Contradictions/ The Smiths must still have the Hufflepuff Cup

[abergoat]

No: HPFGUIDX 156620



> > Abergoat:
>
> >And it seems Tom was visiting Hepizbah on his own, not at the
> >suggestion of Burkes and Borgin as I originally thought.
>
>
> zanooda:
>
> Just out of curiosity, how did you come to this conclusion? LV said
> that he was sent to negotiate about some goblin armor, if I recall
> right. Do you think he lied?

Now I have no idea what to think given your information about the
goblin armor. It seems this is what we know:

1) Hepizbah's family couldn't wait to get their hands on the cup
(source: Hepizbah herself)
2) The Smith family knew about the locket (source: Dumbledore's
comment about how it took them some time to determine both were gone)
3) Burkes and Borgin knew that Tom was meeting with her
4) Tom disappeared right after Hepizbah was killed and the artifacts
went missing

All of that adds up to someone with a brain should have guessed that
Tom might have been involved and the (apparently wealthy) Smith family
should have had enough influence to get someone to go looking for him.
The whole thing is baffling. But it doesn't seem like a trial of clues
so I guess I will just drop it...but I do wonder because JKR could
have solved the entire problem by making Hepizbah an eccentric with no
family.

I have a lot of respect for JKR's logic so perhaps she will be able to
explain it...although government incompetence could be used. Perhaps
the Smith family wasn't so wealthy that they could grease palms...or
perhaps Hepizbah had all the wealth so they fell to fighting over what
remained.

But it still seems untidy.

Abergoat