"Not so much weird as dangerous. See, this bloke said he's related to my Da. Said it'd be a good thing for me to be friendly like with his mates." Severus sank to the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. "They...erm, the least painful thing was th' whip. Once they were done, I was tossed into the river like so much trash. The cold water woke me up."
He made himself smaller. "I canna swim. I was lucky 'cause a pleeseman saw 'em. I got fished outta the water and taken to hospital" His voice was a whisper by the time he finished speaking.