It’s not very often that the magic of Harry Potter comes to life. However, for one young lady, it did. Cassidy Stay, fifteen, unfortunately lost her entire immediate family when her uncle murdered them. Luckily, Cassidy survived; unfortunately, she was the only one. During the funeral for her family members, Cassidy quoted one of Dumbledore’s most famous quotes and J.K. Rowling caught wind of this.
Several days after the incident, Cassidy stood and spoke at a memorial service for her family. During her speech, she quoted something that Dumbledore had said during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The quote she used was “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light”. Through the use of social media and more, the tragic story and the use of Dumbledore’s quote during the service made headlines. A Facebook page was set up in order for Cassidy to meet J.K. Rowling herself.
Soon after, Cassidy received a care package. In it were several items from the author herself, including a personalized letter from “Dumbledore”, a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts (complete with a school supply list) and an autographed copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban. All of this was confirmed by a close family friend.
It appears that Dumbledore’s words ring quite true. Even though the pain of losing her family will more than likely remain for quite sometime, happiness can be found in dark times. J.K. Rowling turned on that light. Well done, JK Rowling, well done.