J.K. Rowling Sends Letter To 15-Year-Old Fan Who Survived Texas Shooting

The following is an excerpt from J.K. Rowling Sends a Letter Written by Dumbledore to 15-Year-Old Survivor of Texas Shooting

At 15, Cassidy Stay has experienced unthinkable tragedy, yet still managed to find hope.

In early July, Cassidy’s former uncle was charged with breaking into the Stay family’s Houston home and murdering Cassidy’s parents and four siblings. After being shot in the head, Cassidy pretended to be dead and was ultimately the lone survivor.

Three days later, she spoke at a memorial for her family. She thanked the community for their support and quoted Harry Potter, saying, “In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says, ‘Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.'”

When the Internet heard Cassidy’s story and learned of her love for Harry Potter, someone set up a Facebook page called “We Want J.K. Rowling to Meet Cassidy Stay.” Over 5,000 people liked the page and eventually it made its way to Rowling herself.

The following is an excerpt J K Rowling sends ‘Dumbledore’ letter to Texas shooting survivor Cassidy Stay

Now, after an internet campaign to convince Rowling to personally meet Miss Cassidy, the author has written a personal note of comfort in the style of Dumbledore.

She also posted a wand, an acceptance letter to Harry Potter’s school Hogwarts, a list of school supplies and a signed book.

A post on a Facebook page, trying to rally support for a meeting between the two, stated: “This afternoon, I talked to a friend of Cassidy’s who confirmed that JK Rowling did, in fact, write her a personalized letter from “Dumbledore” (hand-written with purple ink).

“She was also sent a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts with a school supply list, along with the 3rd book with JK’s autograph.

“I’m so excited and ecstatic that we were all able to make a difference! How wonderful.”

Rowling is said to have been so moved by seeing Miss Stay on global news sites that she tracked down her contact details and got in touch.

The Stay family, with the exception of Cassidy, was killed on July 9th. Father Stephen, 39, and mother Katie, 34, from Spring, near Houston, were gunned down along with Bryan, 14, Emily, nine, Rebecca, seven and four-year-old Zach.