There is a point in every child star’s career where everyone watching them on the big screen realizes, “Oh! They’re going to be really hot,” and then it happens a movie or two later.

Lindsay Lohan’s epic downfall in the past five years may make her a bad example, but this happened to her. In “Get A Clue” (2002), everyone realized she had potential to shatter a thermometer. In “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” (2004), she reached the level of stone-cold fox.

For the Olsen twins, it was “Holiday in the Sun” (2001), and they might be a better comparison because they grew up during a movie “series,” if you can even call it that.

Emma Watson’s rise to irresistibility can be traced through the eight Harry Potter movies and everything she has done since. This is that history.

THE KITCHEN MOP STAGE (CIRCA SORCERER’S STONE)

I quote her first conversation as much as the next guy — “You’ve got dirt on your nose… just there” — but Hermione Granger wasn’t much to write home about in the series’ opening film. Hell, Ron didn’t even write her the summer after their first year.

Remember that one random girl, who is sorted into Hufflepuff at the beginning of the movie? She had Hermione for the crown of cutest first year, and we only got a three-second glimpse of her.

There was a time, before Hermione declared her parents as dentists, when we didn’t know much about her muggle family, and it was conceivable that she was Hagrid’s daughter. I mean, their hair was identical.

THE NO BANGS STAGE (CIRCA CHAMBER OF SECRETS)

Hermione got rid of her bangs, but really didn’t change much. The first movie was a success and it was time to get some serious hair experts in studio. The result? No more moppy bangs.

In her defense, they filmed the first two movies so close together, barely a year apart, that she didn’t have time to grow, but everyone has a growth spurt sooner or later. On a separate note, was anyone else bothered when she showed up in Diagon Alley by herself at the beginning, or was it just me?

THE SCHOOL UNIFORMS AND YOUR HAIR REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE THAT FROM THE BACK STAGE (CIRCA PRISONER OF AZKABAN)

A theme developed: her hair. Kind of like a good wine. It got better with age. Two years between movies and Hermione grew up a bit. And yet she asked, “Does my hair really look like that from the back?” It did. But it was shorter.

Hermione was going through what all young, pubescent kids go through. She was confused. She was in between being a little girl and accepting that her body was changing. Her hair was a great example — short, but still a tad moppy. At least she bought a real curling iron for the movie.

This was also the movie of the higher class school uniforms, rather than the towel drapes of the first two movies. Hermione was never hotter in this movie than the early scene in Hagrid’s class, where she pulled her hair back and wore the uniform.

She developed an attitude — a moxy — that filled the big screen. She turned time. She was in command. There’s nothing hotter than that, but she was growing to look the part, too.

THE JOCKS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE STAGE (CIRCA GOBLET OF FIRE)

There comes a moment in a girl’s life when they have a dance. It’s like a coming out party or a released-into-the-wild party. Ah! It’s called a debutante ball. I looked it up. “Goblet of Fire” was Hermione Granger’s debutante ball — and, slowly, Emma Watson’s, as people started to remember her real name.

Viktor Crum, the biggest jock of the magic world, seeks Hermione, she looks great at the Yule Ball and Ron couldn’t have her. For the first time, she was a sought after girlfriend. For the first time, the minimal time between movies — again, one year — didn’t bite her.

Her history was beginning to be written because all of the teenaged guys in the theater sank in their seats, quickly looking left and then right, embarrassed. They were attracted to Hermione Granger, and it felt a little awkward to feel that, at least for a couple minutes.

THE EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW STAGE (CIRCA ORDER OF THE PHOENIX)

Hermione Granger is hot. Emma Watson is a universally-recognized name and she finally rises to the surface as a known face in Hollywood. Everyone agrees: Emma Watson is hot, but, oh, she’d get hotter. This was her “Get A Clue” (referenced above) and she was about to take off.

“Hermione granger order of the phoenix hair” is a popular search on Google. That says it all right there, doesn’t it?

Plus, Order of the Phoenix is the first DVD she catches your eye on.

THE ICE CREAM EATING AND STILL LOOKING GOOD WHEN POTIONS BLOW UP IN HER FACE STAGE (CIRCA HALF BLOOD PRINCE)

She looks good in PJs at Ron’s house. She looks good in a dress to her professor’s VIP get together. She looks good eating ice cream. She even looks good when her hair goes crazy, after potions blow up in her face.

Ron is making out with someone else, which is fine for us because we have a better chance with her.

Also, she starts showing up to the movie premieres looking really dynamite. This is it. She’s peaking at the end of the series and it’s only going to keep getting better. Funny, I said that in the last stage, too. During “Order of the Phoenix” and “Half Blood Prince,” she grew into herself and turned into a young woman.

THE END OF THE SERIES AND START OF UNATTAINABLE HOT GIRL STAGE (CIRCA DEATHLY HALLOWS 1&2)

Introducing, the versatile, SEXY Emma Watson. She can’t do no wrong. Hermione even ages quite a bit at the end of the second movie, but she still looks young and vibrant. How can that be!? This must be fiction!

We’re blessed with Emma Watson’s first semi-nude scene, even though she’s making out with Harry as a ghost of Ron’s psyche. She’s on fire and aggressively “necking” with Ghost Harry. Daniel Radcliffe admitted, post-production, that Emma Watson really went for it in that scene. I’m OK with that. I loved it. Unfortunately, it was a rather short scene.

These four pictures show her in a variety of moods — work day, gone camping, wedding attendee or dinner party, and winter warmth. But now I’m starting to sound like a fashion guru and I hate it. That’s a job for somebody else. Emma Watson is beautiful, sexy, dreamy, or whatever word you want to attach to it.

This was her evolution. We watched her grow up. She seems to be as beautiful of a person on the inside as she is on the outside. MTV awarded her the Trailblazer Award for outstanding rising star.

By definition, a “trailblazer” is a pioneer or innovator; or a person who makes a new path through wild country. That’s some Webster’s Dictionary stuff for you right there. Emma Watson applies.