++ Gryffindor House

Gryffindor values courage, nerve, and chivalry above all else. Its animal is the lion, and its colours are scarlet and gold. Nearly Headless Nick is the house ghost. According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor. To emphasise the House's affliation with fire, Gryffindor alumni like Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, seem to prefer fire as their weapon of choice.

Located in one of the castle's highest towers, the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor and is guarded by a painting of the Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct password.

The Head of Gryffindor House is Professor Minerva McGonagall.

There are two staircases opening off the common room into the Tower itself: the boys' staircase, on which the seven boys' dormitories are located (one for each year) and the girls' staircase, on which the seven girls' dormitories are located (one for each year). The girls' staircase is under a spell so that if a boy sets foot on it and persists for a few steps, a wailing klaxon goes off and the staircase temporarily Transfigures itself into a stone slide, sending him and anyone else on the stairs sailing to the bottom. According to Hogwarts: A History, the founders believed that girls were more trustworthy than boys, so that while the girls' staircase is enchanted to prevent boys from getting in, the boys' staircase does not carry a reciprocal enchantment (OP17). Each dormitory is a round room with windows looking out onto the grounds, and containing four-poster beds.

--- Taken from Wikipedia and HPL