Hallows

"The Hallows across most legends are seen to represent the royal regalia carried by the King, or the objects sought by someone such as a 'Grail Quester' in both ancient and modern stories.

"The sacred vessels, or 'Hallows of Ireland' were believed to have been brought by the 'Tuatha de Danaan' to Ireland and kept in the 'Crane Bag', visible at high tide only. Four people were responsible for guarding the contents, known as 'Guardians of the Hallows' : 'Manannan', 'Lugh', 'Cumhal', 'Fionn'...

"...These have since been further developed to the four symbols of magical elements, to also be seen on Tarot packs as the four suits:
1. The Sword;
2. The Spear; [This can also be the Wand]
3. The Cup;
4. The Pentacle..."
(Quotation from Here)

We know Voldie wants an artifact from each of the 4 founders turn into horcruxes. We also know that the title of the next HP book is Deathly Hallows. (hAllows, not hOllows). We can reasonable deduce, then, that the "Deathly" part refers to 2 parts: the part where you have to kill someone to make a horcrux, and the part where they are the key to killing Voldie once and for all. The important part is the "Hallows" part.

First of, let me point out the obvious. 4 Hallows of Arthurian legend, 4 Founders of Hogwarts. Now that that's clear, let me point out some of the other "coincidences."

1. Gryffindor's Sword. While it may not be a horcrux, it eliminates the possibility of Ravenclaw's artifact being a sword. This is helpful later on when we try to speculate what her artifact is and where it may be.

2. Hufflepuff's Cup. Voldie (then Tom Riddle) encounters this as well as Slytherin's locket at Heptziba Smith's house. We then go on to learn that Miss Smith was poisoned "accidentally" and the cup and the locket was never seen again. The only people who new she had those artifacts where her family and, guess who?, Tom Riddle. Jo Rowling says herself that there was an almost "hungry" look in his eyes when he saw the artifacts, and we know he had already killed his family. Why wouldn't he do it?

3. Slytherin's Locket. While it may not be an exact match, it is a reasonable assumption that the locket is the pentacle. The pentacle is the five pointed star, but it is usually pictured as a symbol engraved into wood or gold. What else is gold (and round as most pentacles are)? A locket! As I said above, Voldie acquired the locket from Miss Smith. We know this for a fact. while the cup may still just be a very good guess, we have seen the locket, or, at least, evidence that Voldie had hidden it at some point. Dumbledoor found the cave where it was hidden and took Harry with him. The locket they acquired may not have been the true locket, but the note within showed that the locket was there at some point, and that Voldie had put it there. R.A.B. addressed the note to Voldie, saying that he had the locket and was trying to destroy it. What other proof is needed?

4. Ravenclaw's Wand? This is where we get in to the "thickets of wildest guess work" ...using the path of rational deductions that is. We already know of the sword, the cup, and the pentacle, so that leaves only one other Hallow: the wand. I suppose Ravenclaw could have left behind a spear, but we know that the one tool every witch and wizard has is a ward. Also, the other three correspond to the characteristics valued by the Founders. Sword: Bravery (like a knight of the round table); Cup: abundance or friendship; and Pentacle: Power (used in many wiccan rituals). Therefore, Ravenclaw's own artifact should correspond to her house as well. The wand may not be an exact match, but that's why this is just a guess. The wand could symbolize magical intellegence, needing to know what to do in order for it to be of any use.

Now, we probably agree that Ravenclaw's artifact is a wand. But I mentioned before that I was not only going to speculate what her artifact is, but also where it is. Now, where have I seen a wand that obviously has some special background or meaning to it. Oh, ya! Ollivander's! When Harry first sees Ollivander's shop, the only thing in the window is a single wand on a cusion. Now why would he put that specific wand on a pillo, by itself, in the window for everyone to see? If he wanted a window display, he should have put multiple wand of different woods, cores, and length in a display of some sort of magic act or duel. Instead, he puts a solitary wand on a cusion as if it had some special meaning. Which is does. "I remember every wand I ever sold..." If Mr. Ollivander remembers every wand he ever sold, I'm willing to bet that so does his relatives (who were making wands in the 1st century, before Hogwarts was founded). If one of them sold Ravenclaw her wand, they would probably remember that! And to receve that wand after the owner had passed on would mean a great deal to them.

One small problem... Ollivander dissapeared and the windows were borded up. Looks like Harry still has to go horcrux hunting...