Hepzibah Smith was a witch and claimed to be descended from Helga Hufflepuff. She was very rich, and an avid collector of magical antiquities, including objects that belonged to the founders of Hogwarts. She owned an old house-elf named Hokey. Hepzibah Smith was killed by Tom Riddle, who used her death to make Helga Hufflepuff's Cup a horcrux.
Biography
Early life
Hepzibah claimed to be descended from Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a very old and very rich witch who collected magical antiques. Two of her most prized possessions were a cup that belonged to her (claimed) ancestor, Helga Hufflepuff, and a locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, the latter of which she bought at great expense from Caractacus Burke.
Meeting Tom Riddle and death
While working at Borgin and Burkes, Tom Riddle befriended Hepzibah, who doted upon him. While Riddle was visiting her on behalf of Mr. Burke, ostensibly to negotiate the sale of a suit of Goblin-made armour in her possession, she imprudently showed him two of her greatest treasures: Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket.
When she took the locket from Tom's hands, she caught a glimpse of the greedy red gleam in his eyes, which caused her "foolish smile" and obsessive admiration of the boy to momentarily falter.
Two days later, she was found dead; a lethal and little known poison was found mixed with her cocoa. Riddle was never suspected; Hepzibah's house-elf, Hokey, confessed to having mistaken the poison for sugar and mixed it in, but was not convicted because she was too old. However, Albus Dumbledore tracked Hokey down several years later and extracted a memory from her that cast doubt on her guilt. The cup and the locket had also gone missing; they became two of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, with Hepzibah's death as the murder used to turn the cup into a Horcrux. This would be another step in his rise to power.
Physical appearance
In the Pensieve, Hepzibah was "an immensely fat old lady wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a brilliant pink set of robes that flowed all around her, giving her the look of a melting iced cake" and Hokey the house elf was lacing "her fleshy feet into tight satin slippers". Hepzibah was looking into a mirror and putting rouge on her "already scarlet" cheeks. She appeared to go to great lengths to appear attractive, and much younger than she really was, to try and impress Riddle during his visits to her home.
Hearing Hokey praise her mistress's appearance as "lovely," Harry Potter concluded that Hokey was "lying through her teeth." She was described to have a "foolish smile" in Tom Riddle's presence, which faltered when she caught a momentary glimpse of his true nature.
Personality and traits
Hepzibah was also very proud, as to she didn't tell anybody where she had hidden her antiques. However, she wasn't intelligent, as she foolishly showed off her two most valuable treasures to Tom Riddle, not realising at the very least that he would harm her to take them for himself. She was highly infatuated with Riddle's façade of a polite and handsome young man, and was completely oblivious to the dark greedy look on his face, until the last moment she saw him, at which even she could not ignore the red gleam in his eyes. She was also very conceited, and believed that she was very pretty, something Harry Potter found that she was far from. Due to her naivete and conceit, Dumbledore described her as a "poor and besotted old woman".
Relationships
Tom Riddle
Hepzibah first met Tom Riddle when the latter worked at Borgin and Burkes. Tom was a very handsome and clever young man. He firstly appeared to be friendly with Hepzibah, flattering her and making her feel pretty. However, it was obvious that he was kind to her, only because he wanted to take from her Salazar Slytherin's Locket and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, in order to make them horcruxes. When Hepzibah showed those treasures to Tom, she saw a red greedy gleam in his eyes; she initially thought it was just the light, but then she realised it and was frightened, by then it was too late. Two days later, Tom Riddle killed Hepzibah in order to take the two valuable objects, by spilling poison into her cocoa.
Etymology
The name "Hepzibah" is a variant of Heftsi-Vah or Heftsi-Bah, a hebrew female name meaning "my desire is in her". Heftsi-Vah was the wife of Hezekiah and the mother of Manasseh, kings of Judah, according to 2 Kings 21:1. This name may allude to the nature of Hepzibah Smith, regarding her interest in ancient valuable artefact collections. It can also allude to the will of Lord Voldemort in killing her to split his soul and steal Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket.
Behind the scenes
- Hepzibah may also be related to Zacharias Smith, although this is unconfirmed.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)