Hepzibah Smith

Hepzibah offers to show Tom something that she has never shown Mr Burke, and makes him promise not to tell his employer, as she has no desire to sell the object. She instructs her house-elf, Hokey, to bring out both of her finest treasures, and takes the two boxes from her when they arrive. Hepzibah opens the first box to reveal a small golden goblet, and tells Tom to take a good look at it. Hepzibah is immensely proud of the object, which used to belong to Helga Hufflepuff, to whom she is distantly related. She takes the cup back off Riddle and restores it gently to its box.

Hepzibah tells Tom that her second treasure was bought from Mr Burke, and opens the box to reveal a heavy golden locket. She tells Tom that she paid an arm and a leg for the object, which belonged to Salazar Slytherin. She is delighted when Tom shows an interest in the locket, and tells him that it was brought to Burke by a ragged-looking woman, unaware that it was Tom's mother, Merope. Hepzibah falters briefly when she looks at Riddle after returning the locket to its box; she sees a momentary red gleam in his eyes, but attributes it to a trick of the light.

Dumbledore tells Harry that Hepzibah died two days after this encounter with Tom Riddle. She died after being poisoned with a lethal and little-known substance put in her evening cocoa. Although her house-elf, Hokey, was convicted, Dumbledore believes Hepzibah was murdered by Tom Riddle.