things, the matron’s mother didn’t hit me as much. She even said that I’d become a little smarter over the past two years!"

She spoke with a hint of pride.

But Harry and Ron were both deeply saddened by what they heard.

And there was another person who was equally sad.

"Sorry, I accidentally overheard your conversation. I just wanted to come in and ask... did you see a toad?"

Although she said this, her eyes kept drifting toward Vesey.

The girl in front of me is my future wife?

Will we really be together in the future?

Her face flushed slightly.

Although she kept telling herself that they should just become friends first, anyone who knew that the person in front of them was their future partner would unconsciously pay attention to them.

Especially since Vesey was so beautiful—the kind of beauty that even another girl would find irresistible.

Every little expression Vesey made made Hermione want to hug her.

But she held herself back.

Because she couldn’t understand why Vesey was in this compartment.

The diary had clearly said that Harry Potter and his good friend Ronald Weasley were in the last compartment!

"Why are you here?"

Hermione asked bluntly.

Vesey understood what she was wondering about.

But Harry and Ron didn’t.

They immediately spoke up angrily.

"Why does Vesey need you to take care of her?"

"This is none of your business!"