Is Bella the keeper of a Horcrux?

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 140812

While looking up something in "Spinner's End" (no, not SHIPping clues,
I do think of other things too) I stumbled upon an intriguing slip of
the tongue by Bellatrix. Here it is:


***************************************************************
 HBP, Ch. 2 p. 29 (US):

"He shares everything with me!" said Bellatrix, firing up at once. "He
calls me his most loyal, his most faithful —"

"Does he?" said Snape, his voice delicately inflected to suggest his
disbelief. "Does he still, after the fiasco at the Ministry?"

"That was not my fault!" said Bellatrix, flushing. "The Dark Lord has,
in the past, entrusted me with his most precious — if Lucius hadn't —"

"Don't you dare — don't you dare blame my husband!" said Narcissa, in
a low and deadly voice, looking up at her sister.
***************************************************************
 
Look at it again, it's easy to miss: "The Dark Lord has, in the past,
entrusted me with his most precious — " and then she cuts herself
short and changes tack. What was the next word to be? Going by the
context of Lucius' fiasco in the Ministry it would have been
"missions" or something similar, but that doesn't fit well with the
adjective "precious", and besides why would she censor herself so
abruptly? OTOH, going by "most precious" the appropriate next word
would be "secrets" or, even more appropriate, "possessions".

Now, Lucius *is* part of the context, and Lucius *was* entrusted with
guarding a Hx, while Snape apparently wasn't. So was Bella about to
brag that she was entrusted with another Hx before cutting herself
short? Maybe the Hufflepuff Cup? Of course, she said "in the past" so
perhaps she meant she's no longer entrusted with it, but she might
have an idea where it is now.

Granted, Bella isn't likely to tell. But wasn't she tutoring Draco in
occlumency? And I bet she didn't take the precautions Snape took to
hide his classified memories first. And Draco perhaps thought to use a
shield spell at some point, just like Harry did, and was treated with
a stream of Bella's most precious
 secrets. And Draco isn't very
chummy with Voldy and the DEs at the moment. So might Draco redeem
himself by revealing the location of a Horcrux to Harry?

Neri