This Tuesday, October 6, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: The Illustrated Edition will apparate to bookstores everywhere, but this weekend the internet got a sneak preview of some unreleased artwork.

Entertainment Weekly has four pictures that will appear in the book, along with some background on the inspiration and the creative process behind them with the book’s illustrator, Jim Kay.

The first photo is a hauntingly beautiful drawing of the Quidditch hoops in the foreground, filled with starlings, against a gorgeous, cloud-filled orange sky with Hogwarts in the background. It was supposed to be a “preparatory” sketch, but ended up in the book.

Kay used real kids as inspirations for the child characters in the book, including the second photo of Harry surrounded by luggage and cages (aww, Hedwig).

The portrait of Dumbledore was also based on a real person, a fellow illustrator Kay said he idolized, and his desk is covered with little touches that show of his personality and history, like that bottle of dragon’s blood, which the Headmaster wrote a book about.

The final picture comes from Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s battle with the chessboard. Kay based Hermione on his niece, who he says is, “smart, but also slightly bossy.” Sounds like he found the perfect inspiration there.

Make sure you head over to see the rest and read more about Kay’s process. We were already excited for this new version of the book, and it’s even better knowing how much care and love the artist also has for these characters and their story.

What part of the book are you most looking forward to see illustrated in the book? Cast your spell in the comments below.

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HT: EW
Feature Image: Jim Kay/Bloomsbury Publishing
Images: Jim Kay/Bloomsbury Publishing/Entertainment Weekly