GrandPré will miss Harry 'in a good way'

I am looking for a scene that shows excitement, that shows Harry and that has an intriguing atmosphere. I have to be accurate. Kids will point it out if I make a mistake. They don't miss anything.

They [Scholastic] choose one and they're usually agreeable. I do the final art in color, in pastels. It takes about four weeks to get a final color cover and another four weeks to do the chapter headings, so the whole process is about two months.

It was a eureka moment. I loved the book and I wanted to make sure someone would do a good job with the design and all of the details. She had to illustrate the magical, but the books are also very much set in the real world. Her vision is so perfect. At that time, it was just a book. We didn't know it would be so enormous.

When I got a call from Scholastic about eight years ago, creative director David Saylor said he wanted me to illustrate a book about a boy with magical powers. He had seen my work and liked the way I used light and color and atmosphere. I said I didn't think I could do it. He offered to send me a manuscript and asked me if I would think about squeezing it in.

The Potter phenomenon has taken over parts of my career and it's sometimes frustrating. It will be kind of like getting a kid off to college and out of the house when he's 18. I'll miss him in a good way.