Gryffindor Common Room [Tower]

Gryffindor Tower is located behind the portrait of the Fat Lady on the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts Castle. A password is required to enter it, which is spoken to the portrait. A circular hole is behind the painting, leading to the common room, which is a circular room where Gryffindor students can relax after a long day of studying. The common room is full of squashy armchairs, tables, and a bulletin board where school notices, ads, lost posters, etc. can be posted. A window looks out onto the grounds of the school, and a large fireplace dominates one wall. The common room is usually where celebration parties are held after Gryffindor Quidditch victories, or when Harry Potter completed a task for the Triwizard Tournament. It was also the location for Harry and Ginny Weasley's first kiss following Gryffindor's Quidditch Cup victory in 1997. 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. The Gryffindor dormitories are also located in the Tower, with two doors leading off from the common room that open to spiral staircases. One of them leads to the girls dormitory, the other to the boys. The stairs to the girls dormitories are enchanted to become a slide if any boy attempts to climb them, but not vice versa, since it was deemed that girls were more trustworthy than boys, although Hermione went into the boy's room once.