Helga Hufflepuff's Cup

• Type: Horcrux, Historical Artifact
• Owners: Helga Hufflepuff, Hepzibah Smith, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Bellatrix Lestrange (as guardian), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger
• Maker: Helga Hufflepuff

Helga Hufflepuff's Cup is described as a small, golden cup with two finely-wrought handles. It is engraved with a badger, the emblem of Hufflepuff House. Before being defiled by Dark Magic, it was considered a priceless magical artifact from one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As a Horcrux, the cup's primary magical property was to contain a fragment of Lord Voldemort's soul, anchoring him to life and making him immortal. This dark enchantment rendered the cup nearly indestructible, vulnerable only to exceptionally powerful destructive substances, such as Basilisk venom or Fiendfyre. Any original magical properties that Helga Hufflepuff may have bestowed upon it are unknown, as its function as a Horcrux became its dominant characteristic. When stored in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, the cup was protected by powerful defensive curses. These included the Gemino Curse, which caused any item to multiply rapidly upon being touched, and the Flagrante Curse, which made the duplicates searingly hot.

The cup was created by Helga Hufflepuff and became a treasured heirloom passed down through her descendants. By the mid-20th century, it had come into the possession of Hepzibah Smith, a wealthy, elderly witch who was a distant descendant of the Hufflepuff line. While working at the Dark Arts shop Borgin and Burkes, a young Tom Marvolo Riddle learned of the cup's existence. He visited Hepzibah Smith, charming her into showing him her two most prized possessions: the cup and Salazar Slytherin's Locket. Two days later, Riddle murdered Hepzibah, stole both artifacts, and used magic to modify the memory of her house-elf, Hokey, to make her confess to the crime. Riddle then used the murder of Hepzibah to turn the cup into his fourth Horcrux. Decades later, Lord Voldemort entrusted the cup to one of his most fervent followers, Bellatrix Lestrange. Believing it to be the most secure location in the wizarding world, she placed it for safekeeping deep within her family's high-security vault at Gringotts. During the Second Wizarding War, Harry Potter's trio learned of the cup's status as a Horcrux and its probable location based on Bellatrix's panicked reaction at Malfoy Manor. On 1 May 1998, Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, with the reluctant assistance of the goblin Griphook, successfully broke into the Lestrange vault and stole the cup. They made a dramatic escape from the bank on the back of a Guard Dragon.

Hufflepuff's Cup is one of the seven Horcruxes that Harry Potter must destroy to defeat Lord Voldemort. The daring and unprecedented break-in at Gringotts to retrieve it marks a major turning point in the hunt for the Horcruxes. It was the first time Voldemort became fully aware that his soul-containers were being systematically targeted and destroyed. Voldemort's subsequent rage and fear allowed Harry to see into his mind, giving Harry crucial intelligence that the final, unknown Horcrux was located at Hogwarts and was connected to Rowena Ravenclaw. The cup was destroyed during the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione ventured into the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve a fang from the skeleton of the long-dead Basilisk. In the Chamber, Hermione stabbed the cup with the venom-soaked fang, destroying the fragment of Voldemort's soul within it. This act of bravery and teamwork was immediately followed by Ron and Hermione's first kiss.

• In the film adaptation Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the destruction of the cup is portrayed with more visual spectacle. When Hermione stabs the cup, a ghostly, soul-like image of Voldemort erupts from it before being washed away by a large wave of water summoned by Ron. (film)