Harry Potter's new look!

Harry Potter is growing up, and things are getting scarier for the boy wizard.

The new cover of the latest J K Rowling novel, which is to hit bookstores on July 13, has just been released. And it looks darker than before!

The cover of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince shows the 'boy who lived' with his Hogwarts mentor Albus Dumbledore surrounded by swirling fire.

Another cover variant shows the two looking into a basin emitting a green glow -- trying to see the future? Or is it the 'pensieve,' where wizards store thoughts?

The young lad looks older and more mature. The word 'dashing' almost flits to mind.

'For the cover of Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, the mood of the art is truly eerie,' Zap2it.com quoted artist Mary GrandPre, creator of the artwork for the Harry Potter series, as saying.

'I wanted the colours to be strong and I chose upward lighting and dramatic shadows to convey a kind of surreal place and time,' she added.

'Individually, each jacket is like a concentrated visual taste of the book inside, and collectively they form a portrait gallery of a boy growing up very much in the public eye,' said Arthur Levine, editor of the Harry Potter books. 

The upcoming book is the sixth in the series.

Pre-order Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Now!