AN: So, here it is at long last, the third and final part of the seventh book, and the final ever part of this story. I hope you have all enjoyed the journey so far, and I hope you will stick with me until the last. So without further ado, enjoy this first chapter.

Kiara Pride-Lander

and the Deathly Hand of Holiness

By K.J. Amethyst

Book 3: Hope

Hope by Unknown

There is always pain and grief,

That comes upon you as a thief.

When least expected there will be

Something to hinder or worry me,

Down life's highway it is hard to tread

Sometimes you cling on with only a thread

Of hope that one day you will find

That life is pleasant, not unkind

Cling on to hope for nothing have we,

But hope things better will be.

0000

One World Soon by Rhumour

One hope I have for my children

No hunger or fear in their lives

Every parent wants this, so that is no surprise.

When will the world meet in honesty

Openly plan an end to all poverty

Remove the crowns from the commerce kings

Let morality stand proud within all our tradings

Don't let it take too long my friends.

Seek friendship and sincerity through deeds

Open dialogue so we can know each others needs

Only when we understand each other well can

New beginnings be made that will go to plan.

0000

Chapter 1

Sian's Afternoon

SIAN

Sian awoke late that afternoon after having one of the most relaxing and peaceful sleeps she had experienced in a long time. Stretching, Sian sat up and looked around, smiling at the still sleeping forms of Beth, Kestrel and Merida, who well deserved it. Then the empty beds of Chrissie and Kiara caught her eye, but Sian wasn't worried, for knowing Chrissie she was probably stuffing her face in the Great Hall, and Kiara was probably talking with Chris somewhere.

Looking at her three sleeping sisters again, Sian felt an unfamiliar feeling of contentment settle over her, coupled by a niggling of guilt that had nothing to do with her siblings at all. Sian didn't want to think about these thoughts for as long as she could, so she decided to get up and dressed in a pair of jeans, a purple T-shirt and some trainers: she didn't fancy wearing robes that day, wanting to feel ordinary for a change.

A few people were down in the common room, and once they had seen Sian they waved, nodded and smiled at her, or else they just saluted her. Sian grimaced at the sight; not from the attention, that she was expecting, but from the respect she was receiving from people. She know she was respected, and now more so than ever now that she wasn't just known as being one of Kiara Pride-Lander's best friends, and for Sian that was more than enough.

As she walked along the corridors, Sian couldn't help the pain that filled up inside her as she took in the destruction that had happened to Dragon Mort: the ceilings that had fallen in, walls that had been blasted apart, the bloodstains all over the floors and walls, and the portraits that had been destroyed in the onslaught; Sian saw that many of the occupants, whether the original ones or those who had ran into neighbouring frames, were comforting each other and talking in hushed voices. Sian leaned against a wall, feeling a breeze that was coming through a hole in the wall a few feet onwards, closing her eyes and sighing deeply.

Wondering how the castle was going to be repaired, seeing as most of the castle was built by the magic used by the four founders. But Sian knew that it was pointless worrying about that now, so she took another deep breath, opened her eyes and moved on.

Along one corridor, a right, along another corridor and down a flight of stairs she walked. Then the sounds of someone crying stopped Sian in her tracks. Turning to the sound, Sian saw that it was Geri who was huddled over an empty plinth, her body convulsing with sobs. Knowing that it would be heartless to ignore her cousin, Sian went over to her, her heart breaking for Geri with every step she took, not knowing what to say but hoping to provide some comfort for her nonetheless.

As Sian approached her, Geri looked up and dried her eyes quickly, and she looked surprised at seeing Sian there, who just smiled gently at her. Geri just looked away, and Sian smiled in understanding, remembering how she wanted to be alone after her mother had died. Not wanting to leave her cousin alone like this, Sian moved to sit on the plinth next to her, and for a while the two cousins sat there in silence.

After several long minutes, Geri spoke at last, "I finally get how you felt when Aunt Sue died, Sian. I get how you felt so lost and alone, and how you never thought you would ever be happy again after losing someone who meant so much to you …"

And Geri burst into tears again. Sian reached over and hugged her, waiting for Geri to calm down, her own tears falling on to Geri's head, and not once did Sian move, silently showing her cousin that she was there for her.

Once they had both calmed down and dried their eyes, Sian lifted Geri's head off her shoulder, looked in her eyes and said, "Geri, I know this is hard now, and the pain will never go away entirely, but I promise you it will get better."

"How can you be so sure?" Geri asked hopelessly.

"Well … just look at me," Sian said slowly, "look at how I've turned out after I accepted my mother's death, and that took me long enough. I know what you're going through, Geri, wondering if you'll ever be happy again, as well as thinking how will I be able to laugh or smile again now that she's gone, but I promise you that you will. In time, you will smile and laugh and find some happiness again."

"How?"

"By being surrounded by your strong, supportive, slightly broken family for a start," Sian answered simply. "We're all here for you, Geri, and we always will be. But promise me something: never do what I did and shut yourself away from your family. You may think you're strong by doing so, but trust me when I say it's the complete opposite, and that you are much stronger with your family around you to help you heal, you really are. Will you promise me that, Geri?"

Geri paused for a moment, then said, "If you think it'll help me?"

"It will," said Sian, smiling slightly. Geri smiled too after a moment, and the two cousins felt a slight shift in the air in their relationship, feeling it grow into something stronger.

Sian then felt nervous as silence fell between her and Geri again, for she didn't want to approach this subject, yet she knew that it was unavoidable. So, taking a deep breath, she said, Geri, I know this may not be the best time for me to mention this, and forgive me if I sound too forward about it, but I think we need to start thinking about Tanya's funeral."

Sian cast an anxious glance at Geri, and saw that she had paled at the thought. Sian felt horrible at mentioning it so soon and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have - "

"No, it's OK," Geri said quietly. "It's just … I never imagined that I would be giving a funeral for my twin."

"I don't think any of us did, if I'm honest. I'm not saying that in a bad way," Sian added quickly at Geri's wounded look, "I'm just saying that you and Tanya have been inseparable since birth, so we all assumed that you two would die together."

"Yeah, I can see why you would think that," said Geri dryly after a moment. Sian smiled at her cousin's dry wit, knowing that even if she couldn't see it yet, Geri was going to be fine.

"Look," said Sian gently, "it's sad that Tanya died too soon, but she died fighting for a worthy cause, so there's that to think about. And besides, Tanya wouldn't want her funeral to be a sad occasion; she'd want it to be full of fun and laughter, frolics and jokes, which she would be doing with you right now if she were here. And I'm sure that she wouldn't want you to be miserable and alone for the rest of your life just because she's dead, would she?"

Geri shook her head. "No, she'd want me to be happy and not wallow in sadness and self-pity, and if she were here now she'd probably tell me to stop being such a sourpuss and go eat a lemon if I'm that upset about it."

Sian looked strangely at Geri. "Go eat a lemon?" she said, giggling at the thought.

"Yeah, that one kind of got away from me," said Geri, smiling too.

"You think?" And that was all it took for the two of them to start laughing.

"See?" said Sian, once she and Geri had stopped laughing. "This is exactly what Tanya would have wanted. She'd want us to celebrate her life, being happy and telling jokes - even rubbish ones. Which is why I think it best if you plan her funeral."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I mean, sure, it might be the most unconventional funeral anyone has ever seen, but it should be that way, for I know that's exactly how Tanya would have wanted it, and I know that Perdy, Sam, Kat and the others wouldn't mind if you organised it, seeing as you were the closest to her out of all of us. So think of some ideas, talk to Leah, Andrew and your sisters about it, and then once you have everything sorted out, we'll do it. How does that sound?"

Geri smiled and nodded at Sian. "Thanks, S.D."

"Anytime," said Sian. She and Geri then hugged again, and when they pulled away Sian asked, "Are you going to be OK?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Geri answered. "You go. I'll speak to you later."

"'K." Sian nodded and smiled at Geri, then got up and turned back the way she came, passing Perdy who was carrying two cups of tea. Sian and Perdy shared a nod, and before Sian rounded the corner she looked back and saw that Perdy had taken her spot at Geri's side, handing her one of the cups. Sian smiled at this closeness, and also how good it felt to have Perdy back on the right side, for she had missed her a lot over the past few years. Smiling at the sight before her, Sian moved on.

As she passed many classrooms, Sian couldn't help but look in. Some, she saw, were fine, but many others needed some serious help, like the Charms classroom: Sian could see Professor Winds standing in the doorway of said classroom, looking around as though she was wondering where to start. Sian gave a sad smile and moved on, for she knew that it would not looked caved-in forever, and that she wouldn't be surprised if people were volunteering to help stay behind and be involved in the clean up. Sian then gasped aloud and stopped in her tracks as a thought struck her: what had happened to the library? Sian hoped that it was still standing and that none of the books had been destroyed in the battle …

As she approached the Entrance Hall, the raucous sounds of talk and the occasional shout of laughter reached Sian's ears. Looking inside the Great Hall, she could see many people grouped together still on the four house tables. She didn't go in, but merely smiled as she went outside, for she didn't want any more stares and salutes for the time being.

Outside, the grounds were covered in dead bodies and rubble, but Sian ignored this as she walked to the river, closing her eyes and tilting her head upwards, basking in the sun's warmth. Opening her eyes, Sian was pleasantly surprised by what she saw on the opposite bank: sitting side by side, their shoes and socks beside them, their feet under the cool river water were Ben and Chrissie. They were holding hands and talking. Sian didn't want to interrupt them, and not just because she knew how annoyed Chrissie would be with her if she did. So Sian smiled and looked around her.

Standing a little away from her were Chris and Kiara together, their arms around each other, talking quietly as they looked out over the river. Sian smiled gently at them, thrilled that they could finally be together without any obstacles standing in their way. She knew that they would have years in which to talk and figure out where their lives were going. They had all the time in the world to do that now …

Sian was then brought out of her thoughts by a pair of strong arms that had wrapped themselves around her from behind. Knowing who it was, she leaned back against Kopa, closing her eyes and smiling contentedly as he kissed her temple.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked her.

Sian opened her eyes and turned to face him, gazing into his bright amber eyes as she answered, "Just how happy my family is right now."

She then studied his face properly, touching his cheek tentatively as she took in everything about him: from the strong jaw to the fuzzy eyebrows, the light amber eyes to the crooked smile that Sian was sure was going to leave her weak in the knees for the rest of her life. Kopa, seeing Sian studying him the way she did, looked confused as he asked, "What is it? Why do you look at me that way?"

Sian just shook her head and said, "Just getting used to this, that's all. I mean, I've only seen your face once before yesterday, remember? To see you like this every day from now on is something I'm going to have to get used to, that's all."

Kopa looked slyly at Sian as he teased her, "In a good way, I hope?"

Deciding to play along, Sian said, "Most definitely."

Kopa gave an overly dramatic sigh of relief, which Sian giggled at.

They were then both silent for a while, watching the giant squid basking its tentacles lazily in the water. Then Sian decided to break the silence by asking Kopa a tough question, but one which she knew she had to ask.

"How are you holding up, anyway, after what happened to your parents and Sarabi?"

Kopa sighed, his eyes downcast, as he answered, "I'm OK. Sad, of course, how could I not be? But I didn't know them as well as I could, unlike my sister." He turned in Kiara's direction, and Sian could see him deep in thought. Wanting to reassure him a little, Sian said gently, "Well, you and Kiara have time to get to know each other now, along with Kion, remember?"

Kopa cast Sian a small smile, before his expression became serious again and he said, "I wish I could have told them who I was, just once. That way they would have known I was still alive. And now they never will."

"But the ones we love are always watching over us, Kopa," Sian reassured him. "Somehow, they will know, and they will forgive you for not telling them, as will Kiara if she hasn't already?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because they will understand why you did what you did and will look past your shortcomings and forgive you for them, because that's what you do when you love someone."

Kopa turned to Sian then, his eyes widened in amazement. "How can you be so wise?"

Sian shrugged. "I dunno. I think my mother may have influenced me slightly."

She and Kopa laughed, and Sian loved how easy it felt in his presence. Once their laughter had died down, Kopa asked her, "So, what happens now?"

"Well, some are going to stay behind to help clean up the school - I amongst them, no arguments," Sian added quickly, fixing Kopa a stern look, which he put his hands up to. "Then i suppose the school will reopen in a few months, which I will be attending."

"Wait, where do I come into this?"

Sian quickly turned to Kopa, who was looking hurt. Understanding how that must have sounded, she said quickly, "Oh, Kopa, please don't take it the wrong way. I love you, I want to be with you, I do … it's just that for so long I have been following Kiara along, helping her thwart Zira and her followers now, and I don't regret a minute of it. It's just that now Zira's defeated at last, we can all focus on leading our own lives at last, and this is something I need to do for me. You know how academic I am. So I promise you, Kopa, that once I have finished my last year of school that I will devote the rest of my life to you. So what do you say? Will you allow me to do this?"

Kopa studied her for a few moments, then smiled gently at her. "Of course I will. I'd be a jerk if I didn't support you in your choices. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to be together, after all."

Sian beamed up at him. "Thank you for being understanding."

Kopa just kissed her on the temple again.

Sian then turned away from Kopa, her expression darkening as she pondered a thought that had been worrying her ever since the moment she had killed Katalina Outsider. Although she knew it was a war and that one of them had to die, it still didn't make Sian feel any better for killing her - even though she did have it coming to her for all the terrible things she did, Sian quickly reasoned with herself.

Seeing the sudden change in Sian's countenance, Kopa looked at her concernedly as he asked her, "What is it, Sian? What's wrong?"

Turning back to face him, Sian asked Kopa a question that had been troubling her for the past few hours: "Am I a bad person?"

Kopa looked at Sian in shock. "What? No! Why on earth would you ask such a thing?"

"Because of what I did to Katalina Outsider!" Sian cried out. "I killed her, Kopa! I did the one thing I swore to myself that I would never, ever do: kill a living being … and in the early hours of this morning I committed such a crime, that I don't think I can ever forgive myself for! How you can even look at me with love after what I did astounds me - "

"Sian, darling, it was a war," Kopa said gently, cupping her face delicately with his hands. "One of you had to die. It had to be done."

"I know that, but I still don't feel any better about what I did."

"I know you don't, but let me ask you this: if you were a bad person, do you think you would have any remorse for what you did?"

Sian did not have to think about her answer.

"No, I wouldn't."

"And that's what makes you different to Katalina, Sian, because she wouldn't feel guilty about killing you or anyone else who dared to fight her, whereas you, despite knowing what she did to you and countless others, feel remorse, because that's the type of person you are. Besides, you had to do what you could to protect your family. You may have done a bad thing, Sian, but you did it for a good purpose, and in my eyes I don't see you as a bad person, I see you as an incredibly brave one. So don't you dare think any less of yourself because of what you did, because I certainly don't."

Sian smiled at him, her mind reassured by what he had told her. Having no words to thank him for what he had just said, she just buried her face in his chest, taking comfort in feeling his chest rise and fall as she listened to his heart beating steadily. Kopa chuckled gently as his arms wrapped around her, tightening her to him, not wanting to let her go any time soon.

They stood like that in a comfortable silence again, until Kopa pulled away from her slightly a few minutes later and asked, "So why didn't you tell me you're the Girl Who Saves the World?"

Sian sighed and looked up at him. "I don't know. I was going to tell you, believe me, I just didn't know how to. After all, it's not exactly something you can be casual about when telling someone."

"No, I suppose not," said Kopa, shaking his head. "I just wish you had told me first, that's all."

"I know, and I promise that from this moment on I will always be honest with you and will never keep anything from you ever again. Are you OK with that?"

"Yes, I'm OK with that," Kopa smiled. "And I'm not mad with you for keeping your other life a secret, either. After all, I kept my identity a secret for years, and I know how difficult it is to keep it to yourself for so long. So if you want to talk to someone about it, know that I am here, OK?"

Sian smiled at him and nodded, amazed at how well he understood her. "How did I become so lucky to have you in my life?"

Kopa chuckled. "Every day I ask myself the exact same thing."

Sian could not think of a response to that question, so she decided to give him one without words. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, wanting to give him a sweet kiss, but before their lips could touch they were interrupted by an overly-loud cough.

Sian inwardly groaned, knowing exactly who it would be, and sure enough it was her father coming towards them, looking none-too-happy at how close Sian and Kopa were standing.

Really, Sian thought annoyingly as she and Kopa quickly broke apart, her father could show up at the worst possible moments. But Sian did not know what was worse at that moment: her father's expressionless face, or Kopa's incessant babble, as with every step her father took the colour rose in Sian's cheeks.

"Mr Dawson! Hi! We were - uh - we were just - uh - we were just talking, sir, and - um - we weren't - we weren't kissing! No! No we - we were definitely not doing that, sir! It - it was completely innocent - absolutely innocent - and I was definitely not about to do unspeakable things to your daughter, sir! No I was not - "

Sian glared at her father with every step he took, and still his face was blank and his mouth was shut. Sian didn't know why he was interrupting her and Kopa, but she hope it was important, otherwise she was going to get really mad at him.

When he was a few feet from them, Mr Dawson stopped. The three of them looked at each other: Sian glaring at her father, Kopa looking at him nervously and Mr Dawson looking from one to the other, as though trying to figure them out.

Then Mr Dawson did something which took Sian completely by surprise: he stuck out his hand for Kopa to shake. Kopa stared at the hand for a moment, then, with an encouraging nod from Mr Dawson, he took it, and the two men shook hands.

Sian watched what was happening in amazement, for she couldn't believe what she was seeing, yet she was happy this had happened, for surely she meant what she hoped it meant?

Her father and Kopa quickly dropped hands, and Sian began to ask, "Dad, why did you - ?"

But her father quickly cut across her, smiling as he said, "You could do a lot worse, Sian. Believe me." He then cast her a wink and walked away, leaving Sian and Kopa standing there, gazing at his retreating back, speechless, for his words could only mean one thing: he had finally accepted them as a couple.

Sian and Kopa then looked at each other, their surprise slowly turning into joy. Nothing was said between them, but next moment Sian had jumped into his arms, her arms around his neck, squealing her happiness as Kopa lifted her off the ground, spinning her around, his laughter joining hers as they understood what this meant for them.

Once Sian's feet had touched the ground again, Sian and Kopa drew back slightly, keeping their arms around each other. Neither of them wanted to waste a minute, so they kissed, pouring all the love and happiness they felt into it as lights exploded behind their eyes and tingles of electricity ran up and down their bodies, neither caring who was watching them. The only thing that mattered to Sian and Kopa in that moment was each other as they expressed their love for one another over and over again, with the sun beaming down on them from above.