Padfoot's Breed
Rowling never specified what breed of dog Sirius' Animagus form was, and 'a bear-like black dog' doesn't do much to narrow the field of possibilities. However, if we assume that the transformation closely reflects the wizard's personality, and perhaps reinforces it, I think I might have identified our mystery breed.
( Meet the Russian Newfoundland, also called the Moscow Water Dog. )
Divination: Sybill Trelawny
Background at time of hire: No teaching experience, potential alcoholic,one True Prophecy to her name
Ability: Incompetent
Care of Magical Creatures: Rubeus Hagrid
Background: No teaching experience, no O.W.L.s, long-time assistant gamekeeper/primary gamekeeper. The year before his appointment he sent two second year students directly into a nest of Acromantulae. The year before that he accepted and then attempted to raise an illegal dragon egg, and then compounded his crime by allowing first year students to cover up his mess for him. As a student he attempted to raise an Acromantula in the school.
**Students repeatedly injured during lessons due to inadequate safety precautions, Dumbledore took no action.
Ability: Incompetent
Potions: Severus Snape
Background: 21, no teaching experience (possibly a student tutor), committed quadruple agent against a murderous psychopath, qualified wizard with N.E.W.T.s and clear aptitude for his subject. His oldest prospective students may well have witnessed him be publicly stripped and humiliated, as well as being aware of his general boyhood reputation as a loser and outcast..
Ability: Competent
DADA: Quirinus Quirell
Background: Young, one year teaching experience (Muggle Studies), was known to have been co-opted by Voldemort during his Grand Tour to gain DADA experience. (Voldemort had every interest in impairing students' Defense education, and would be primarily focused on the Stone anyway - which put all students at risk of being caught in a crossfire between Voldie/Quirell and the rest of the staff.)
Ability: Incompetent
DADA: Gilderoy Lockhart
Background: Known by Dumbledore to be a glory hound and a fraud who had assaulted other witches and wizards, raped their minds, then stole credit for their deeds (nor did Dumbledore ever report this last to anyone in law enforcement).
Ability: Incompetent
DADA: Remus Lupin
Background: Prior teaching experience, incompetent prefect, (former?) friend of escaped convicted mass-murderer Sirius Black.
**Later unhelpful in the investigation regarding Black's whereabouts and ability to enter the castle. Dumbledore refused to remove him or even put him under close surveillance despite circumstantial evidence he was helping his old friend. (Problematic because if he sought out Lupin specifically for help in cornering Black, he could have consulted him away from the school - he was absent often enough anyway. Moody would have been a safer choice if it was Harry's welfare he was primarily concerned about. Maybe he was hoping Black would kill Harry - Horcrux had to go sometime.) After he nearly killed three students and a fellow teacher by neglecting his Wolfsbane Potion, it was Snape who ensured he was removed from the school, not Dumbledore.
Ability: Competent at teaching subject matter
DADA: Alastor Moody
Background: Retired Auror, former teacher in Auror training program, known for being excessively paranoid and responding violently to provocation.
Ability; Crouch successfully masquerading as him seems to have been considered competent.
DADA: Severus Snape
Background: Highly successful potions professor, quadruple agent, etc...
Ability: Competent
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