Her Sweet, Decadent Smile

☘ Chapter 8 ☘

We loved with a love that was more than love . -Edgar Allan Poe

From the outside the tower was a very tall pile of black bricks neatly attached together in a spherical formation. It was well spotted as the tallest building in this particular part of town. It gave the impression that the owner was an extremely affluent person and no one was worthy of his or her time.

Unlike the other shops, it displayed no signs in front, no words indicating its name to the people passing by. They did not need it. There was only a huge symbol above the heavy doors: an emblem bearing the colours black, green and silver, in addition to intricate serpentine creatures. And if a wandering person ever stopped to observe, he would read the bold Latin words "Sanctimonia Vincet Semper." One look on this symbol and the people would already know the name of the tower.

Every wizard and witch in the Wizarding world was familiar with the Malfoy Family Crest.

Hermione Granger stared up at the said crest above her and uneasily tugged the long sleeve of her shirt till it covered the same crest engraved in her arm. She considered retreating towards the safety of her flat and never coming back. It was the first time she had ever set foot in this unknown territory. She was scared, to say the least. And the dark aura surrounding the outskirts did nothing to make her feel better.

This time was most certainly going to be her last, she promised herself this.

Taking in deep, calming breaths, she pushed all her fears aside. She raised her chin and walked confidently towards the double doors.

The Malfoy Tower, like every other bloody thing the Malfoy family owned, displayed grand extravagance in every way. You would think that successful businesses in the Wizarding world would resemble one of the simple, well-known shops, like Honeydukes or the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, perhaps. But of course, the Malfoys had to be the best in everything. They wanted something bigger, more distinct, and more uncommon. Forget the shop idea, we're rich enough, let's build a bloody tower!

Bastards.

As soon as she was inside, she pretended to know exactly where she was going. She avoided looking at people in the eyes. She entered one of the lifts and pressed the button to the highest floor. She hadn't known if it was the right floor but usually the boss was on the highest floor, right?

Hermione had never really given that much thought to Malfoy's inheritance. She'd only had a vague idea about the Malfoy business; that they owned shops and hotel chains and enormous lands all over the world.

As she waited on the lift, she wondered how much easier it would have been for her if she was happily married to him and she had all this money at her disposal. She would easily be able do all the projects she wanted for the sake of those in need. She could have funds for her programs for muggleborn rights, squib rights and elf rights. She could accomplish a lot of things and make a huge difference.

But then she remembered how devious Draco was and almost immediately she pushed all previous thoughts aside, disgusted with herself for even thinking of staying with him for his money. Draco Malfoy was an evil dictator. He would step on anyone to get what he wanted, while being admired and worshipped by everyone in the process. She guessed it was only right that he had been housed with the snakes; he was the staggering epitome of one, a charmer, slowly mesmerizing you to your death.

Finally, the lift had stopped and she stepped out. She couldn't find anyone on this floor and it made her trespassing a whole lot easier. She didn't want to stop and observe the creepiness of her surroundings, despite her nagging curiosity. It might've had traps of some sorts. All evil lairs had hidden traps, right?