Welcome to Gaia! ::

Double oak front doors, opening to the west (PA21). 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. On the left (north wall) is a door leading to a smaller antechamber where First Years wait to be sorted.

To the right of someone coming down the stairs (north wall) is a door leading down to the Slytherin common room (OP38, also CS12).

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, and Slytherin's emeralds (OP28, OP3 cool . Presumably Hufflepuff's hourglass contains some sort of yellow gemstone.