Harry Potter was not a normal boy.
He was strange, and he could do strange things. Odd things happened around him, things that was certain that were caused by him somehow. Who else could be doing it? Certainly no one around him cared enough to protect him like this.
That was the other way he was unusual. He was incredibly cunning for a boy of his age. Most ten year olds couldn't match his reasoning, quick thinking, or resourcefulness if their lives depended on it. Of course, he had more practice than them. His life did depend on it.
Harry was a master of deception and manipulation. He knew just the right level of confidence to show (or fake) to make a lie believable, and exactly how detailed to make his excuses. He knew when to threaten his cousin with his "unnaturalness" (his relatives were also sure he was the cause), and when to back down and take a beating. Each step, each word, each move was carefully calculated to minimize the punishment he would receive. If he could only control his strangeness, he would be safe.
For it was Harry Potter's greatest wish to be safe.