Disclaimer - Okay. You know the drill - the HP Universe is all JKR's, we're just playing in it...(and improving it ;) )

Worth Fighting For.
(or - No Regrets.)

Everything was as ready as it was going to get. All the students who weren't fighting, and any fifth year and below were all locked away in Godric's Chamber with their familiars and shrunken trunks – ready to evacuate via the secret passage should things...not go as planned. The staff and Potter's Army were assembled in the entrance hall, Harry at the front, pacing from left to right as he spoke, his aura flaring majestically round him as he gestured passionately.

"The Death Eaters are evil scum, but they will never be able to defeat us all, because they cannot fight together! They would throw the comrade they stand beside into the path of the curse headed for them before the thought of shielding even crossed their mind. They don't know what it means to trust the person at your back to protect you, to be willing to defend your allies and friends to your last breath! They are cowards who rarely face opponents who fight back – they expect us to run! To cower in fear like most other witches and wizards! But we are not normal witches and wizards – we are Hogwarts' Army! Will we surrender to them without a fight? Will we? Will we?!" A deafening roar erupted from the crowd, echoing round the hall,

"No!"

"Will we give up?"

"No!"

"Give in to them?"

"No!"

"We will not! We will stand and fight! And we will win! Why? Because we have something that's worth fighting for! Justice, light...love." He span to face the mass of people before him, eyes ablaze and magic flashing around him in an awe-inspiring display of power. His voice dropped in volume, though if anything it gained intensity, and he spoke in a low voice. "I fight for my parents. My godfather." Here he paused and looked towards the small cluster of eighteen year olds who had stood by him through everything, "My friends." A small smile passed fleetingly over his face, before he looked back to the great crowd. "Who do you fight for?" He asked them, and then, overwhelmingly, his voice was thunderous once more, heavy with the emotion it carried, "Who do you fight for?!"

"Frank and Alice Longbottom!" Neville's huge, bear-like frame stepped forward, shaking with repressed, righteous fury. He locked eyes with Harry and in an unspoken exchange passed between them. Bellatrix Lestrange would not be leaving this battlefield. Not this time.

"Albus Dumbledore!" Tears shone in Minerva McGonagall's eyes, though her expression was set in stone as she raised her left hand high, clenched in a defiant fist to match the one by her side which clutched her wand. A wedding ring, disillusionment removed at long, long last, glinted in the candlelight.

Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, friends. People called out the names of those dead, though not forgotten, even those still alive, who they fought to protect. As the multitude of names being shouted out died down, one name was whispered by the girl at the front of the crowd, but it carried, and everyone heard. The Hall fell silent. Hermione Granger stepped to stand next to her closest friend as she repeated, again, clear and confident,

"Harry Potter." She looked into his fiercely glowing eyes, and her own glistened, "I fight for you, Harry." He held her gaze until Ron and Neville stepped up to join her.

"Harry Potter." They said together, firmly, louder this time, clapping him on each shoulder.

"Harry Potter." Minerva and Filius joined in, pride obvious in their voices. Within seconds, the entire hall joined the chant, until the noise was almost unbearable.

So great was the volume that on the road leading up to the school a wizard with malevolent red eyes heard it clearly and snarled. His followers heard it too, glancing nervously at each other in the face of their Master's wrath, but he said only one thing.

"The Boy-Who-Lived dies today." Reaching the gates, he began to assault the wards. His Death Eaters followed suit as their Lord threw the darkest curses he could, oblivious to the slow loss of power being siphoned away to him through their marks.

In the hall, Harry held up a hand as the wards began to rumble. Silence...Everyone in the hall turned to face him. A temporary respite, that lasted until it was shattered with a single sentence from the determined Leader of the Light.

"Let's get the bastards." The silence was overwhelmed by the roar that emanated from the crowd at Harry's words. Outside, at the gate, the Death Eaters shivered as the furious sound shook the earth path under their feet. As the cries continued, the soldiers of the light began to stream out the oak doors to assemble on the grass. Harry turned to the girl still standing resolutely by his side as the last few fighters left.

"You'll do it, Harry, and you'll survive. I believe in you." He stroked her cheek gently with the back of his fingers. Her eyes fluttered briefly closed and a smile alighted on her lips.

"Just in case..." he said, voice low, "I don't want to have any regrets." She tilted her head to look up at him curiously. He stepped forward and drew her close, one hand on the small of her back, the other on the back of her neck. She breathed in sharply, palms flat against his broad chest, surprise and hope shining in her eyes.

"...Harry?" she breathed softly. He leaned in slowly, and said three words, three small words which say so much,

"I love you." He captured her lips with his. She clung to him, melting in his strong embrace, and he drew her closer still, memorising the feel of her in his arms and pouring all his love for her into the kiss. A pulse of magic spread outwards through the room as their auras met, accompanied by a burst of phoenix song that rang pure and clear, and yet so loud that people fleeing Hogsmeade in fear stopped and stared at the glowing castle in wonder. Hogwarts' Army cheered again as they stood on the grounds in front of the castle, awaiting their Commander and his second, as they faced the approaching crowd of masked Death Eaters. The phoenix song uplifted them, and in that moment it was impossible to believe anything other than that they would be victorious. The Death Eaters cringed back from the sound, flinching away from it.

The couple in the entrance of the castle were oblivious to all this, the only thing that mattered was the way the other was holding them close.

"I love you too, Harry... so much..." They stood, frozen in time, for one everlasting moment, savouring the other's love.

In the doorway, Minerva smiled. This was what they were fighting for.