New Era Dawns for Buffy's Sis

Michelle Trachtenberg will not be swayed. The cute-as-a-button Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star feels the pain of viewers dying to know what happens to her character — the title heroine's otherworldly kid sister, Dawn — in the series's May 22 season finale (and WB swan song). But she still adamantly refuses to satisfy the audience's curiosity.

"I was a huge Buffy fan myself [even before getting cast], and I would go on the Internet a lot," she tells TV Guide Online. "But I'd always stray from websites that revealed any information prior to the airing of the episode. Like in the third season, when Buffy stabbed Angel... if I'd read that he dies, I would have been expecting it, and it would have ruined it for me. So I will not speak of any occurrences in the Buffy world."

As galling as Buffy aficionados may find the whippersnapper's resolve, it is sure to be indispensable to her in a looming real-life battle. "I'm recently eligible for my [learner's] permit," the almost-16-year-old declares excitedly. "My mom is quite terrified. I am not allowed to mention the words 'car' or 'permit' or 'license' anywhere around her."

However, the intractable actress is confident that when she finally puts her foot down, it will be on an accelerator. "I'm sure that over the summer Mom will be teaching me," she says. "She's a very safe driver, and she just wants to make sure that I will be equally safe."