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"Once you've arrived inside Gryffindor Tower, come inside and be welcomed by the roaring fire, stuffed armchairs, and the great view we have from our windows. Our dormitories are reached by climbing the winding mahogany staircase, decorated with crimson and gold. As I said, there's plenty of gold around the tower. Our four-posters are covered with thick scarlet blankets (we have quite windy nights up in the towers) and are embroidered with gold. Gold chandeliers cast warm glows all around."
— Description of the tower[src]

Gryffindor Tower was a tower in Hogwarts Castle that served as the common room and dormitories for the students of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In general, it sported several shades of red and gold. The fireplace mantle was adorned with a portrait of a lion (associated with the house) and the room was described as being 'cosy'.[1]

Gryffindor Tower was one of the three tallest towers of Hogwarts Castle, alongside Ravenclaw Tower and the Astronomy Tower.

Entrance[]

Fat Lady portrait

Gryffindor corridor and the Fat Lady's portrait

The entrance to the Gryffindor common room was concealed under the portrait of the Fat Lady, on the lavish Gryffindor Landing.[1]

To enter one had to present the Fat Lady with the correct password of the week. However, getting the password wrong meant the student would have to wait the day for another student to come by and pass them the code.[2]

Common room[]

"...the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs."
— Description of the common room[src]
GryffindorCommonRoom PM

The common room was a circular room where Gryffindor students could relax after a long day of studying. It was full of squashy armchairs, tables, and a bulletin board where school notices, ads, lost posters, etc. could be posted. The common room was decorated in several shades of red, which was associated with the house. The common room was comfortable, but not more comfortable than the Hufflepuff common room.[3]

There were many windows that looked out onto the grounds of the school, and a large fireplace dominated one wall. The mantle of the fireplace was adorned with a portrait of a lion. The fireplace was also connected to the Floo Network, but as it was extremely public except in the dead of night.The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries that depicted witches and wizards, but also various animals. There were also bookcases located in the room, filled with various novels.[2]

There were also a couple of balconies with stone ramparts in the place of railing that overlooked the common room itself, one was accessible by the stairs that led to the boys' dormitory, the other was accessible by the stairs to the girls' dormitory.[4]

GryffindorCommonRoom1 PM

The common room was usually where celebration parties were held after Gryffindor Quidditch victories, or when Harry Potter completed a task for the Triwizard Tournament.[5] It was also the location for Harry and Ginny Weasley's first kiss following Gryffindor's Quidditch Cup victory in 1997.[6] The common room fireplace was used on several occasions by Sirius Black to contact Harry while he was on the run from the Ministry of Magic.[7]

Dormitories[]

B1C10M1 Gryffindor Dormitory

Gryffindor boys dormitory

The Gryffindor dormitories were also located in the Tower, with two doors leading off from the common room that open to spiral staircases. There were two staircases opening off the common room into the Tower itself: on the left, the boys' staircase on which the seven boys' dormitories were located (one for each year) and on the right, the girls' staircase, on which the seven girls' dormitories were located (one for each year).

The girls' staircase was under a Charm so that if a boy set foot on it and persisted for a few steps, a wailing klaxon went off and the staircase temporarily turned itself into a stone slide, sending him and anyone else on the stairs sailing to the bottom.[8][9] According to Hogwarts: A History, the founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys, so that while the girls’ staircase was enchanted to prevent boys from getting in, the boys’ staircase did not carry a reciprocal enchantment.[8] Hermione Granger went into the boys' room on several occasions. This also allowed a possessed Ginny Weasley to sneak in and steal Tom Riddle's diary.[10][11]

Each dormitory was a round room with windows looking out onto the grounds, and containing four-poster beds.[1]

Known passwords[]

Date Passwords
1890–1891 school year Grata Domum[12]
1991–1992 school year Caput Draconis (Latin for "Dragon's Head")[1]
Pig Snout[13]
1992–1993 school year Wattlebird[14]
1993–1994 school year Fortuna Major (Latin for "greater luck")[15]
Flibbertigibbet[16]
Oddsbodikins[17]
Scurvy Cur[18]
1994–1995 school year Balderdash[19]
Banana Fritters[20]
Fairy Lights[21]
1995–1996 school year Mimbulus mimbletonia[22]
1996–1997 school year Abstinence[23]
Baubles[24]
Dilligrout[25]
Tapeworm[26]
Quid Agis (Latin for "How are you")[6]

Behind the scenes[]

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Gryffindor Tower as a LEGO Harry Potter set

Owl flying to Gryffindor Tower

Gryffindor Tower at one corner of the Quad

  • In the film adaptations Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, we can see the Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory is shown to be located in a small tower (see above) at one corner of the Paved Courtyard close to the Clock Tower. This is consistent with the Fat Lady's location in Philosopher's Stone, but it is inconsistent with Fat Lady's location in the third film and fifth and sixth video games (in the Grand Staircase Tower). One possible explanation is that the portrait is a secret passageway or shortcut which connects the two areas of the castle.
  • In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Ginny have their first kiss in the Room of Requirement instead of the Gryffindor common room, due to the Quidditch match and Harry's detention with Snape being cut.
  • The common room as depicted in the video game adaptations Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a near-perfect replica of the common room as seen in the films. One very subtle difference is that in the video games the stairs leading to the dormitories only go up, creating the misconception that there's only one dorm room for the boys (shared by Harry and the other boys in his year) and one for the girls. In the films (although it is difficult to notice unless you pay attention) you can see that, in addition to going up, the stairs also lead down (presumably to more dormitories). In the books it is stated that Harry's dorm is located at the top of the stairs.
  • Gryffindor is the only common room whose guardian/entrance is known to have changed at some point, the Fat Lady being replaced by Sir Cadogan.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 7 (The Sorting Hat)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Pottermore
  3. Transcription of new Pottermore information
  4. Hogwarts Legacy
  5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 20 (The First Task)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 24 (Sectumsempra)
  7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 14 (Snape's Grudge)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 17 (Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four)
  9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 32 (The Elder Wand)
  10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 13 (The Very Secret Diary)
  11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17 (The Heir of Slytherin)
  12. Hogwarts Legacy
  13. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 9 (The Midnight Duel)
  14. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 5 (The Whomping Willow)
  15. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 5 (The Dementor)
  16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 15 (The Quidditch Final)
  17. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 12 (The Patronus)
  18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 11 (The Firebolt)
  19. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 12 (The Triwizard Tournament)
  20. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 25 (The Egg and the Eye)
  21. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 22 (The Unexpected Task)
  22. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 11 (The Sorting Hat's New Song)
  23. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 17 (A Sluggish Memory)
  24. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 15 (The Unbreakable Vow)
  25. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 12 (Silver and Opals)
  26. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 23 (Horcruxes)

See also[]

Hogwarts Castle
Towers
Astronomy Tower · Bell towers · Boathouse Bell Tower · Central Tower · Clock Tower · Dark Tower · Faculty Tower · Founders' Tower · Greenhouse tower · Gryffindor Tower · Headmaster's Tower · Hospital tower · Hufflepuff Duelling Turrets · Lookout Tower · Marble Staircase Tower · Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom tower · North battlements · North Tower · Octagon Tower · Pepperpot · Quidditch tower · Ravenclaw Tower · Right Long Gallery tower · Small Locked Tower · South Tower · Suspension Bridge towers · The Quad battlements · The Tower · Training Grounds tower · Turris Magnus · Turris Medius · Upper Hall tower · Viaduct Courtyard Gatehouses · West Tower · West Tower battlements
Portraits, statues and other artwork located in the towers
Albus Dumbledore · Armando Dippet · Affpuddle of the Cheerful Countenance · Valeria Myriadd · Dexter Fortescue · Dilys Derwent · Oraclitus Spheer · Fat Lady · Niamh Fitzgerald · Sir Cadogan · Slytherin knight · Hufflepuff lady · Heliotrope Wilkins · Severus Snape · Phineas Nigellus Black · Vulpus · Quentin Trimble · Limebert · Ravenclaw bust · Ravenclaw lady · Rowena Ravenclaw · Walter Aragon · Quidditch player · Professor · Female etiquette teacher · Gryffindor lady · Gryffindor man · Gryffindor man · Gryffindor man · Gryffindor seeker · Red-haired witch · Young maiden · Vase with flowers · Group of women in crinolines · Pangur Donn · Sinister-looking monks · Winged horse
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