I think a lot of it is being at a certain age. When you're young you're configured to see magic everywhere. The video games you played when you were a kid, the places you went, the stuff you read... it's all important. It's wide and magical. It has this quality that's not replicable. I talked with people about the games I played when I was about 10 years old, and they felt exactly the same way about the games they played when they were 10.

Sometimes it's true. The Lord of the Rings books are still magic as an adult (actually more so). But I had the exact same experience reading HP; it's fine. It's perfectly serviceable, but I think I missed reading it at the age where it would have triggered the pure magic response, so I don't get it the same way.