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Chapter 1463: The Whereabouts of the Golden Cup
🕑 Added 2025-05-08 01:04:42 +0000 UTC"That’s certainly a possibility," said Dumbledore noncommittally to Evan’s statement. He calmly asked, "Evan, if we go with your theory — that he entrusted this Horcrux to another Death Eater — who do you think he would have given it to?"
"Bellatrix Lestrange!" said Evan without hesitation.
"Why?" Dumbledore asked.
"After confirming that the cup bore markings referencing the home of house-elves, I specifically analyzed its whereabouts. I think the golden cup is most likely with Bellatrix. Among the many Death Eaters, Bellatrix is the most loyal to Voldemort. Even after his defeat and disappearance, she still did not give up. She did not hide her identity like other Death Eaters, but went to find Voldemort's whereabouts. Bellatrix has a high status among the Death Eaters, even above Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort does not trust others, but if he has to choose one of his followers to keep a Horcrux, I think Bellatrix is the best candidate."
"Evan, you mean Sirius’s cousin?" Harry asked, recalling the encounter with Bellatrix at the Ministry the previous year.
He felt that the woman was a lunatic and a fanatical devotee of Voldemort.
Would Voldemort really entrust such an important Horcrux to her?
"Yes, that's her. If even Malfoy was trusted with a Horcrux, then there’s no reason Bellatrix wouldn’t be."
"There is such a possibility, but it's just a guess after all. We lack direct evidence..."
"Sir, I have another piece of evidence here that can prove that Voldemort would definitely give such an important thing as the golden cup to Bellatrix for safekeeping, not to other Death Eaters," said Evan. "Remember? In the battle at the Ministry of Magic last year, I was accidentally transported into the future by a Time-Turner. In that future, I saw Voldemort’s daughter, the daughter he had with Bellatrix..."
As he spoke, the face of the girl emerged in his mind.
Delphi, a girl with dangerous intentions but beautiful and lovely appearance.
She was Voldemort and Bellatrix’s illegitimate daughter. It sounded unbelievable, but it had, in fact, happened in a possible future.
Evan couldn’t help wondering what had become of Delphi after he took the Time-Turner away.
He remembered that, when he left, his future self had just entered Hermione’s office and ran right into Delphi.
Now that he thought about it, what had his future self done with that girl?
Evan followed that thought briefly before pulling himself back to the present. That wasn’t what he needed to focus on right now. If Voldemort really did have a daughter this time, then future Evan would eventually find out...
"Oh, Voldemort's daughter?! Very valuable information, Evan, and a very interesting source. Though the future can change, I think in a certain sense, this does suggest that Voldemort and Bellatrix were quite close, even if he still wouldn’t have trusted her enough to tell her the cup was a Horcrux,” said Dumbledore, clearly very intrigued by Evan’s revelation. He was thinking aloud as he spoke, “If Hufflepuff’s cup really is in Bellatrix’s possession, then where would she have hidden it? Where would she think is the safest place?"
“I think it might be in her vault in Gringotts. That’s where wizards keep their most valuable possessions,” Evan replied.
Unlike Malfoy, Bellatrix did not have any family estate, and the old Black family house did not belong to her.
She would not wear the important items given to her by Voldemort, or hide them casually in any place without any security protection.
So the only place that would keep her personal belongings while she was imprisoned in Azkaban was Gringotts.
The advantage with goblins was that they didn’t care who their clients were — even criminals. In fact, they’d probably be thrilled if Bellatrix stayed locked away in Azkaban forever. That way, they could claim her treasure for themselves.
"Bellatrix's vault, a very wise reasoning, Evan," said Dumbledore. "It seems that we have to prepare to go to the underground vaults of Gringotts."
It seemed that he believed Evan's speculation, and entering the underground of Gringotts was put on the plan.
"Sir, if we explain the situation, will the goblins hand over the cup willingly?"
"I don't think so," Dumbledore shook his head. "The goblins' obsession with treasures is beyond imagination. They won’t obey any wizard or the Ministry of Magic, not when it comes to giving up what’s inside their vaults unless we take tough measures, but that’s not a path we’re permitted to take."
"Then we break in illegally?"
“If we can confirm the cup is indeed in Bellatrix’s vault, then that’s our only option,” Dumbledore replied. “But we mustn’t be discovered by the goblins. Otherwise, they might retaliate harshly—and with war looming, that would be a grave mistake. Also, Bellatrix is currently imprisoned in Azkaban. Before we attempt an illegal entry into her vault, we should first confirm the information directly with her.
"As long as the cup is indeed in Bellatrix's vault in Gringotts, retrieving it might be a bit troublesome, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. That would leave just one Horcrux remaining — the statue. We encountered it during our last visit to the ruins in Norway, and witnessed its terrifying attacks. I believe that will be the most difficult part," said Dumbledore. "Remember what we discussed just now? If he so wishes, Voldemort can make his Horcruxes extremely aggressive. His soul fragments can fully utilize the properties of the objects they’re stored in. And that statue..."
He didn't need to finish, Evan understood what Dumbledore meant.
The statue was connected to an evil god in the endless void. It served as that being’s anchor to the physical world, the object through which he perceived reality. It had a strong offensiveness. Voldemort had made it into a Horcrux, which was equivalent to borrowing some of the power of the evil god in disguise. That was truly terrifying.
In other words, if they wanted to destroy this Horcrux, they would likely have to face the evil god statue in another brutal confrontation.
Even though Evan had won many times with the help of The Book of Abraham, he still didn’t have absolute confidence. He had never seen the true complete form of the evil god, and perhaps not even a millionth of his power. Who knew what might happen when a piece of Voldemort’s soul merged with the essence of such a being?
