Fred hesitated momentarily. He trusted Patience just as much as she trusted him. What he wanted was for her to know everything she did need to know, but it could come at a pretty hefty price, not only for him, but for her and his family, too. If it helped her regain control of her mind, though, he knew that she would not betray his trust, knew it with every fiber of his being. "I'll always be here for you, Monty," he said easily. That much he could promise her. Whether or not his explanations would help her not be confused, he couldn't guarantee.
But he would try.
"It's different now because, before you began thinking differently about the world, you couldn't see the world." He furrowed his brow, knowing this probably made no sense. "There's a big picture here, Monty. A big picture of hundreds of thousands of people and all of the people are blindfolded by the collaboration of the painters, the Ministry, the Death Eaters. Hmm. That's not a very good analogy," he sighed before continuing, "Basically, it's like everyone is under one big Imperius that makes us believe that everything is bloody fantastic. That it's okay if a Death Eater kills your best friend or you family or your next door neighbor because it's for the good of the Ministry." He couldn't stop himself now that he'd started. "It's not okay, though. I have my suspicions regarding how they're accomplishing this, but this conversation isn't really about speculation. The point is, your mind is fighting this control and the world seems different now because you are seeing, feeling, reality."
He held her closer, fearful of his own words and the impact they could have. Resting his chin atop her head, he said, quietly, "What happened to your brother, your parents, there is no excuse for it. But nearly everyone around you is conditioned to believe that it was okay, to be complacent about it and all the other tragedies happening around us. It wasn't okay when it happened, though, was it? But somehow, for the past four years or so, up until recently, it has been okay, hasn't it?"