During your first lesson with Madame Hooch in which you were to learn to fly, you stood opposite the Gryffindors, besides the Slytherins in a line side-by-side. On your right side was a friend of Malfoy's who went by the name Crabbe, and being so close allowed you to overhear a conversation of theirs.
"I'm going to be Slytherin's best seeker," Malfoy said.
"Well, we'll see."
"We'll see? Of course I will be," Malfoy scoffed. At this, you could not help but release a snicker at his confidence, when he turned to you and said, "something funny, female Potter?" And you opened your mouth to reply when Madame Hooch approached you and everyone fell silent. She informed you of the process of picking up the brooms, which was to happen by yelling "up" as you were hovering your hands above them. She then informed you that once you'd done that, you were to essentially take a seat on the broom, in position as if ready to fly. She did, however, mention multiple times that you are not to fly at all, and breaking the rules would lead to being expelled. It was indeed all well, until Malfoy lifted his hand over his broom, yelled "up" and the broom listened immediately. For some, it took longer, for him, it did not. You were not going to be worse. You thus lifted your hand over your broom and demanded it.
"Up," you said. Lucky you were, for your broom listened and flew into your hand. You then followed through with the process of getting onto the broom, as if ready to fly away, and when everyone was in positions, Madame Hooch continued.
"You are now supposed to kick yourself off the ground, push up, and the broom will begin to fly. It is then up to you to gain balance and confidence in your flight."
"When will we start flying?" Some kid asked.
"Not today," she informed the class, however was taken off guard when Neville Longbottom, a friend you'd made the day before, began to lift himself on his broom unwillingly with very little balance. Madame Hooch demanded he returned, but his little control over the situation prevented him from having the power to act upon her words. He flew higher and higher, and lost balance more and more, until he had lost it completely and found himself diving towards the ground, releasing a loud crack upon the collision.
A crowd had gathered around him, with Madame Hooch pushing everyone out of the way, picking him up, and telling everyone to not move and not do anything until she returns.
Upon her leave, it came to no surprise that Malfoy's confidence got the best of him as he approached the middle of the crowd, called for all attention to be on him as his eyes began searching around the crowd, when they'd met yours. You lowered your eyes at him immediately for even bothering to look at you, but he only smirked mockingly.
"Female Potter," he began, and all his eyes turned to him. In that moment, everyone moved away from you and gave you and Malfoy space as he approached you. "A race, shall we?"
"A race?"
"Flying."
"Madame Hooch told us not to."
"Oh, right, you're a good girl." He laughed, turning to his friends, then back at you. "Or maybe, just maybe, you know you're not as good as me." And with this, he got on his broom, gained balance quickly, and flew up into the air before charging off.
But oh, as ridiculous as it was, you were not going to let him win. You were aware that you were giving into provocation and social pressure, but in that moment, you cared very little for that as you took a seat on your broom and took a deep breath. Before you could charge off, a hand was placed on your shoulder and you discovered for it to be Hermione.
"Don't do it, [F/n], you'll get into trouble!"
"I'll be fine."
"Madame Hooch said not to!"
"It'll be fine."
"[F/n]," Harry intervened, only too late, as you had pushed yourself off the ground and were now inhaling deeply trying to gain your balance. And thus, upon gaining balance, you looked up at Malfoy who was flying away.
Draco Malfoy, under the impression that your placement was on the ground, was flying rather slowly, hoping you would end up racing sooner or later. It came to him with great surprise when he felt a strong gush of wind fly past him, almost knocking him off his broom, and only to discover [H/c] hair whoosh past him.
"Stupid twat," he muttered to himself as he increased his speed, attempting to catch up with you. The issue with this situation was that both you and Malfoy were naturally exceptional flyers, and thus as soon as he caught up with you, neither of you were capable of increasing your speed anymore as of now, and you could only fly next to each other intently, attempting to beat one another. Malfoy, of course, upon realising that it was impossible for him to beat you, resorted to more drastic measures as he began to shift his broom towards yours, hitting your side as violently as possible and eventually sending you off your broom, down onto the ground, colliding with it just like Neville, only you'd felt more prepared and got into a comfortable position for the least painful landing.
Well, it could have been worse. Whilst not ideal, only an arm was broken and your head slightly cracked, which was announced when you were lying in the hospital wing in a bed. You were told to not move as they were going to cast a spell on your arm to make it better, but the second they began, you started to screech in pain and kick everyone around. And so, no spell could save your arm. As for your head, you had a large bandage around it, looking like a mummy.
"How did it happen?" You heard Professor Snape ask in the background whilst you lied in your bed with a frustrated face, feeling the pain and anger of Malfoy's doings.
"Fell off her broom whilst flying."
"Flying?" Professor Snape scoffed before coming over to you. "Potter, do you not know that you aren't supposed to be flying just yet?"
"Tell Malfoy that."
"Malfoy?" Snape asked slowly, irking an eyebrow.
"He's the one who provoked me. He's also the one who pushed me off. I will not be taking the blame for his shitty actions."
"I suggest you watch how you speak to a teacher. And in fact, nothing was spoken of Malfoy."
"That's because he's a selfish prick!"
"Watch your language."
You closed your mouth, wanting to say more but knowing the dangers of it.
"I will speak to Malfoy." Snape said slowly, but you weren't very convinced. "And stop whining at the arm healing. It is only seconds of pain."
"No. I want a cast. It hurts less."
"A cast?" He raised his eyebrow again, curious at your manner. "An odd choice." And with this, he left the hospital wing. You did indeed request a cast from Madame Pomfrey, who found it utterly ridiculous, but your constant refusal to have your arm healed convinced her to put a cast on your arm instead, and you were instructed to stay the night to avoid getting into any more trouble, especially with the state of your head since you'd lost consciousness earlier.
In the evening, through the doors came Hermione, Harry and Ron, all with some chocolate to give to you, which you thanked them greatly for.
Ron finally took a seat beside your bed, Harry stood by the bed, and Hermione sat beside you on the bed.
"Did you hear? Malfoy blamed it all on me. Apparently he took no part, according to Snape." You said.
"He did what?" Hermione furrowed her brows. "We need to go have a talk with him!"
"No, don't. He'll get what's coming to him," you said, quickly.
"Yeah, my fist," Harry laughed.
"Are you alright, though?" Ron asked.
"Yes, I mean, it hurts, but it could be worse. I still feel a bit dizzy but I'll get over it. Quite a fun experience, actually. Better than my normal life at home."
"That's true," Harry confirmed.
"What was your life like at home?" Ron asked.
"We lived with our uncle and aunt and their son who's a spoilt little brat." You began, "I wouldn't wish living with them upon anyone. They're abusive, mean, horrible - they starve you, pull your ears, hair, push you, lock you in rooms, it's horrendous."
"Gosh, that sounds horrible!" Hermione cried out.
"Horrible is an understatement."