Marble Staircase Tower

The Grand Staircase Tower is a tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is probably the most prominent and recognisable feature of Hogwarts Castle. The tower is a circular shape and has a cone shaped roof.

The Grand Staircase
The tower gets its name from the large moving staircases which run through the center of it. These are a feature that was made up for the films and so do not appear in any of the books. Many portraits are hung on the walls of this tower which freely talk to students walking past. From the third film onwards, the Fat Lady's portrait is located at the top of these moving staircases in full view to all pupils, however in the first film the Fat Lady was placed somewhere else in the castle.

The Headmaster's Tower
At the top of this tower, are three smaller towers which make up the the Headmaster's tower and are his office and residence. Prior to 1995, the entrance was located on the second floor. However, this changed to the Seventh Floor sometime before the 1996-1997 school year. To gain entrance, a password must be given to a stone gargoyle, which will move aside at the correct password to reveal a spiral staircase with moving steps. In the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game, the gargoyle is located next to the [[Entrance Courtyard and so must have to move quite a way to get to the tower.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)