Actually, what I was thinking is that his family is all snooty purebloody with money, and the poor thing is because he's a runaway, who wanted to get away from that claptrap but still feels that, "I'm juuuust as good as theeeeeeem!" squirrellyness about the British aristocracy. Good lord, is he hypersensitive about issues of social status.

Motivation to run away? Magic is stupid, more or less. He's all about the math and the geography and the French declensions!