Disclaimer: Not mine and you should really have yourself checked out if you thought otherwise.

A/N: Another contest written for the Hideaway and yet again it is Filius/Pomona. There is just something I love about the two of them and I hope you don't mind me taking them out for the occasional test drive. This is a fic about a dance and it had to include a glass of wine. It had to be 1,000 words, but as usual I am over. I hope you enjoy the extra bits as well. As always...

happy reading,
Sprinks

"One Last item: the Yule Ball. I know we have all the arrangements worked out. I would like each Head of House to hold a dance lesson for their students." Albus seemed not to notice Severus, choking on his fire whiskey, and continued on. "I believe that is all for today. I will see you all at breakfast for Belgian waffles! My favorite."

The professors all began making their way out of the staff room. Poppy Pomfrey left immediately to do her evening rounds. Albus had asked Minerva to join him in his office and the two made their way out, arm in arm. Severus walked through the door mumbling to himself about "uncoordinated imbeciles," and Rolanda Hooch was not far behind, laughing at his misfortune.

Soon, Pomona Sprout was left sitting all by herself in the far corner of the staff room on the overstuffed sofa she preferred for the staff meetings. Such meetings were always entertaining, but tended to be a bit long winded. But then, she assumed any event headed by Albus Dumbledore could not help but be fun, no matter how long it ran. However, after a long day working in her greenhouses, Pomona preferred the comfy couch to any of the various chairs in the room. Today, she was also thankful for its location in a dark corner. The dim light hid her very obvious embarrassment.

Pomona Sprout could not dance. Her family had never been rich or important, so growing up she had never been given the opportunity to attend a formal ball. Once a student at Hogwarts, she had been much more interested in the greenhouses than anything the boys had to offer. By the time they were old enough to attend the dances held by Hogwarts, even her friends had all joked that she was too covered in dirt for anyone to find her attractive. Whatever the reason, Pomona had never been asked to a dance and therefore had never taken the time to learn.

It was bad enough that she could not dance at the many school and ministry functions she had been forced to attend, but at least then she had always been able to pretend that she did not enjoy dancing. Now she was going to have to admit the embarrassing truth that a witch of her age and position could not dance. If not, her Hufflepuffs would be the laughing stock of not just Hogwarts, but three wizarding schools. Poor Cedric was going to need extra help since he, along with the other champions, would need to begin the ball.

"This is ridiculous," she mumbled to herself. "Who can I tell that won't mock me?"

"Pomona, why would anyone mock you?" She was startled to find that she was not alone. Filius Flitwick, the diminutive Charms professor was seated at a desk across the room and appeared to be grading some essays.

"Oh nothing, Filius. I hadn't realized anyone else was here and I was just talking to myself. Don't worry about it." Her cheeks were rapidly becoming even more flushed and she scolded herself for not checking she was alone before speaking. She always had been a horrible liar and even on the best day, she had trouble keeping her composure around this man.

Filius stood and moved towards her, stretching his back as he went. It was impossible for her not to watch the muscles displayed as his thin robe was pulled taut against his chest and abs. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and Pomona was not surprised to find herself paying more attention to him than she had ever paid to her own charms professor. She would not have gotten even the Acceptable NEWT she had with Filius as a teacher. He sat down right next to her, sinking into the sofa. He turned to her with a look of pleasant surprise.

"No wonder you always hide yourself in this corner. I thought you just did not want to sit near me, but now that I am sitting here, I may never leave again. I think this is even warmer and more comfortable than my bed."

Pomona just looked at him, her eyes rather wide with surprise. He knew where she sat? She did not know why this shocked her, considering she knew which of the many chairs was his favorite, but she was shocked. He thought that she did not want to sit near him? Why would he even think of such a thing?

Filius wished he could turn back the clock or perhaps find a hole to bury himself in. This is what always happened when he was around the wonderful witch beside him. He would open his mouth and it would start moving. Long before his mind could catch up with his tongue, he would say something so incredibly stupid that they would just sit there, staring at each other awkwardly, as Pomona was doing at this exact moment.

Her long, graying locks had been pulled back into a messy bun which she had stuck a quill through to hold in place. Her sweet face, beautiful and nearly ageless though she wore no makeup, was covered in little smudges of earth that he longed to brush away. Her soft brown eyes were staring at him with wonder and those plump, light pink lips he yearned to kiss were slightly parted in her surprise.

Realizing he was staring once more, Filius looked away before remembering his excuse for joining her. "Pomona, you don't have to tell me what is wrong, but know that I would never, ever mock you." He looked into her eyes to emphasis his point and was nearly lost in them once more. He was saved from more discomfort as she blinked suddenly and he thought he saw her eyes begin to water before she looked down at her lap. He gently placed one hand on her arm and smiled at her, though she did not meet his gaze. "I might tease you, but I promise that would only be to see you smile." This earned him the light giggle he had hoped for, but too soon her expression turned back to nervousness.

Pomona forced herself not to wring her hands. Filius would think she was a fool to be so upset about such a simple thing. She decided she would just get it over with and tell him. Looking back up at her colleague and not-so-secret infatuation, she smiled, hoping her eyes were clear once more. "It is such a silly thing, but, well..." She laughed awkwardly. "I don't know how to dance and I was just wondering who I could get to teach me so I could teach my students."

Filius nearly smiled, before he realized she might take it the wrong way. "If you would let me, I would be honored to help teach you and your students. Perhaps we could hold lessons for our houses together?" At her bright smile, he continued. "I usually don't tell anyone this, but I took social dance and ballet when I was training as a duelist for help with my footwork and balance. It has been a while, but I'm sure I remember enough so neither of us, or our houses, shall be embarrassed."

Pomona threw her arms around him as she thanked him and Filius was suddenly very aware of their closeness and location in the common staff room. He rose to his feet, bringing her with him. Deciding there was no time like the present, he cast a quick charm and suddenly there was soft, romantic music playing around them. Steeling his emotions, Filius showed her the positions and they began to dance.

Pomona leaned back against the door to her rooms, taking a moment to kick off her new, very uncomfortable shoes before removing her hat. Placing the hat on her hall tree, she made her way to her favorite chair and allowed herself to slump into it, more tired than she had been in a very long time.

The last few weeks had gone by in a whirl of hidden moments with Filius. Even if they had only been sneaking away to find time for her to learn a few new steps, Pomona had still had the time of her life. There had been much stumbling at first, but that had only lead to giggles from her and matching chuckles from him. She had never felt better than when his arms were wrapped around her, holding her tight as they moved across the dusty floor of a deserted classroom.

Pomona had felt so protected and taken care of as he had swept her across the floor in a demonstration for their combined houses. The hands at her hips had seemed to caress her and hold her firmly to him. For just a few moments she had allowed herself to pretend he had meant her to feel that.

Be honest, Pomona, she thought to herself, you let it go on longer than that. She got up, a bit disgusted with herself, and moved into her bedroom dropping the new, expensive dress robes on the straight-backed, wooden chair by the door. She had allowed herself to believe Filius loved her. She had gone out the day before and bought the pale, yellow robes made of soft, silky fabric, which showed off certain parts of her, while hiding others. They were trimmed in robin's egg blue and as soon as she had seen them, she knew they were perfect. With a price tag as large as theirs, it seemed nothing to throw in the new shoes and matching hat.

Pulling on her simple, white, cotton nightgown, Pomona sat down in the chair by her bedroom door and began rubbing her sore feet. Now she remembered why she enjoyed her garden shoes so much. Suddenly Pomona realized she was crushing her new robes and she quickly got up to hang them on a hanger. Softly touching the beautiful fabric, Pomona allowed herself to think back over her evening.

Along with the rest of the staff, Pomona had arrived early to the Great Hall. She had seen many such events take place underneath that beautiful arched ceiling, but it seemed the extra students and officials had heightened the excitement. As the music began, Pomona had proudly watched Cedric lead his young Ravenclaw friend around the room. The two danced beautifully together and she had tried to catch Filius' eye to thank him. That was when she had first realized he was avoiding her. It seemed he was looking everywhere but at her. She had even seen him strike up a conversation with Karkaroff, a man she knew he did not like in order to avoid her. They had not danced once all evening.

Pomona sighed as she made her way to the kitchenette. A glass of red wine was her only hope of relaxing tonight and as she poured a healthy glassful, Pomona decided it might be most of the bottle before she could rest. Taking a sip of the rich wine, Pomona settled into her favorite chair once more enjoying the feel of well-worn, overstuffed leather. With a bit of fumbling she found her wand and lit the fire before her. She instantly felt warm and comforted, whether that was due to the fire, her old chair, or the second glass of wine she had just poured, she did not care.

Pomona had just decided that she should get into bed when there was a knock at her door. Standing, she was surprised to find herself lightheaded and more than a little tipsy from the wine. Cautiously making her way to the door, she was surprised and a bit angry to find Filius standing there. The wine made her bold though she knew she should hold her tongue.

"What do you want?" Her question came out with more frustration than she had meant to express and she instantly felt sorry. She started to speak, to soften her statement but he interrupted her.

"A dance, Pomona. J-just one more dance." Filius knew she had every right to be angry at him for his behavior that evening. From the instant she had entered the Great Hall, he had known that no amount of steeling his emotions would stop him from expressing them. She had been beautiful all dressed up in her amazing dress. He had managed to touch the fabric lightly once, reveling in its soft, silky feel. There was no way he could dance with his goddess and hold her close with only that fabric between her skin and his bare hands. Her hair had been styled beautifully and the hat placed on top of it just so, but what really had stopped his heart was her face. She seemed to radiate happiness as she entered the room and he was sure everyone could feel the glow of it. Her smile was so bright, her eyes full of life, and Filius knew he would not be able to resist her, no matter her feelings.

He had not missed her early departure, or the sadness in her eyes that he was beginning to realize he had caused. He had never allowed himself to believe that she might return his feelings, but if the three witches who had descended upon him at their friend's exit knew what they were talking about, she did. He decided that this was his chance.

"Just a dance?" She gazed up at him and he could almost see her heart on her sleeve.

He nodded, not trusting his voice. She was wearing the simplest and yet most beautiful nightgown he had every seen. Realizing that had nothing to do with the soft fabric and everything to do with the woman wearing the sheath, Filius wound his arms tightly around Pomona's waist. Her hands made their way up his chest to rest around his neck. Slowly, he began to sway back and forth. He knew this was unlike any dance they had practiced in the last few weeks, but as she snuggled closer to his chest, pressing her body against his, he knew that neither of them cared.

"Nice music," Pomona mumbled. She was looking at him now with watery eyes. He realized she must have had a bit to drink, as there was no music playing, and wondered if he was taking advantage of her. She answered his silent question by leaning forward and kissing him tenderly. Suddenly, Filius heard violins playing and chorus singing. As they deepened the kiss and gave up all pretences of dancing, Filius was sure he could hear fireworks. When they broke apart, breathing heavily as they leaned against each other, he realized the fireworks, at least, were very real, even if the music had been in their heads and hearts. Albus had organized the display as a treat at the end of the ball. Leading Pomona to the window, they stood together watching the air fill with beautiful colors and designs.

Pomona knew there would be questions and discussions ahead, hopefully when she was a bit more sober, but for now this was enough. Touching his hand lightly, she was pleased when he brought her hand to his lips and did not release it afterwards. She had trusted this man through her first few dances and he had not let her down. She was willing to trust him with a few more for the time being and perhaps eventually he would be willing to waltz through the rest of their days together. After all, it was just a dance.