That was one of the things I was aiming for--many fics with a more severely abused Harry than we see in canon tend to lean towards melodrama.  I've been attempting to give an accurate portrayal of Harry and how he thinks and what he's feeling without going there. 

 
I did get a suggestion that I should have Harry start cutting, but frankly I don't see it happening without swaying into OOC territory.  Like a lot of kids with his family problems, he doesn't feel sorry for himself, because that's just the way things are.  To him, it's normal for his family to treat him that way, and until he was eleven, he probably never knew that it could be any different.

 Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying this, and I should be updating soon.

*blush* Thank you.  Frankly, I'm surprised that nobody considered this angle before, because it has the added advantage of being accurate to our world.  JKR would know about it because of her status as a teacher, but it just doesn't fit into the classic boy hero mythos.  I, however, can ignore that simply because it makes a good plot for an AU! ;) 

 I'm not sure how long this story will run.  It's going to go through the summer at least, and perhaps through my version of sixth year.  I'm glad you like my portrayal of Harry; I rarely write teenagers, so this is a bit of a challenge for me.  Chapter three will be up later this week, so stay tuned!