Hufflepuff's Cup

Hufflepuff's Cup is a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles, originally owned by Hogwarts founder Helga Hufflepuff, that Lord Voldemort transformed into a Horcrux after murdering its elderly owner Hepzibah Smith. Its theft and concealment represent two of the six Horcruxes Voldemort created to achieve immortality, and its destruction becomes one of Harry Potter's essential tasks after Dumbledore reveals the cup's role in Voldemort's seven-part soul.

Origin and Discovery

The cup was a treasured heirloom of Hepzibah Smith, a very old, very rich witch who claimed distant descent from Hufflepuff. She kept it in a leather box, nestled in snug silken wrappings, and showed it to the young Tom Riddle during one of his visits to her home on behalf of Borgin and Burkes. Hepzibah described the cup as having "all sorts of powers" attributed to it, though she admitted she had not tested them thoroughly, preferring to keep it "nice and safe" in its box. When Riddle examined the cup, lifting it by one handle, Harry thought he saw a red gleam in his dark eyes, and his greedy expression was curiously mirrored on Hepzibah's face as she watched him. After Riddle left, Hepzibah died two days later, poisoned by her house-elf Hokey, who was convicted by the Ministry. The cup and a heavy golden locket — Slytherin's locket — were both missing from her collection. The assistant who had worked at Borgin and Burkes, the young man who had visited Hepzibah so regularly and charmed her so well, resigned his post and vanished.

Transformation into a Horcrux

Dumbledore concluded that Voldemort killed Hepzibah not for revenge, but for gain — he wanted the two fabulous trophies she had shown him. The cup, having belonged to another of Hogwarts's founders, held a powerful pull over Voldemort's imagination. Dumbledore believed that Voldemort, who liked to collect trophies and preferred objects with a powerful magical history, would have chosen his Horcruxes with care, favoring objects worthy of the honor. Four objects from the four founders would, Dumbledore was sure, have exerted a powerful pull over Voldemort's imagination. The cup thus became, in Dumbledore's estimation, one of the six Horcruxes Voldemort created, alongside Slytherin's locket, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, the diary of Tom Riddle, and Nagini the snake.

Narrative Significance and the Quest

When Dumbledore revealed the existence of Horcruxes to Harry, he identified the cup as one of the remaining intact Horcruxes that needed to be found and destroyed. Harry immediately recognized it: "Hufflepuff's cup!" he said loudly, and Dumbledore smiled, saying he would be prepared to bet a couple of fingers that it had become Horcrux number four. The cup's location remained unknown throughout the events of the book, and Harry, reciting the names of the remaining Horcruxes to himself — "the locket… the cup… the snake… something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's…" — understood that each would need to be found and eliminated before there was even a possibility that Voldemort could be killed. The cup thus stands as one of the central objects of the quest that Harry inherits after Dumbledore's death, a tangible piece of Voldemort's shattered soul that must be tracked down and destroyed if the Dark Lord is ever to become mortal once more.