Intriguing World of Harry Potter

I think that Rowling's presentation of the Harry Potter books can relate to both prompts and feel both prompts in fact relate to one another. That is my experience at least.

When I began reading the series I was young, about 12 (I didn't read them when they first came out). I think my age alone helped me relate to the characters. I could identify with each of them in certain aspects, Harry's curiosity, Hermione's need to be the "best" academically, Ron's sarcasm.. but all of them because they were my age, new at school, experiencing new things in life, etc. Re-reading the books now, I feel that I am just as much submersed in the fabulous Witchcraft and Wizarding world as I was back then. I never found myself thinking the books were silly or "nerdy" and actually believed in the worlds and characters as I read. I became eager to find out what would happen next, always looking forward to the next chance I would get to read. I found that the books would have an effect on my everyday life, and were present even when I wasn't reading. Wishing I could cast certain spells on people, or for entertainment, comparing teachers to Hogwarts professors, asking myself "What would Hermione do?" when I didn't feel like studying. All of these experiences truly Iser's statement, "Text and reader no longer confront each other as object and subject, but instead 'division' takes place within the reader himself".

Part of the reason I feel that I can become so engrossed in the books is because I consider it to be a "truly literary text" pertaining to Iser's explanation that it continually modifies our expectations about what is to come. If you think about it, reading a book where you always know what is going to happen next, or where you know what to expect would be quite boring. There are many instances within the first two Harry Potter books totally give you that "mind-blown" reaction. There are numerous times where Harry, Ron and Hermione go out doing things they know they shouldn't, breaking a billion rules, putting themselves and others in danger. A lot of times these adventures are rewarded rather than punished. A couple of things that stood out as unexpected to me...

Everyone expecting that Snape was cursing Harry's broom.
Suspecting Malfoy or Harry as the Heir
Harry speaking Parseltongue (foreshadowed by the fact that the Hat thought about putting him in Slytherin)
When Ginny was revealed as the missing girl/person committing the attacks and everything leading up to that... Tom's whole explanation of the diary, how Ginny stole it, how he got stronger by her writing in it, Myrtle being the murdered girl...

Things like this are what makes HP interesting and intriguing for me. Rowling always keeps you on your toes, and makes you want to read more. So it's lucky that there are 7 books!