“We are standing here tonight in front of Hogwarts Castle raising our wands to honor one of our fallen. Tonight we raise our wands to one of the bravest and best Gryffindors the world has ever known. Tonight we raise our wands to Luis Vielma.”
Those were the moving words uttered by one of Vielma’s friends to the crowd gathered at Orlando’s "Wizarding World of Harry Potter” on Monday night. The group came together to pay tribute to Vielma, who was among the 49 people killed in the Orlando nightclub attack, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Vielma, 22, was an attraction operator at Universal Orlando who ran the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, among other responsibilities.
“Tonight we remember a team member, a brother, a son, a friend,” Vielma’s friend said to the crowd at the vigil. “Tonight we remember someone that created a type of magic that we can never replace.”
Vielma, she added, was “one of the kindest souls you will ever meet in your life.”
On Sunday, "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling said she was saddened after hearing the news of Vielma’s death.
Monday's tribute to Vielma was a nod to one of the most poignant moments in the “Harry Potter” series, when students and professors raised their wands to honor Professor Albus Dumbledore after the wizard's death.
Dumbledore shared many poignant words about death and loss. However, in “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” he reminded Harry that the dead we loved never truly leave us.
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Congress Is ‘Complicit’ In Orlando Slaughter, Senator Says
Barack Obama On Orlando Shooting: ‘We Will Not Give In To Fear’
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