Ravenclaw

2 APRIL 2004—Through carefully built repertoire, Belle was able to talk Alina into joining the Hunt.

Using her cousin's inside knowledge of Tom Riddle's psyche, in addition to what she had gleaned from Harry, Belle figured out that Voldemort would select Horcrux-containers that had historical significance in the Wizarding community, things like Morgan le Fay's cauldron, Ravenclaw's diadem, and Merlin's mysterious tome.

From previously gathered data, she decided that two Horcruxes could be dismissed. Tom Riddle seemed to have emerged from the first Horcrux, and Dumbledore had apparently destroyed a ring that belonged to the Gaunt family. Belle also decided to focus on objects that had belonged to the Hogwarts founders, after Alina made a quip that Tom had only ever felt at home in the Wizarding school.

And so the Hunt began…

Maybe "hunt" was too strong a word. Perhaps "search"?

Belle struggled to find a word to adequately describe three long years of looking for objects that had been associated with Voldemort. It was slow and painful, for her at least, as she spent hours with Alina and Tom Riddle. She was carefully parsing questions to aid in her ambitions while they were mooning over each other in the most Slytherin way possible—both simultaneously insulting and trying to impress the other. All the while, she was trying not to recoil when Nagini slithered too close—Tom had adopted her to prove his victory over Voldemort, and that snake just felt… evil.

They managed to find and destroy three Horcruxes: a golden goblet, an emerald-encrusted locket, and a silver tiara. By all accounts, it seemed they had found them all. But Belle felt like they were missing something.

Or maybe it was just that her life felt empty. In order to take on this role as a double agent, she had driven away George Weasley as a potential husband, and she had abandoned her daughter on Neville's doorstep with a short note of explanation—it felt like she had cut out her still-beating heart and left it on that front stoop. From the shadows, Belle had seen Cornelia and Neville out in public a few times since then, and it made her heart hurt that she couldn't be there. Little Nellie, as her father nicknamed her, was growing up so fast. She was already four years old. Was this mission worth missing all the time with her baby girl?