Briefly, Bellatrix explained the details of how a wizard or witch could split their soul and place part of it into an object. Theoretically, any object would do, but in practice, one didn't incase a soul inside of an empty egg carton or pop can. Rather, the items were other living beings or highly magical objects.
"What you've told me about the diary and the incidents during your second year at Hogwarts point to the fact that the diary was a horcrux," Bellatrix said. "I had considered the possibility a few days ago and set it aside so I could research other possibilities, but after speaking with Mrs. Cole, I think the horcrux situation fits the dark lord most accurately."
"How do you mean?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"She said he took trophies from people. He's obsessed with objects and with places and with immortality. The horcrux is an object that can be secreted in a highly personalized place for protection. It renders the person practically immortal."
"How does it fit with taking trophies?" Harry said.
Bellatrix sighed. "To make a horcrux, you must kill someone in cold blood. If this dark lord is as evil as you say, stealing something from them, killing them, and turning the object into a horcrux would fit him exactly."
"I suppose that he did kill Myrtle," Harry observed, "though I doubt he stole the diary from her."
"I suppose so," Bellatrix said, "but it still fits, doesn't it?"
"I think so," Harry said. "I guess we'll have to find the diary, won't we?"
Bellatrix shrugged. "He probably hasn't given it to Lucius Malfoy for safe keeping yet. We should probably try to retrace some of his steps and find where he might have chosen to hide horcruxes or try to identify what objects he might have transformed into horcruxes."
"You're talking as if there's more than one horcrux," Harry said.
"Well, think about it, Harry. He's a maniac. You observed Rodolphus Lestrange making attempts to locate and purchase valuable, magic items at antique shops. Do you seriously think he'd stop at one horcrux? I wouldn't."
"Good point," Harry mused. "He'd probably hide them in locations important to him."
"Do you have any ideas?"
Harry nodded. "There's a town called Little Hangleton."
"Mrs. Cole said that his mother came from there," Bellatrix reminded Harry. "She was a Gaunt."
"Yes," said Harry, recalling that Voldemort had referred to the house Harry had visited Voldemort in as the Gaunt estate. "Did the Gaunts have an estate in Little Hangleton?"
Bellatrix snorted. "I should think not. They were a very poor, albeit pretentious family."
"Perhaps the Riddle house," Harry said, recalling his visit to the graveyard and some of Voldemort's comments. "It seemed like a ruin when I saw it in the future. If you wanted to hide something there, it would be pretty easy.
"Maybe we should pay a visit," Bellatrix observed.
.....
It so happened that the ambush plotted by Harry and Moody was scheduled for that same evening. Harry and Bellatrix proceeded directly from dinner to the dark alley the three of them had selected a few nights previous. Harry had offered to stop at their flat so Bellatrix could change into something more appropriate, but she had declined, pointing out that Moody was bound to have so many aurors there that the capture would be affected almost before the hostilities could have a chance to break out.
"You're late," Moody growled.
"No, we're not," Bellatrix retorted. "Besides, they don't come until Harry activates the card. This is completely under our control."
"That isn't the only factor," Moody complained. He turned to Harry. "All right, my men are in position." He pointed to a sidewalk. "Go there. Activate the card on my signal, and then start walking. As soon as they show up, we'll activate the preset anti-apparition and portkey wards. Once they've arrived, there's nothing they can do to get out."
Bellatrix yawned and watched as Harry followed Moody's instructions. Moody guided her down an alley and instructed her to stay in place during the attack. He then walked back to the opening of the alley from where he signaled Harry to activate the card before placing himself under a disillusionment spell.
A few moments passed and then the staccato of several apparition pops sounded, echoing down the alley. After a brief pause, the fight erupted as the aurors attempted to take custody of the Death Eaters who had come to kidnap Harry. It was over in a few moments. Once the sounds of spellfire ceased, Bellatrix emerged from the alley to find that the aurors had captured five of Lord Voldemort's followers.
Harry was standing nearly twenty feet away from where most of the fight had happened. His wand was drawn and pointed toward the fifth attacker while the aurors were securing the other four and preparing them for transportation to the Ministry holding cells. It was Rodolphus Lestrange. Feeling slightly annoyed that Harry had gotten the opportunity to participate in the fight without her, Bellatrix strode over to Harry and Rodolphus and scowled down at the wizard her mother and aunt had wanted her to marry.
"You killed Orion, didn't you?" Bellatrix said.
Rodolphus smirked at her. "It wouldn't be very wise of me to admit that now, would it? Besides, it doesn't matter if I did. Someone would have done it eventually. He was in the dark lord's way. There's also the fact that your aunt is so… cooperative when it comes to the dark lord's ambitions."
Bellatrix lashed out and kicked Rodolphus in the groin. Harry winced and smirked alternatively. Seeing Moody approaching from the corner of her eye, Bellatrix took the last private moment between her and Lestrange and hissed a parting message, "If you ever see my aunt again, you can tell her that I'm coming for her. Wherever she walks, she can worry that I'm around the next corner, ready to gut her."
Through the pain he was feeling, Rodolphus snickered as Moody approached, carrying a set of magic-inhibiting handcuffs. "I'm sure it will make you feel a lot better about everything."
Bellatrix went to kick him again, but Moody put a hand on her shoulder and retrained her. "Should've gotten that one in before I got closer," he said, smiling crookedly before placing the cuffs on Lestrange and stunning him unconscious.
Moody turned to Harry. "I'm surprised we got as many as five. I think they will prove very useful indeed. I can use them to try and get more information about the Dark Lord, and Minister Prewitt will no doubt use them to increase his political capital and influence the population against the dark lord's cause.
"Good," said Harry. "I might need to lay low for a bit. The dark lord isn't going to be happy about this."
Moody laughed raucously. "I should think not."
"You might also want to make sure Azkaban is secure," Harry suggested. "The dementors are the natural allies of dark lords. You wouldn't want him to break out his followers and get the dementors in one swoop."
"I don't know that these five are that valuable," Moody observed.
Harry glanced over at the other four unconscious prisoners. "I don't suppose you got Malfoy."
"No, I'm afraid not," Moody said.
....
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