Everyone looked from the vehicle sitting on top of the water back to Sirius.
"What?" he asked.
"I'd expected you'd choose a motorcycle as an extra form," Remus said, "not …"
"Even I'm a bit surprised at this one," Peter admitted.
"Well I saw this muggle TV show about Mardi Gras," Sirius explained, "and they had a bunch of people on a double decker bus throwing beads to girls on balconies, who'd put on the beads and show their bits."
"Really?" Snape, Remus and Peter chorused.
"Yeah," Sirius said excitedly. "So I figured, odds are we'll hit New Orleans sooner or later, so I figured I oughta be prepared! Thus a double decker bus it was."
Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering if they'd ever grow up.
"The key is to transfigure the beads to look like streams of real gems, while still obviously fakes," Dumbledore said. "The girls go wild for them."
"Albus!" Minerva scolded him.