It's mid-afternoon at the Berkeley Hotel in London's Knightsbridge. I'm here to speak to Emma Watson, Hermione from the Harry Potter films, when I'm struck by a realisation. A decade ago, I was in this hotel for the first ever Potter press conference, when a 10-year-old Watson and her co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint (who play Harry and Ron respectively) were unveiled. 'That's crazy,' says Watson, a look of amazement crossing her delicate features when I tell her. It feels even crazier that the last time we met, on the set of fifth instalment Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she had just received her GCSE exam results: eight A+ grades and two As.
If both encounters were on momentous days in Watson's young life, today feels almost as significant.
Having completed shooting on the final episode, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the hit franchise that has defined her adolescent years is finally drawing to a close. The end of an era, the beginning of a new chapter - call it what you will - but Watson is about to put Harry Potter to bed. Yes, there's still the arduous promotion trail to hit, with the film being released in two parts over the next six months. But the beginning of the end starts here.
'To be honest, I can't really let it sink in that it's all over,' she sighs. 'It doesn't quite feel real.'
We're sitting in a luxurious room on opposite sofas, Watson wearing navy jeans, a cream knitted jumper and sleek black boots, matching the dark nail polish on her fingers. It's understated but classy - very Emma Watson. After she politely removes a giant glass bowl of white roses on the table between us, I get a proper glimpse of Watson's new haircut that she's just unveiled on her Facebook page. Gone are those long brown tresses, replaced by an elfin crop reminiscent of Mia Farrow's in Rosemary's Baby. All of a sudden, she no longer looks like the gawky teen of Potter-world. 'People say I do look different,' she says, beaming, relief in her voice.
She had been desperate to cut her hair since she was 16, but her Potter contract wouldn't allow it. Likewise, she wasn't allowed to tan or do any so-called dangerous sport - from skiing to white-water rafting. 'Sometimes, as a child, I felt like I was wrapped in cotton wool a little bit,' she sighs.