A/n: I know in my author's note in my profile I said November. Please don't hate me. My school play may be done and my niece may be born, but I...ok, so I don't have an excuse. Shoot me. I'll try to make the updates come quickly, that I promise. In fact, I really do plan on posting the next chapter sometime before this week is out.

So without further ado, I present to you, A Different Life.

Prologue

This was all driving him insane. Ever since Granger had come back two weeks ago and made that big scene in the Great Hall, untrue rumors had spread throughout the entire school. Rumors involving him and Granger as a couple!

There was no way Draco was interested in that mudbloood and by the way she was behaving to the naked eye, she wasn't either. All she did was study. Study, study, study. Like the good little bookworm she was. She was constantly in the library hiding behind mountains of books. Spending endless hours absorbing pointless information, much to the annoyance of Potter and Weasley. And, of course, Draco.

Not that he cared what she did, of course. It was just Granger. So what if she studied until her brain exploded, no longer able to hold all the information in? So what if she self-combusted?

But Draco was not just any ordinary person who wouldn't spare Granger a second glance. Not in that way. He just noticed things. And it was those things that were driving him insane.

He noticed her glances. Quick and unique. Only directed towards him. Not many other people noticed. Only Zabini, himself, and her two Gryffindor friends.

Potter would roll his eyes, Weasley would get upset, Zabini would start ranting to himself under his breath; Draco, however, would glare back, and all he would get in return would be a smile.

That stupid bloody smile. It made him want to rip her teeth out so he wouldn't have to see all those bright, straight teeth.

They would be sitting in class, minding their own business, when he'd glance over at Granger, and she would be smiling. At him!

Granger was like some stupid love-struck puppy who was fascinated by Draco. He wasn't about to fall for it. She was still some stupid Gryffindor know-it-all. And a mudblood, too.

There was another thing. Every time he so much as breathed the word mudblood in her direction, she'd laugh.

It left him confused. Draco did not like being confused. Confusion, among other things, was a sign of weakness. Malfoys were not weak, therefore they could not be confused. They had to know everything.

But he just couldn't figure Granger out. No one understood her anymore. Why all of a sudden she was so cheerful and seeing the good in just about everyone? She was no longer the predictable Gryffindor mudblood know-it-all. No one knew what she was anymore.

And only Draco could really see that there was a HUGE difference.

But still. Draco should not care. So what if Granger fancied him? He didn't feel the same way and eventually she would get that through her head. Eventually, her obsession with him would die out.

A/n: So, what'd you think? Reviews will be forever appreciated and have a special place in my heart. I'd really like some feedback too. I'm trying to improve my writing. Next chapter should be soon...I hope.

Until then,

Cheers!