"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times when one only remembers to turn on the light," Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore wisely said in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It seems those words have become somewhat of a reality for one Texas teen.
Cassidy Stay, 15, paraphrased that quote from Dumbledore at the funeral for her parents and siblings killed in a shooting of which Stay was the lone survivor in July. After hearing about Stay's bravery in the face of tragedy, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling sent the teen a handwritten note in the voice of Dumbledore.
News of the letter was reported on a Facebook page that campaigned for Stay to meet Rowling. The administrator of the page wrote in a post on Aug. 4 that a friend of Stay's had confirmed she received the letter from Rowling written in purple ink. Stay also received a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a school supply list and an autographed copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
A gunman shot and killed Stay's parents, two sisters and two brothers on July 9 in Houston. Ronald Lee Haskell, the suspected shooter, is reported to be an estranged ex-husband of Stay's aunt. Stay was wounded in the attack, but she called 911 on the gunman who was allegedly also planning to attack her grandparents.
"I know that my mom, dad, Bryan, Emily, Becca, and Zach are in a much better place, and that I'll be able to see them again one day," Stay said at the funeral for her family members.
A spokesperson for Rowling confirmed that the author did send a letter to Stay. However, "the contents of the letter remain private," the spokesperson said. She would not comment on whether Rowling would be meeting with Stay, but she added that Stay has a "remarkable story."
"I truly hope that one day J.K. Rowling will meet Cassidy and that Cassidy will know how much people care about her and are rooting for her happiness and sense of peace," wrote the administrator of the "We want JK Rowling to meet Cassidy Stay" Facebook page on Aug. 6. We hope so, too.
