She had always known that he watched her. She had known from the beginning. She could always feel his eyes on her when she entered the Great Hall, following her every move. She could feel them on her when she walked the halls, in their shared Potions class, in the library. It had bothered her at first --What does he want with me?-- but she had come to expect it.
What she did not expect was that she would start watching him too. She wasn't as obvious as he was --Ron would kill me if he found out-- and she didn't start watching him after her first look either. No, it had taken a second glance, but in that second glance she had been captivated by what she saw.
It had been in the Potions room, and she heard the door open. When she looked up to see him entering the class, she dismissed him and started setting up for class. When she felt that tingle she got every time he was staring at her, though, she finally decided to confront him about it. When she looked up though, she was shocked by the look in his eyes.
He looked at her as if she were the only person in the world, as if she were the world itself. And because of the way he looked at her, she couldn't help but to really look at him, and she was stunned by what she saw. He was exquisite, and granted she had always known he was attractive, but to look at him without his usual mask was like looking at a fallen angel --Which he kind of is. As soon as he realized she was staring back at him, Draco's mask was back on.
"I know I'm handsome Weasley, but you don't have to gawk." She was amazed at how fast he could assume the role of arrogance personified. She was saved from answering by Snape's arrival. But what she had seen in that brief glimpse had her hooked.
She couldn't stop watching him. She wasn't stupid, though, and only watched when there was no danger of being caught.. During Quidditch games, fleeting glances in the Great Hall... Her favorite time to watch him though, was at night during nightly walks around the lake.
Draco Malfoy always took a walk around the lake every night after dinner. No one really knew why, although the Gryffindors suspected it was so he could relay information to his father. After realizing that Draco stopped on the far shore, Ginny decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to watch him without the mask he showed to the rest of the world. It was during this time, when Ginny was able to secretly watch him, that she was able to learn more about Draco Malfoy.
She learned, by listening to him rage to himself, he hated his father. She learned, by watching him smile at something only he could see, he had hopes just like everyone else. And surprisingly, she learned that she wanted to know what they were. It took her a bit longer to learn the most important thing. A rant about his 'addiction', a daisy he charmed red, her name whispered at sunset. All these little moments showed her that he loved her. She realized at the same time that he didn't know this..
It was the knowledge that made her relax when she realized it was him who had grabbed her while she was patrolling the dungeons. It was the realization that made her fight him. But then he had implied the one thing she really wanted, and it made her stutter. Then he was kissing her and it made it so hard to fight him, though she tried. Then he was kissing her again and she couldn't remember why she was fighting. And with the third kiss she gave up; she just hoped he would realize his true feelings for her before he broke her heart. Because while she had been watching him she had learned something else. All those moments of watching, of stolen glances, she had learned that she loved him.