"Remember the cup's small and gold, it's got a badger engraved on it, two handles —"
Harry Potter describing the cup[src]





Helga Hufflepuff with her cup


Horcrux transformation

"She opened the lid. Harry edged forward a little to get a better view and saw what looked like a small golden cup with two finely wrought handles. "
—Hepzibah Smith shows Tom Riddle Hufflepuff's Cup[src]
Riddle Hepzibah

Hepzibah Smith showing Tom Riddle the cup and Slytherin's locket




Search to reclaim the cup

"Harry's wandlight passed over shields and goblin-made helmets set on shelves rising to the ceiling; higher and higher he raised the beam, until suddenly it found an object that made his heart skip and his hand tremble."
—Harry Potter spots the cup among the other treasures in the Lestrange vault[src]
Bellatrix Lestrange&#039;s vault


Years later, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter theorised that Lord Voldemort had chosen Hufflepuff's Cup as an object for one of his Horcruxes. They did not, however, know where it might be located.[2]


B7C26M1 Gringott&#039;s Dragon

The trio escape Gringotts on the back of a half-blind Ukrainian Ironbelly



Hermione and Ron destroying the cup in the Chamber of Secrets

The trio returned to Hogwarts Castle to find a possibly Ravenclaw-related Horcrux. Lord Voldemort discovered that the trio had discovered his secret and the Death Eaters and Voldemort launched an attack known as the Battle of Hogwarts. During the battle, Ron and Hermione ventured down into the Chamber of Secrets (with Ron doing a passable imitation of Harry's Parseltongue to enter) and retrieved several Basilisk fangs. Hermione used one of the fangs to destroy the Cup inside the Chamber, as Basilisk venom is one of the substances capable of destroying a Horcrux.[5]

See also

Behind the scenes

  • Hufflepuff's Cup is neither seen nor mentioned in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Similarly, the hypothetical Horcruxes of Nagini and an unknown artefact of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's are never suggested to Harry by Dumbledore prior to his death. This leaves Harry in a significantly more challenging predicament at the end of the sixth film than in the book, as he has only one lead to follow entering the final film: the original pilfered locket from the Horcrux cave. The clue he received in the film was from Bellatrix, who was in a frantic frenzy when she thought her vault was broken into. He is ultimately able to identify the cup as a Horcrux because of his ability to hear the piece of Voldemort's soul contained within them, an ability which is not present in the books.
  • In the film the cup is never named; it is only called "The Horcrux" or "The Cup", and its backstory of Helga Hufflepuff owning it goes unmentioned, although there is a picture of a badger on the side.
  • The Cup is now available for purchase from the Noble Collection.
  • In early plans, the Hufflepuff Horcrux was her cauldron.[6]


Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
  2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)
  3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 22 (The Deathly Hallows)
  4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 26 (Gringotts)
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 31 (The Battle of Hogwarts)
  6. Writing by J.K. Rowling: "Cauldrons" at Pottermore