If Ernest hadn't already lied to his daughter about the nature of the toads for sale in the shop, he might have found the idea of a toad going hunting outside rather ridiculous. As it was, it struck him instead as a lovely way to see that the pet was almost certainly killed, misplaced, or otherwise dispatched of before he had to deal with a teenage daughter who thought she could transfigure him into a human. A toad — particularly the one she had chosen for herself — could not possibly survive several years of being left to its own devices on the Hogwarts grounds. It would probably disappear into the Black Lake or be caught and killed by a cat sometime before Christmas, he decided. Hopefully Flora wouldn't be too grief stricken about it — but he could buy her a kitten, or something, for her second semester, which would prove less problematic in the long run.

"Certainly," he agreed with a nod. "He'll be able to stay sharp, that way. You don't want him to get too bored, you know; his mind is most likely half turned to mush already by being trapped in a tank for so long."