"Liar," James shot right back. Sirius wasn't the kind to ask big 'meaning of life' type questions without a reason. Something must be playing on his mind.
They'd reached a part of the passage where you had to pull yourself up and over a few ledges, almost like giant steps. James supposed when you were headed to a tower you had to expect some climbing, although these hardly took you high enough to be anywhere near the seventh floor.
Still suspicious, James braced himself on the first ledge and hauled himself up. Merlin, that wasn't as easy as it used to be. He kept an eye on Sirius, watching him do the same. James felt slightly concerned all of a sudden. Had something happened?
Scrambling up, he reached out a hand to help haul Sirius over the final jump. "C'mon Pads, it's me. Spit it out."