Growing Up Potter

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In that respect, life distinctly imitates art: Goblet of Fire is the first of the movies to deal explicitly with sexual tension between the characters, especially Ron and Hermione. It's also the first movie in which a major (all right, sort of major) character dies. Newell, the series' third director, has crafted the movie to reflect the edgier, scarier material: "It's very, very dark and sort of a classic thriller," he says.

Social life on Planet Potter doesn't always mirror that in J.K. Rowling's books. Radcliffe and Grint aren't actually very close. "Rupert I don't know that well," Radcliffe admits. "Which is weird. I think it's partly because he finished school before I did. Emma, I do know exceptionally well. Very, very well." Um, so did they ever, like ... you know? "No. But I had a big crush on her when I first met her, definitely. But she's more like a sister now, so it would be a bit incestuous. It's too weird."

Radcliffe's best friend at Leavesden is, of all people--well, let him explain it: "Will Steggle, who's my--I hate to use the word, because I'll sound like a precocious child star--but he's credited as being my personal dresser. He is in actuality my best friend in the world. And he's 39. Which is upsetting, because he is so much older, and it means he's gonna die probably before me."

Life on set can be tough on adults too. The Goblet of Fire shoot took 11 months, an eternity in Hollywood time, partly because kids can legally work only four hours a day. "Every moment that they're in front of the camera is precious," says Newell. "So rehearsals--which for somebody like me are absolutely vital--you get none of it." Though with the kids getting older, they do have more of a personal life to draw on, especially the dating part. "Mike really brings out how awkward and awful and how embarrassing the whole situation is," says Watson, who's now 15. "All of the younger actors played on their own experiences to make that feel as real as we could."

The Harry Potter set is an exclusive microcosm, one that comes with its own delights and its own dangers--in other words, it's not all that different from Hogwarts. "There's never been a day when I've thought, I really don't want to be here," Radcliffe says. "Because for me, it's this or it's school. And I've never really loved being in school that much." He does leave Leavesden from time to time. This month he's acting in an Australian coming-of-age movie called December Boys. But the outside world can take a little getting used to. After all, he's a star. "I don't think about it because when you start to think about it, that's when it gets a bit weird and you put up perimeter fences and things."

If there's a real downside to growing up Potter, it's that your adolescence is on display in multiplexes the world over, in excruciating close-up. "When you see [the film] sometimes you can think, Oh no, they used that bit!" says Bonnie Wright, 14, who plays Ron's little sister Ginny. "I think everyone sometimes feels intimidated by themselves when they see themselves on the screen." After all, it's hard enough figuring out who you are when you're a teenager. How much worse is it when you spend all day pretending to be someone else?