Double oak front doors, opening to the west. Large, cavernous room, lit by torches, with ceiling so high it's barely visible. Wide marble staircase opposite the front doors (east wall) leads up to first floor. Double doors to the right (south wall) lead into the Great Hall. On the east wall are two doors, one on either side of the staircase. To the north of the staircase is a door leading down a flight of steps to the first dungeon level. To the south is a door leading to the Hufflepuff common room and the kitchens.

Four giant hourglasses - one for each House - stand in niches in a corner opposite the main doors. Each hourglass is filled with gemstones rather than sand, one gemstone in the lower bulb for each House Point currently held by that House. Gryffindor's contains rubies, Ravenclaw's sapphires, Hufflepuff's Amber gems, and Slytherin's emeralds.

The Chamber of Reception is a small building before the Entrance Hall, next to the Viaduct Courtyard where the Deputy Head makes the first year students wait before the Sorting ceremony and the Welcoming Feast. The students' owls and trunks are stored here during the Welcoming Feast.

The Viaduct Courtyard (also known as the Entrance Courtyard) is a quadrangle in Hogwarts Castle. A covered stone cloister with an open colonnade runs around it, and two checkpoint towers flank its entryway via the Viaduct. There is a stone walkway leading from this courtyard into The Quad, and into the Viaduct Entrance. The courtyard is partially paved, in a cross pattern.

A popular hang-out spot for students of all Houses, this courtyard is where some students spend their spare time playing Gobstones.

The Great Hall is the place where students eat meals at the four House tables and special events are hosted. Apart from the four tables for the students, there is a staff table at the front. Candles hover over the tables and the ceiling is enchanted to look like the sky outside. Off to the left is a door which leads to a side chamber.

This is the Staffroom where teachers can meet up, get work done or have a chat with their colleagues. Students who have questions can either find their teachers in their respective offices or here.

In here Transfiguration is taught. The classroom is spacious with big windows, many tables but still enough room for practical Transfiguration, bookshelves and cages for transfiguration objects.

Adjoined to the Entrance Hall is the Caretaker’s Office. It’s a small room without windows and a single oil lamping hanging from the ceiling. It smells of fried fish. In it are filing cabinets with details of the misdeeds of students. In the Caretaker's Office you will find: filing cabinets with records of the misdeeds of students, Chains and manacles (not used these days but kept polished just in case), and a cabinet full of confiscated magic items marked "Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

The Middle Courtyard (also known as the Transfiguration Courtyard) is one of the cloisters in the inner part of Hogwarts Castle. This courtyard has grass in the open area, in which a big tree has grown over the centuries. There is one massive iron Armillary Sphere that stands in the center of the courtyard.

The Transfiguration department is located somewhere near here as well as Classroom 1B.