Harry Potter author reaches out to survivor of Spring family shooting 
 
 Cassidy Stay, the lone survivor of a horrific shooting in Spring that left her parents and four siblings dead, made national news days after the incident when she appeared at a memorial held in their honor. 
 
 The 15-year-old girl, who was injured in the hand and head but survived by pretending to be dead, quoted a passage from the Harry Potter novels from which she had taken comfort. 
 
 "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,'" she said in the ceremony, held in mid-July outside a school three of her younger brothers and sisters had attended. 
 
 The girl's plight sparked efforts by family and friends to help pay her medical care and future expenses, raising more than $300,000 in just a few weeks. It also inspired some supporters to create a Facebook page urging J.K. Rowling to meet Cassidy in person. 
 
 "We want JK Rowling to Meet Cassidy Stay," soon attracted more than 4,700 likes.. 
 
 On Monday, the Facebook page and other websites reported that Rowling had sent Cassidy a personalized condolence note. 
 
 Mary Flood, the family's spokeswoman, said she couldn't confirm the news. 
 
 Rebecca Salt, a spokeswoman for J.K. Rowling, wrote in an email: "We can confirm that J.K. Rowling did indeed send a personalized letter to Cassidy Stay. The contents of the letter and how it came about are private and between her and Cassidy." 
 
 According to an article posted Monday on LDS.net, a community website for Mormons (but not an official church-sanctioned website), "Cassidy received a package from Rowling with a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the book [Cassidy] quoted from in her remarks." 
 
 The article said that Rowling had also included a wand and an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. 
 
 A family friend said Cassidy had been "super excited" to receive the letter. ||||| As the sole survivor of a shooting which killed her parents and siblings, 15-year-old Cassidy Stay moved the world when she quoted Harry Potter at their funeral. 
 
 Now, the author J K Rowling has contacted the teenager in the voice of Dumbledore, sending a handwritten note in purple ink to support her. 
 
 Miss Stay, 15, raised the alarm after a gunman shot her mother, father, two sisters and two brothers in Texas on July 9 this year. 
 
 Days later, she spoke at a memorial event for the family , reading words of comfort from Harry Potter’s fictional headmaster Albus Dumbledore. 
 
 Supporters were moved to tears as she told them: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light.” 
 
 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. 
 
 Ronald Haskell, 33, has been charged with capital murder. 
 
 Cassidy survived because the bullet meant for her hit her finger and then grazed her skull, allowing her to play dead before she alerted police that the gunman was en route to kill her grandparents too. 
 
 Only three days after the massacre, Cassidy spoke to a memorial gathering at a local school, an event which touched the nation. 
 
 She told the crowd: “I'm feeling a lot better and I'm on a very straightforward path to a full recovery.” 
 
 Wiping away tears, she added: “In The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says, ‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light’. 
 
 “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 Strong.” 
 
 News of Rowling’s gift was welcomed on the Facebook page, which has nearly 5,000 supporters. 
 
 One fan, Brindi Rawlings, wrote: “For such a busy person, I think it's awesome she took the time to write a personal note. Way to go JK.” 
 
 Another, Kate Fitzgerald, added: “ I think what Ms Rowling did was just right, warm and generous while respecting Cassidy's grief. 
 
 “This poor child needs some time to grieve away from the spotlight, which I'm sure JK understands better than most.” 
 
 A spokesman for the 49-year-old author said: “We can confirm that JK Rowling was in touch with Cassidy Stay, however, the contents of the letter remain private.” 
 
 Asked whether a meeting between the two is on the cards, she added: “We wouldn’t comment on that but [Cassidy’s] is a remarkable story.” 
 
 The famous line quoted by the youngster is spoken by the boy wizard’s mentor Dumbledore – played by Sir Michael Gambon - as he addresses the pupils of Hogwarts in the Great Hall at the start of the film. 
 
 Appearing in the film based on the novel, the Prisoner of Azkaban, it is credited to writer Steve Kloves who transformed all seven books into screenplays.
– Cassidy Stay, the Texas teen who made headlines in July when she became the sole survivor of a family massacre that left her parents and four younger siblings dead, quoted a Harry Potter novel at her family's memorial service: "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.'" Now, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has reached out to Cassidy with a letter and package, reports the Houston Chronicle. The letter is handwritten in purple ink in the style of Dumbledore, according to the Telegraph, while the package includes a signed copy of the book she quoted, a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, and a list of supplies needed for the famous school. Cassidy lost her father Stephen, mother Katie, brothers Bryan and Zach, and sisters Emily and Rebecca. She played dead after a bullet deflected off her finger and grazed her skull and managed to alert authorities that the ex-husband of her mother's sister was the gunman and was on his way to kill her grandparents. Authorities credit Cassidy with helping them stop the shooter before he reached the grandparents. (Stay, meanwhile, is expected to make a full recovery.)