Dear readers, it is always a pleasure to bring good news instead of bad. Today, we here at the Daily Prophet are gratified to tell you that the final missing Muse is now found! For those who have not been following the case, let me recap: In January 2019, we broke the story that three of the nine Muses had gone missing, and the Unspeakables were appealing to the public to help bring the missing Muses homes after confirming their existence. In September, we were excited to report that Thalia, Muse of Comedy and Idyllic Poetry, was found. December saw the return of Euterpe, Muse of Music, from a long-needed break just before Christmas. With two of the three Muses back, it was on everyone's mind who the third missing Muse was.
Thankfully, we now have the answers and a hero who brought back the last missing Muse - Urania, the Muse of Astronomy! Our hero is none other than William "Bill" Weasley! Bill, as you may or may not know, works as a curse-breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Typically stationed in Egypt when he is not at his home in Britain, Gringotts made a surprising move when they requested Bill to investigate a temple hidden underwater between the islands of Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni in the municipality of Santorini. This municipality comprises the islands of Santorini, Therasia, Aspronisi, Christiana, Palea Kameni, and Nea Kameni in the southern part of the Aegean Sea. The circular archipelago is the remnant of a volcanic caldera and has long been speculated amongst Muggles as a possible location to the ancient city of Atlantis. Of course, there is also speculation amongst Muggles that Atlantis was located in the Atlantic Ocean, just beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. A half-blood witch who wishes to remain anonymous had spotted a peculiar structure underwater as she was swimming between the uninhabited islands of Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni while on vacation. Upon investigation by the local magical authorities, the structure was found to have several wards around it that required the expertise of Gringotts famous curse-breakers.
Bill Weasley was then pulled from nearby Egypt, where he was working on the tomb of the wizard pharaoh Atem. Once Bill reached the site via boat, it is noted that he commented on the feel of the wards before getting ready to dive underwater. After several hours of mapping the wards and compiling a list of possible trap spells, Bill resurfaced and started working on methods to take them down safely. Three days later, a team of five other curse-breakers arrived, and with Bill as the lead, they managed to safely take the wards down without triggering any harmful side effects. What stood before them in the water was a temple! Upon passing through the entryway of the temple, a spell washed over them and they found themselves in a dry temple. Careful searching of the first room revealed that it was dedicated to the Snake Goddess of the Minoan pantheon. However, it was a secret room hidden behind a fresco that caught Bill's attention. After dismantling the wards around it and opening, Bill found the Muse Urania bound to the room! Removing the spells that bound her, the Muse certainly had a story to tell to her rescuers!
It seems that Urania had been lured to Santorini by a group of magicals who had requested her aid in deciphering a fresco featuring the night sky found in the remains of ancient Thera. Urania did manage to decipher the position of stars to tell when the fresco was possibly from, and that is when the trouble started. "I remember one of them thanking me for my help," Urania stated upon her return to her sisters and Britain, accompanied by her rescuer, Bill. "After that, it gets a little murky. There was a feeling of overwhelming sadness and it brought me to my knees. Then the one who thanked me said something about how I could help them further and everything went black. I wasn't expecting anything like that to happen, and I was so unprepared that I'm a little embarrassed by it. I have no idea how I came to be bound in the temple. It seemed like the next thing I knew, Mr. William was there and helping me out."
The Unspeakables are currently looking for this group of magicals to question them about what they wanted with Urania. They are also stepping up the security that the Muses have to hopefully prevent anything like this happening again in the future. Bill Weasley will be honoured in a special ceremony at the Ministry next week and will receive the Order of Merlin, Second Class for his work on rescuing Urania. Though, there are some who believe it should be First Class. Upon speaking with Bill, he laughed it off and shrugged. "I was just doing what I love doing: curse-breaking. I didn't really get into it for any accolades, but more for the challenge that it gives. I will say, I certainly never expected to find Lady Urania when I went into that temple!"
Urania is very thankful to Bill, and there is a rumor currently that she has requested her sister Erato (Muse of Love Poetry) to write something for Bill and his wife, Fleur, in thanks. Whether that happens or not will remain between the Muses and the Weasleys. We would like to thank Bill Weasley for his remarkable work in breaking Urania out of her temple prison and returning her to us! I, for one, am looking forward to next week's ceremony and can not wait to see Bill presented with his Order of Merlin!