While many others may still be waiting patiently for their admittance letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one teen in Texas has already received her owl.
Cassidy Stay, the 15-year-old survivor of a mass shooting in Houston that killed her her parents and siblings, received a handwritten letter from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, according to reports.
Rowling's team has remained tight-lipped about the contents of letter, which was reportedly written from the perspective of her character Professor Albus Dumbledore.
"We can confirm that J.K. Rowling was in touch with Cassidy Stay, however, the contents of the letter remain private," an unidentified spokesman for the author told The Telegraph.
The personal letter comes after Stay quoted the fictional Hogwarts headmaster during a recent memorial event for her family.
"In 'The Prisoner of Azkaban,' Dumbledore says: 'Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light," Stay said during the memorial (skip to 1:24 in the video below).
Thanks to an Internet campaign, Rowling heard the news that Stay relayed Dumbledore's message of hope and sent the teen a handwritten note. Creators of a Facebook page that aimed to get the two to meet confirmed that Stay also received a few other special items, including a wand and an acceptance letter to Hogwarts.
Stay lost her parents and four siblings last month, when they were reportedly tied up and shot at the family home by her aunt's former husband. Police say she saved the lives of several others when, after the shooting, she called 911 to report the man was on his way to a home where other family members lived.
In the aftermath, she received an outpouring of support from across the country, including more than $300,000 in donations to a fund in her family's name.
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