"Hey, where are you going, there, Sierra?"

The tiny witch froze, turning around to see her babysitter, Thea, standing there, arms folded, looking down at her. "N-Nothing," she fibbed, glancing down at her feet, and the pink, Velcro fastened sneakers on them, trying to ignore the diaper peeking out so obviously from beneath her dress.

"Nothing, huh?" Thea raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you running away from all the fun stuff? Are you embarrassed about something?"

Sierra was embarrassed about a lot of things, really. The fact that she had a babysitter at all, for one, much less an eighteen year old one, like Thea, a couple years younger than she ought to be. Of course, she couldn't really blame Thea for that, since it was Nellie who had hired her, pretending to be their mother. And she couldn't blame Thea for treating her the way she did, either. After all, for all she knew, Sierra really was the two year old she appeared to be now.

It was almost spring, and Sierra still hadn't found a way to undo what Santa had done to her on Christmas. How could she, when he had her wand up in the North Pole, and Nellie had glamoured away her ability to so much as read or write, not to mention her potty training? Sierra had found herself in a lot of pretty hopeless seeming situations, but this one took the cake. It helped that there was an end date to it, that Santa had promised to give her back her wand next Christmas, but that was a very long ways away!

Which was why, when she saw the field next to the playground starting to get green, she had an idea. She was too little to use magic herself, but if she could get a little help, maybe she could find a way out of this mess. All she needed was a four leaf clover.

"Sierra!" Thea scolded, lifting the hem of Sierra's dress, giving her diaper a pat. "Why didn't you tell me you needed the potty?"

"S-Sorry," she sniffed, as she was picked up, her sitter carrying her over to where she'd left the diaper bag. This might be the meanest part of what Nellie had done. The vampire knew Sierra was nowhere near ready for potty training, since she'd made sure of that, but she'd bought her a potty chair anyway, and told Thea to see if she could have any luck with it.

Sierra's potty chart was a grim reminder of how much she'd lost. There was a single smiley face on it, and that had been the only time that year she'd used anything other than her diapers. And that had been by accident! Thea had gotten a call right after she'd put Sierra on the potty, and left Sierra sitting there while she took it, and, by sheer coincidence, her bladder had let go a little then. Thea had praised her so much, and it was probably the only reason she was still trying now, but it just made Sierra feel worse. She knew, in reality, that she had nothing to do with that 'victory'. It was lucky timing, that was all.

But what was she going to do? Tell Thea she didn't want to try to get out of diapers?! Nellie had erased everything she knew about potty training at all, so she wasn't even as ready to try again as a normal toddler would be. She was closer to a newborn, in terms of that. Unfortunately, she still knew that, at one time, she had been potty trained, which made it all the more humiliating to consider giving up, no matter how hopeless it felt most of the time.

"It's okay," Thea smiled down at her. "I'm not mad, Sierra. I just wish you'd try a little harder, that's all. But if you aren't ready, you aren't ready. Do you just want to stay in diapers a bit longer? It's okay if you do."

Sierra blushed as Thea carried her into the bathroom to change her. The girl had asked her that question multiple times, and, even though it would have made it easier, she couldn't bring herself to say yes to it. "N-No," she whimpered.

"Okay," Thea nodded. "So, next time you feel like you need to go, you'll come get me, right?"

"Uh-huh," Sierra promised. All she had to do was remember what that felt like, and she'd be good, but she could never quite work it out until it was too late.

In no time, Sierra was in a fresh diaper, and was plopped back outside in the sandbox, Thea returning to her bench. Sierra pretended to play for a few minutes, glancing at her babysitter as often as she dared, not wanting to raise suspicion, and, as soon as she thought it was safe, she made a break for it, heading for the field again.

"Sierra!" Thea scolded, scooping her up. "What has gotten into you today?"

Sierra kicked her feet helplessly, trying to get free. "I wanna look for four leaf clovers!" she whined, trying in vain to break free of the much larger girl's grip.

Thea couldn't help chuckling as she heard that. "Is that it?" Sierra nodded. "Well, I'm sorry, sweetie, but I don't think the playground owns that land, so we can't just go traipsing through. Besides, you'll get dirty."

"I'll get dirtier from the sandbox!" Sierra argued as she was taken back to it, but Thea refused to listen. She waited a little longer next time, but was caught even sooner.

"All right, we're going home," Thea declared. "Honestly, Sierra, you can't just go wherever you want! You know better!"

Sierra was still sulking when they got back to Nellie's house, and Thea unbuckled her from her car seat, carrying her inside. "Sorry, Nell!" Thea called as she walked in. "I hope we're not interrupting your work!"

That was the cover story Nellie had come up with for hiring a babysitter. She looked young, though old enough that she probably could have babysat Sierra normally. Instead, to get Sierra out of her hair, and so Sierra could get some daytime fresh air and exercise, she'd glamoured a neighbor to call Thea and hire her to come over and keep Sierra amused so Nellie could 'do her homework' in peace. Sierra wasn't sure what she really did while they were away, though, after she'd been living on her own for so long, she assumed the vampire just liked not having anyone else around every now and then.

"Uh-oh," Nellie emerged, looking smug, as ever. "What happened?"

"Sierra was trying to run away," Thea told her, shaking her head.

"Sierra!" Nellie scolded, walking up to her as Thea set her down on the floor. "I think you'd better go to the time out corner!"

Obediently, Sierra toddled over to the corner of the living room, just hoping that she wasn't in for a spanking, too, once Thea went home. She could hear the babysitter telling Nellie about how maybe she should stick around today, and talk to their mother in person for once to tell her about this, but Nellie easily glamoured her into changing her mind, telling her she could head home now, and let the 'big sister' handle this.

"Running away, huh?" Nellie asked, once Thea was gone. "And where do you think you're going to go?"

"I wasn't!" Sierra said.

Nellie narrowed her eyes. "I hope not," she said after a moment. "I'd hate to lose my favorite little baby doll. Now, come on, Thea tells me you earned another frowny face for your chart. I want to see you put it on there."

Nellie loved making her do it herself, ensuring that she had to face down the chart at least once a day, as if the almost constant damp squishiness in her pants wasn't enough to remind her that she needed her diapers. "Okay," she pouted, toddling into her room to do as she was told, knowing better than to try to tell Nellie no.

Sierra wasn't sure how to read the calendar anymore, but, from all the decorations she'd seen up in stores, she knew that St. Patrick's Day had to be coming up. The clovers wouldn't go away once it was over, of course, but the magic of them would start to fade. Considering the state of her own magic, she needed all the help she could get, so she had to find one before then.

So, the next time they went to the playground, she was determined that she was going to do it, that she'd find a way to outsmart Thea. She was older, after all, and a witch! Regressed or not, a Muggle should be no match for her!

She was already thinking about how she could make sure Thea was distracted enough to give her time to get to the field as Thea sat down on her usual bench, rummaging through Sierra's diaper bag. And then, to her horror, Thea took out a set of child reins.

"No!" Sierra stomped her foot, staring at them in disbelief.

"Aren't they cute?" Thea smiled. "Look, they have a nice butterfly on them!"

"No!" Sierra repeated, shaking her head. "I'm not wearing them! I'm not!"

"I'm sorry, Sierra, but yes, you are." Thea reached for her, holding the dreaded harness, and Sierra did the only thing she could do. She dropped to the ground, and started to kick and scream and flail.

Thea waited her out patiently, with the look of someone who had seen this plenty of times. Eventually, Sierra was tired out, and Thea plucked her off the ground easily. "All right, then," she told her. "I guess we're going back home, if that's how you're going to act. But let's get you changed first. I know you always need one after one of your tantrums."

"I-I don't throw tantrums that often," Sierra sulked, blushing at the thought that she'd done it often enough for Thea to have noticed any patterns, but, sure enough, her diaper was pretty soggy. All things considered, though, that wasn't much of a surprise for her at this point.

"All right, Sierra," Nellie demanded, after she'd sent Thea away, once she'd given her report. "What are you up to?"

Sierra nibbled at her bottom lip, staring up at the larger girl. "N-Nothing," she insisted.

"That's funny," Nellie said. "Because Thea told me you wanted to go look for clovers."

Of course Nellie had gotten the truth out of Thea. Sierra should have known better than to tell the girl in the first place. Besides just being human, and susceptible to Nellie's vampire powers, she also thought Sierra was nothing more than a toddler, so she had no reason not to tell her 'big sister' everything, so Nellie might not have even needed any of them.

"What's wrong, Sierra?" Nellie asked. "Are you trying to wish yourself away from being my baby sister? Haven't I been taking care of you?"

It was hard to tell, for sure, if Nellie was actually offended or not. "Th-That's not what I would have done," Sierra lied. "I-I just wanted to see if I could find one. You know, for St. Patrick's Day!"

She squeaked as Nellie picked her up, lifting her far off the floor to look her in the eye, reminding her of how tiny and helpless she was in comparison, her diaper growing a little warmer. "Remember, little witch, I can make you tell me the truth anytime I want."

"I-I know," Sierra nodded. Thankfully, Nellie didn't do it, staring Sierra down for another long moment, then setting her back on the floor.

Thea didn't take Sierra to the playground for the next few days, apparently not wanting to tempt her. They played in her bedroom, Sierra growing more anxious each day as she wondered if she'd missed St. Patrick's Day, and her finest opportunity to wish herself back to adulthood.

As it turned out, she needn't have worried about not knowing which day it was. "Ow!" she squealed, eyes popping open as she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She looked up to see Nellie standing over her crib, smirking. "What was that for?!"

"It's St. Patrick's Day," Nellie informed her. "And you aren't wearing green."

"B-But..." Sierra glared up at her, rubbing her arm, although it didn't really hurt that badly anymore. "You dress me!" she reminded the girl. "And I'm not even out of bed yet! That's not fair!"

"Keep whining," Nellie told her, "and I won't put you in any green, and you'll be getting pinched all day long."

Sierra almost thought she wasn't going to anyway, as she put her into a white shirt, under a pair of brown skirtalls. Just when Sierra was about to point it out, Nellie finished it off with a green, ruffled diaper cover that peeked ever so slightly out from beneath the hem of her skirt.

"There," she admired her work proudly. "Now, if anyone says you don't have green on, all you'll have to do is flash them your diaper!"

"You're so mean," Sierra pouted.

"Aww, don't worry," Nellie patted her on the head condescendingly. "I'm sure everyone will notice anyway!"

Sure enough, Thea didn't even playfully threaten to pinch her when she arrived. "Aww, isn't that cute?" she said instead, to Nellie.

"She always is," Nellie nodded. "Except when she's being a little brat."

"Aww, don't say that," Thea gave Sierra a hug. "She just looks up to you, and wants to spend time with you! That's what little sisters do."

Sierra blushed, keeping her mouth shut about how what she really wanted to do was get away from the vampire. To her surprise, when they went back to her room, Thea got out a pair of her shoes, and started to put them on her.

"It's too nice of a day today," she said. "You can't stay cooped up inside. But you have to promise me to behave yourself, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sierra nodded, even though she had no intention of doing that, if she could safely get away.

"Oh!" Thea exclaimed. "That reminds me." She reached into her pocket, taking out a very small, plastic box. Inside of it was a four leaf clover. "Here. Now you don't have to go looking!"

Sierra reached out and took the box, but it was hard to feel too grateful. The magic only worked for the person who found the clover, so she couldn't use this one. It was neat to see one, of course, especially on St. Patrick's Day, but it wasn't going to do her any good.

"Don't you want to make any wishes?" Thea smiled, taking her silence for shocked appreciation.

Sierra stared at the clover, trying to think of something a normal toddler might wish for, to play along. After a moment, though, she thought of something better. "You found it," she handed it back over. "You should wish! Don't you wish I was a big girl sometimes? Or that I could use the potty?" She'd prefer the first, of course, but even the second would be a huge improvement.

"Aww, sweetie," Thea hugged her. "You'll be ready when you're ready. I wouldn't want to waste a wish on that! And I definitely don't want you to grow up too quickly! If anything, I'd wish you stayed a sweet little girl forev..."

"No!" Sierra quickly snatched the clover away, heart racing. The last thing she needed was a leprechaun granting a wish on top of Santa's magic.

Thea chuckled. "Do you want to wish after all? That's fine. You think about it, okay?"

Sierra nodded, setting the clover on one of the lower shelves of her changing table for safekeeping. "Umm," she thought to ask, as Thea continued getting things ready for their trip, "where did you find it?"

"Oh, I should have told you," Thea said. "It was in that field by the playground after all!"

Sierra wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It did show her that, if she'd been able to get over there, she would have had a chance to find it, too. On the other hand, how many four leaf clovers could there be in one spot? If Thea had found this one, how likely was it Sierra would be able to find another? Would it really be worth risking getting in trouble again to try?

And then she saw the reins going into the diaper bag, and realized it wasn't going to matter anyway. She wasn't going anywhere that Thea didn't want her to, and, as far as Thea knew, she'd already brought Sierra what she'd wanted to find, so she really would just look like a bratty little toddler if she tried to get her to take her back over to the field for another one.

Thea went to the bathroom before they headed out, and, knowing this was the closest she was going to get, Sierra grabbed at the plastic box, fumbling at the latch with her tiny, chubby fingers so she could reach in and touch it. "I-I wish I was a grown-up again," she tried, giving herself the best possible chance, hoping that maybe she was misremembering what she'd read about clovers, and how they worked.

By the time Thea returned, no leprechaun had shown up. "Sierra," the babysitter scolded, taking the box away from her. "Be careful, okay? I think we should keep this closed." She latched the box, setting it on one of the bookshelves, well out of Sierra's reach. "Come on, let's get going."

Sierra pouted, taking her hand and toddling along beside her, accepting her defeat this time, but already trying to work out if she could find a way to get the Easter Bunny to help her out.