[HPforGrownups] Question on Teachers - okay Transfiguration teachers in particular

[Diana Williams]

No: HPFGUIDX 69376

You'll find a lot of information in the Harry Potter Lexicon at
http://www.hp-lexicon.org/ .  In reference to Dumbledore, this is
information they have in the timeline:

1940 - transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts
1971 - becomes Headmaster (offered position of MoM in 1970 but turns it
down)

Armando Dippet is the Headmaster prior to AD
The Lexicon says that McGonagall joined the Hogwarts staff in December 1952.
It doesn't specifically say that she was the Transfiguration teacher, but it
doesn't say that AD was the Transfiguration teacher, either.  Nothing in
canon says that there is only one teacher per subject although it appears to
be that way from what we can tell.  There's certainly only one Potions
teacher and one DADA teacher, and if there had been more Divination
teachers, then Firenze wouldn't have come on staff, so it's probably a safe
bet that there's only one for each of the other subjects.  We used to debate
the fact that the teachers wouldn't have enough hours in the week to teach
all the classes they do, but now that we've found out a little more about
NEWT classes, that doesn't seem to be as big a problem (i.e., Snape possibly
has only 1 NEWT level class for all 6th & 7th years since he only takes "O"
and above, instead of 4 classes for 6th & 7th years).  (BTW - has anyone
refigured the calculations on teacher schedules, given this new
information?)

We don't know much about what AD does after defeating Grindelwald in 1945 -
if he gave up the Transfiguration post when MM came on board, we don't know
what he did between 1952 and 1971, so anything is possible.  He could have
remained at Hogwarts as Deputy Headmaster without teaching a class (perhaps
he was Head of Gryffindor also), he could have been involved in politics or
working at another school or doing just about anything.

Diana Williams