This is an interesting variation on Harry.
For me it does ring true. I can see a young boy who has his talents using them to insure he eats properly and has a few things to play with.
Hopefully he would be "Fading" too much or one of the teachers will spot him and then life will be hard. Perhaps he got caught once during his pre-hogwarts years and developed a sense of when he was being observed?
In any case I look forward to seeing where you go with this.