As far as the educational philosophy went - Severus felt he had heard it all before, which probably spoke well for Finnigan. Accidents are the way we learn and iron fist and, Merlin help him, fun were all phrases that had been thrown at him more than once when, at the beginning of his career, he had been taken aside by Dumbledore (or whoever else had chosen to take issue with his methods on that particular day) and lectured on how he ought to be teaching. Those speeches had had no effect at all, of course, but they had at least left him with a pretty good impression of what passed for pedagogy among people who cared.
"After a year," he said, holding Finnigan's gaze, "I expect to see examination scores that do not embarrass the school, and I expect not to have to rebuild the school from ruins once again after some accident. Fulfill those expectations, and I don't think we'll need to be concerned with ill feelings. Your scores are impressive, and Professor McGonagall's recommendation, as it were, carries significant weight. The position is yours if you want it. - It should be understood, of course, that we will not be training up any more underage Animagi."