Over the next few days, Albert kept a secret watch on Professor Smith.
Originally, he had planned to try brewing Baruffio's Brain Elixir, but that project was pushed completely to the back of his burner. He hadn't stopped practicing how to make his Patronus speak, though it hadn't yielded any substantial results; splitting his focus while casting made the Patronus very weak. If he hadn't noticed the skill experience for the Patronus Charm steadily rising, Albert might even have suspected that Aberforth was just toying with him.
Perhaps one day, once he could actually summon a Patronus while distracted, he wouldn't need to worry quite as much about the Dementors' influence causing his spells to fail.
Chapter 229