"I think that's a yes."

"Good Grim!" She laughs. "Do you want to help us find sticks?" The dog puts its head on its paws, staring at them.

"Or snakes, maybe?"

"Grim might scare any snakes away, though."

"Could scare them towards us."

"They might be mad about that, though. No way to start a working relationship."

"Good point. But it seems like any snakes we bring in will have to deal with Grim being around at all."

"Well, maybe they can just sniff some out, and we can explain to everyone about sharing."

To Grim: "Hey boy, do you know how to find snakes?" 

Grim looks up, woofing and wagging his tail a bit. 

"Do you know how to find them without hurting them?"

"Yeah. No poking them until they bite."

The dog woofs again, standing up somewhat stiffly.

"Lead the way."

Woof!

Grim bounds across grounds, sniffing sometimes, and does successfully find some very alarmed and annoyed snakes! Who are less alarmed but usually not much less annoyed when Anathema starts hissing at them. 

(The dog jumps the first time Anathema hisses at a snake, and prances a bit when Ellie does. Still, he seems smart enough to know to give snakes a very wide berth, especially snakes that're actively cussing at him.)

Does the offer of a new den sway any opinions?

A few, especially the very young snakes who've been struggling to find somewhere not already claimed. The young snakes are a lot more wary and jumpy, but they're also more willing to live near each other, so long as there's food and no one else starts a fight. 

(They would like to not wake up to dog nose ever, though. Anathema promises she'll keep her giant furry monster under control, and when she calls out to Grim to confirm he won't bother the snakes gets a friendly woof and a tail wag.)

It's good everyone can be friendly.

For now, at least. 

They'll have to talk to Hagrid about the summer, now that they have tenants.

Yeah. Since he's here all year, he can also probably keep an eye on everyone, too.

Shall they go do that, then?

Sure.

Grim peels off before they get to Hagrid's - Anathema waves to him as he lopes toward the Forbidden Forest - and then on to Hagrid's. (Hagrid is very willing to look after their snakes, and he asks if Ellie wouldn't mind helping him figure out if all of his snakes are happy with their enclosures.)

She can definitely do that.

A couple have minor complaints, especially about wanting more interesting food and more chances to explore, but they're pretty content overall.

Grim follows them nearly to Hogwarts on the way back, then runs off again. Anathema laughs and says, "Wonder if he'll watch our game tomorrow." (The Quidditch match is indeed being restarted with the same point totals as it stopped with, though the snitch is alas being released early.)

"Maybe. He does seem pretty interested."

"As long as he doesn't try to chase any of the balls, I guess it's fine."

"Yeah."