Ziyi
Gao

Christmas at Hogwarts

This new book is filled with gorgeously detailed illustrations that accompany collated extracts from J.K. Rowling’s original text from Harry’s memorable first Christmas in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone.

My parents bought me the first four Harry Potter books when they first came out, but I was a five-year-old kid then living in Beijing and could not understand such a complex story. The books were stored away on our bookshelves for a few years before I rediscovered them when I was 14. I was immediately drawn to these stories and became a huge fan throughout my entire middle and high school years.

I was so surprised and couldn’t believe it was real. It was truly hard to believe that I could be this lucky to have this opportunity. To be honest, I went to LinkedIn to double-check whether it was a scam or not!

Like countless children worldwide, I grew up immersed in the pages of Harry Potter, believing that my magical dream could one day become reality. Though the owl delivering my acceptance letter to Hogwarts missed me, I consider myself immensely fortunate to have become one of the illustrators for this beloved series of books, contributing to the construction of its world with my own vision. In this book, I have woven together elements from the enchanting wizarding world and traditional Christmas festivities. I wish to bring an immersive visual experience for every child and adult longing to spend a happy Christmas alongside Harry and his friends at Hogwarts.

It was like a dream come true. I’ve been a Harry Potter fan since I was young, and I discovered my interest in illustration by drawing Harry Potter fan art in high school. While reading Harry Potter, I had so many images in my head, and I would often make illustrations of those scenes. Though my drawing at that time might be clumsy, I found the whole process very enjoyable. Now, after all these years of practice, I feel so fortunate and happy to have the opportunity to become an illustrator for this series. 

As a teenager, I found the Harry Potter series quite relatable. I like that this series talks about the hardships of growing up, how to become a better person, and how to deal with losing loved ones through the lens of magic.

My favourite illustration is the one when Fred and George come into the room to try to force Ron and Percy to put on their sweaters. I was very satisfied with how it came out because it was such a happy and chaotic moment. I’ve never done anything like this before, with so much lively character interaction depicted in one image.

Even though she’s not mentioned in the text, Hedwig appears in the first three illustrations, giving us a bird’s-eye view of Hogwarts, then getting closer, and finally landing on a branch outside where Harry is in a lesson. This felt like a cute detail, and I had to include Hedwig!

I went to several bookstores locally and researched picture books, especially those about Christmas, to better understand what I wanted this book to look like. I also bought The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac as a reference guide, which inspired me greatly. Then, I researched famous illustrators for the Harry Potter series, such as Jim Kay, Mary GrandPré, Thomas Taylor, etc. After that, I read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone once again to immerse myself in this world. I also researched Christmas traditions in the UK while working on the sketches.