From the upstairs window of George's shop, Ron Weasley watched people walking to and fro in Knockturn alley. He spotted Mundungus Fletcher and quickly made his way outside.
He caught up with the man in a darkened alley near Borgin and Burke's.
At first, the sketchy wizard seemed leery and unwilling to help. When the youngest Weasley son flashed some Galleons at him, he was suddenly all ears.
He agreed to keep his ears and eyes out for anyone or anything that might reveal where Hermione was and to meet up with him again in one week, same place and time.
In the meantime, Ron rented a room in The Leaky Cauldron. He chose a room overlooking Diagon Alley, where he sat and watched for her for hours at a time.
It was a month since she had left him and he was determined to get her back.
He sent an owl to Ginny inquiring as to the brunette's whereabouts. The reply revealed no information but asked where he was staying. Clearly, they had been to his house and discovered his absence. Because he suspected they knew where she was, he did not reply, not trusting them to not turn on him.
"Some sister!", he muttered to himself, crumbling up the parchment and throwing it across the room. He grabbed a bottle of ale and took up his perch by the window to watch for Hermione.
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Mundungus Fletcher frequently passed by where Slug and Jiggers stood next to Mulpepper's in Diagon Alley. He watched for any comings and goings by the Hogwarts Potions Master. He also kept a close eye on Flourish and Blotts.
He overheard a conversation at Slug and Jiggers that certain ingredients were low because Hagrid had come in roughly a month earlier and bought them all up. They were ingredients specifically used for healing and pain relieving potions, as well as for Skelegrow.
He inquired at Ollivander's, but was told Hermione had not been in the wand shop at all.
He spotted Luna Lovegood buying healing supplies and followed her, but suddenly found himself surrounded by little purple pixie-like creatures. They flew in front of his face, nipped at his skin and finally picked him up and dropped him in Knockturn Alley far away from Luna.
He tried to case out Hogwarts, but found he was not able to enter the grounds at all. Strong wards had been set. From a tree branch in the Forbidden Forest, he watched the school. He did not see anybody coming or going, but he did find himself picked up by a giant and held up in the air. Just like when he had ridden with Mad Eye Moody and disapparated at the first sign of conflict, he once again disappeared.
When it was time to meet up with Ron again, he shared all of his findings.
The next day, Ron joined him in the Forbidden Forest and they both attempted to watch Hogwarts for any sign of Hermione, Harry, Ginny, or Professor Snape.
Nobody appeared that day. Or the next. Both days, they returned home determined to find her.
The third day, he saw several people exit through the main entrance and stand in front of the castle.
Ron thought he saw thick, brown hair on one of them. He scrambled down from the tree and hurried towards the entrance, calling Hermione's name. The last thing he saw was his former Potions professor flicking a wand at him. He woke up in the middle of the forest surrounded by Centaurs, and of course Fletcher was nowhere to be found.
The powerful creatures refused to release him without speaking to the Headmistress, feeling suspicious of why he was hiding out in their domain. When they learned he was forbidden to be on the grounds for beating Hermione, they carried him to the far end of the forest, 50km from the school. They all remembered how she had defended one of their own when Umbridge had tortured him.
Before dropping him on the ground, they cursed him with an inability to apparate, and took his wand.
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Severus, Hermione, Luna, Madame Pomfrey, Harry, Ginny, and the Headmistress had all been planning to visit Hogsmeade that day. Severus was planning to apparate with Hermione while the rest of them walked.
When Ron had appeared and started charging towards her, the professor quickly flicked his wand at him and sent him flying deep into the forest. Then they had all disapparated and reappeared in front of Honeydukes.
While walking back to the school later, two centaurs had approached Professor McGonagall and offered her a ride so she could speak with the Council of Centaurs in the forest regarding Ron. He was becoming belligerent, threatening them and attempting to destroy their home. Because of this, he was put into a full body bind.
Not wanting to admit any weakness or fatigue due to age, she declined the ride. The centaurs, knowing they could move much quicker than any human could walk or even run, insisted she take them up on their offer for the sake of time.
When she arrived at the Council of Centaurs, Ron could be heard screaming. The creatures were incensed as she described his attack on his ex wife, and she gave them her blessing to take him to the far end of the forest.
She chose to apparate back to the school rather than ride on their back again. Because the exact location of their Council was secret, apparition had not been an option for arriving there. The Headmistress was bound by a wand oath not to reveal the location.
On their way back from dropping him off, they discussed many things. The first of which was that Ron seemed to have a bewitchment on him, which they reasoned could be the reason for his behavior.
The second was that many of them had secretly witnessed Voldemort using the killing curse on Harry Potter. Many of the Death Eaters had been aware of their presence, but chose not to engage because humans, no matter how powerful their magic, were no match for a band of angry Centaurs.
It had taken everything in them not to intervene. They knew the prophecy, and knew it had to happen that way, so they had silently and helplessly stood by. They remembered that he, with Hermione, had defended their own from Umbridge.
They knew Ron had, as well. Another reason they felt certain a bewitchment was on him. This was not the young man they had met years before.
The reason Umbridge had been able to torture one of them was because the Ministry was limiting their access to their ancestral lands, which limited their power. After the dismissal of Fudge, the Ministry left them alone and they regained their territory and power with a vengeance. By the time the Battle of Hogwarts had taken place, they were once again formidable opponents who had taken out countless dark creatures to assist the school that their ancestors had tasked them with watching over.
While Centaurs were not always fond of adult humans, they felt a responsibility to protect young humans. Particularly young, magical humans.
The next day, the Headmistress glanced out of her window and saw the same two Centaurs by the entrance. The Council had made the decision to share their discussion with her about Ron's behavior possibly being caused by a bewitchment. She was grateful and thanked them for their insight, although she noted that they did not offer their services for removing the curse.
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Ron had spent the night huddled against a tree at the edge of the forest. He was able to start a fire the muggle way, as his father had ensured all seven of them knew how to do so.
By morning, he was beginning to shake and sweat. A full 30 hours without alcohol was taking its toll and he began to experience withdrawals.
Later that evening, a band of Centaurs checked on him and noted that he was sweating profusely and vomiting. By the next morning, he was screaming at nothing as hallucinations haunted his mind.
The Council made the decision to notify Hogwarts' lead mare. Professor McGonagall then straightaway floo called St. Mungo's.
The magical law enforcement and paramedics found him on the far edge of the forest, nearly unconscious.
After reviving him and treating his dehydration, he was admitted to the Janus Thickey ward.
It was determined that the Centaurs had been correct, he indeed had been cursed. An alcoholism bewitchment, per mortem alcoholismo, had been put on him. Another one, insaniam vitiosus, had also been put on him, causing him to slowly lose his mind. The mind healers suspected a former Death Eater was responsible, and alerted the Minister.
After his admission to the magical psych ward, the Headmistress visited Severus and Hermione's quarters, and shared with them what was happening. She couldn't help but notice that Severus reached for and held the Gryffindor's hand. On her way back to her office, she smiled to herself.