A/N: Written for the Hogwarts forum Assignment 5 - Games and Sports task 3: Write about an explosion or a potion going wrong.

Word count: 718

Tessa added three drops of morning dew into the cauldron, but nothing happened. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and picked up the potion book, reading the instructions carefully again.

Yes, it definitely said that the potion would turn gold after the morning dew was added, but hers was still a vibrant orange. She snapped the book shut and sat it down on the table forcefully, letting out a grunt of frustration. She'd selected this particular potion for her first attempt because the book had made it sound so easy, but this was her third try, and none of her attempts had been successful.

As Tessa explored her magic more and more, some skills came to her more easily than others. It looked like potions were one of the most difficult things yet. It wasn't that surprising. She'd never been a big fan of cooking, and potion-making seemed to include all the worst aspects of cooking while also needing to be far more precise.

She leaned closer to the potion. Hot steam wafted off the surface and into her face, which felt good in the otherwise cool air of the institute. She leaned even closer. Maybe it was a bit more golden than before. It was hard to tell. Weren't gold and orange similar? She'd never been an artist. She knew what gold was, obviously, but weren't there always ambiguous shades with color where you couldn't be completely sure what they were? Maybe her potion was close enough to gold to qualify. How important was the color really? If it was only off a bit then would it still work, just not as well? She hadn't bothered to ask those sorts of questions before.

She was a second away from reaching for a vial to bottle the potion for further inspection when the surface started to bubble. She reached for the book. There hadn't been anything about this in the instructions. She flipped through the pages quickly, trying to find the right one.

Finally, she landed on the potion's page. She scanned each line, but before she could find any relevant information, there was a loud bang from her cauldron. A mass of orange—and it definitely was orange, not gold—liquid came flying towards her face. Tessa threw her hands up. Her magic acted without her having to think much of it, sending the potion splattering around the room on anything and everything that wasn't Tessa. Thank goodness that she'd decided to practice in a rarely used room at the Institute.

She placed her hand over her racing heart and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. While she'd been prepared for things to go wrong, she hadn't been prepared for emthat/em outcome.

She felt weak. The suddenness of the moment had led her to use far more magic than necessary, and she was drained. Or maybe it was just the adrenaline wearing off.

Either way, it didn't take long for the world to go black.

Tessa groaned as she regained consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that there was a soft mattress beneath her instead of the hard ground. The second thing was that a hand was in hers that she was certain was Will's. She blinked her eyes open to find her husband staring down at her in worry.

"Tessa." He pulled his chair impossibly closer to the bed, having to angle his body to even sit down. He covered their linked hands with his other hand, sandwiching hers. "I heard an explosion, but by the time I reached you, you were on the floor. You gave me such a fright."

Tessa sighed. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I should have been more careful. I suppose potions aren't for me."

"I wouldn't say that," Will said with a slight frown. "It just takes some practice. Perhaps Magnus could provide you with some assistance next time."

Tessa shrugged. It was possible, but she wasn't sure she was ready to dive back into potions after what had happened. She didn't relish the thought of another explosion. "I'll consider it," she said. She smiled up at Will and cupped his cheek in her hand. "Thanks for taking care of me."

He grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Of course, Tessa. Always."