Throughout the course of the Harry Potter movies, Emma Watson’s character, Hermione, has transformed from a poofy-haired brainiac to the gorgeous belle of the Yule Ball. Now, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (out July 13), we see that her character has also matured on the inside—into a confident, take-charge girl. “Hermione’s forced to take things on for herself and have her own initiative,” says 17-year-old Emma.

“I love that she’s a bit of a feminist. It’s normally her dragging the guys off into the mischief they get into!” In the fifth installment of Potter, evil takes over Hogwarts when a new teacher arrives with shifty suspicions and unusually cruel punishments, like bloodily carving words into the back of Harry’s hand by magic. Ouch! With a quick swoosh of our wand, we got Emma to tell us what makes her tick in real life. Here’s what she said.