A/N: Sorry for the late chapter. My Grandpa passed away so I couldn't write as much as I would otherwise, since I've been dealing with family, etc. Anyways, here it is:

Chapter 5: End of an Era

- December, 1976 -

Things were not getting easier for Sarah and Severus. Every day that they were forced to spend apart was torture. Their whispers in Potions were Sarah's only consolation.

"I'll write you as soon as I get home so we can make arrangements for you to come over," she said in a hushed voice, during their last class before Winter Break.

"Right," he sounded somewhat excited, but she knew a lot was weighing on him also. She knew being with her family would be a bit stressful for him, especially when they were so used to being secretive.

But that was all about to change. She and Zaria had been talking about it, and they were determined to tell their friends before Christmas vacation. What better time to break the bad news than before a two week break? Perhaps the two weeks would warrant a change in their perspectives. That's what Sarah hoped for, at least.

Sarah tied her hair in a ponytail as they began their Potion. As usual, they leaned in as close to each other as they could while brewing it, pretending they were both equally entranced by the steaming, green goo inside. The simple act of their shoulders touching still sent a fire through both of them.

Her stomach was in knots after class ended and she saw James and Sirius in the hall. "Hey Sarah!"

She waited for them to catch up with her, and Zaria stayed back too. "So what are you guys planning to do on Christmas break?"

"Mostly family stuff...We have the annual Malfoy Christmas party, of course."

Zaria sighed. "I think we're going on vacation somewhere. Hopefully it's warm there. How about you guys?"

"We're going to be causing havoc at James' house, of course," Sirius said with his usual mischievous grin. "You both should stop over, if you can."

Sarah sighed. "I doubt that will be possible…" In her mind, she added: 'And I doubt you'll still want me to after what Zaria and I have to tell you.'

The wintry air bit goose-bumps into their skins as nearly all the students of Hogwarts waited to board the Hogwarts Express that would take them home to their families. As usual, Sarah's entire group of friends sat in the same compartment. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, so Lily ended up on James' lap…big surprise.

They were still waiting for the train to get heated, but Sarah had a fever from worry. The other friends kept making jokes and acting rowdy, but Sarah and Zaria kept making nervous glances at each other. An hour away from the London station, Severus, along with Jake and Martin, walked by, and James just couldn't resist, and directed some stupid insult toward them all.

Although James' shout could be heard throughout their entire car of the train, Severus pretended not to hear and continued to walk away, Jake and Martin in tow.

Sarah couldn't stand it anymore. "They aren't as bad as you think!"

They all looked taken aback. "Excuse me?" Lily asked, her eyes becoming slits of emeralds as she narrowed them. It was entirely silent for a few moments. Clearly, Lily was challenging her to see if Sarah would really speak her mind.

"You heard me. Severus let one thing slip last year and you can't even find it in you to forgive him. I don't understand how you can do that, but still manage to be friends with me. It's not as though my family is the most innocent- what he called you is common terminology at my house," Sarah snapped.

The entire compartment was still shocked. Lily was the only one who could manage to say anything. "Well I was under the impression that you were different."

"I am. It's not like I approve of what my family thinks. But if it slipped, I think it's forgivable."

"Why don't you mind your own business, Malfoy. It's not like you were here last year. You didn't see any of it," James said slowly.

"Well from what I heard, if you would just leave Severus alone, the whole situation would have been averted in the first place. But no, you just wanted some extra attention, as per usual." Sarah was getting a little bitchy.

Zaria interjected before anyone could say anything else. "Sarah wasn't here then, but I was. And I agree with her. Lily, you took things way too far…Severus didn't even mean it. We have something else to tell you too." She paused and looked at Sarah. "I'm dating Martin, and Sarah's dating Severus."

Everyone was silent for a few moments. Lily's face was bright red with anger, which clashed with her hair rather badly. Amanda looked horrified at her sister. Behind her glasses, Bridget's eyes were wide. Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter simply looked shocked too.

"I can't believe you two would sink so low." Lily shook her head.

"You can think whatever you want. But we're leaving." Zaria stood and opened the compartment door.

Before slamming it behind them, Sarah heard Remus say, "Don't you think that was a little harsh?"

She never heard anyone's response. "Thanks Zaria," she said as they walked down the hall in search for their Slytherin friends.

They had to walk to nearly the other end of the train before finally reaching their compartment. The three boys looked confused at first, but quickly realized what must have happened. Sarah fell into the seat, relieved but depressed all the same. She kind of hoped Lily would understand. Or try to understand. Maybe it was all just too much to ask.

"So…you did it then? Does that mean I can finally stop hearing these two stress out about it?" Jake looked sullen as usual.

"Yeah, we told them," Sarah said.

"How did it go?" Martin asked.

"That's kind of a dumb question, Martin," Zaria snapped. "Sorry. I'm just stressed. But it's over, so that's all that matters."

Severus put an arm around Sarah, and it felt amazing to her. She saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you finally got it over with," he said.

"Me too." At least the knots in her stomach were gone, although she was sad about the lost friendships that would come as a result. She also figured she had it better than Zaria, who had to deal with Amanda for the rest of Christmas Break.

Apparently, Zaria's mind was along the same lines. "I might have to take you up on that offer to stay at your house."

"That's fine, you can come over whenever. My parents won't care if you do." Sarah kissed Severus' cheek. "When are you coming dear?"

"Probably later today…Mum and I don't usually participate in the 'normal' festivities."

Sarah could tell he was excited by their newfound freedom. In several ways, she was too. It was nice to enjoy the simple freedom of holding his hand whenever she wanted to.

The city began to spring up around them and the train slowly came to a stop at Platform 9 ¾. They got off the train, and Sarah saw her ex-friends getting off on the other end. Sarah waited until Lily was looking directly at her before she kissed Severus goodbye, and she knew Zaria would be doing the same. "See you later today," Sarah said with a smile.

Her mother was waiting for her at the train station, along with their house elf. As usual, the head of the socialites, Evie Malfoy, was dressed impeccably. "Good to see you dear." Sarah's mother kissed both of her cheeks and ordered the house elf to apparate the suitcases back to the manor. "How's Hogwarts so far?"

"I'm learning a lot, I've made some friends in Slytherin, and I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, a boy!" Sarah wasn't sure why Evie sounded so surprised…she had brought previous boyfriends home several times before. "A good Slytherin lad I expect?"

"Yes, mum." Sarah smiled, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "I invited him to stay over for Christmas Break, I hope that's alright."

"As long as you don't sleep in the same room." Evie eyed Sarah warily, as they both remembered the time that she walked in on Sarah and a different boyfriend snogging.

Then, they decided to apparate back to the Malfoy Manor. Sarah had missed her old home while at Hogwarts; her giant, comfy bed awaited her return. It looked even more elegant in the winter, with snow like vanilla icing on top of the wrought-iron front gate (which opened for them as soon as they appeared).

Sarah hugged her black trench coat tightly around her as they began the long walk to the house. "Your father's at work of course, but Lucius and Narcissa are here."

She never knew which "work" Evie meant: the Ministry cover job or the Death Eater tasks. Most of the time, she didn't want to think about it. When her father was at home, she pretended with all her might that he wasn't the murderer she knew he was. Power comes with the price, and the Malfoy's seemed to want power more than anything and were willing to pay such a price.

To Sarah, it was foolish thinking. They were already wealthy, so what more power did they really need? Being associated with the Dark Lord was just another potential way to tarnish their reputation in her opinion. But what reason did they have to listen to her, especially when she didn't bother to speak her mind?

Finally, they reached the front doors. Lucius and Narcissa welcomed them into a house warmed by a dozen fireplaces, and Sarah felt better immediately. She looked around at all the immaculate fixtures and paintings that existed in the house since her childhood. She was home, finally.

After moving to the living room to sit down, Narcissa bombarded her with questions about going to school at Hogwarts. Sarah thought the girl was extremely annoying: a wannabe socialite at best. Still, she learned to hold her tongue and bear the annoyance of her brother's choice in mate.

She told them about Severus, leaving out the parts about her ex-friends. There was no way she could tell her family that she was friends with anyone in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, anyways. Perhaps it was better that she was no longer friends with them; things would be much simpler from then on. Sarah's personal house elf, Reina, brought out Sarah's favorite chai tea.

Lucius seemed somewhat pleased with the news that Sarah was dating Severus, but was still surprised. "I thought you would have favored Mulciber. But Severus is a good guy too."

It became very clear to Sarah that the word "good" is relative in meaning. To her Malfoy kin, "good" most likely meant: "good Death Eater material". Even if Severus did become one, she'd live with it. It wasn't as though she hadn't lived with it her whole life already Plus, Lucius just joined up too. She could tell by the way he rarely moved one of his arms, as though it stung each time he did. The Dark Mark must have been fresh on his nearly translucent skin.

Sarah thought the Mark looked dreadful. Couldn't they find a more appealing tattoo, or something a little less noticeable?

Every time Narcissa asked a question, she leaned in as though she were about to tell Sarah some taboo secret. Lucius, content with making an occasional snarky comment, didn't help the situation by quietly drinking his tea.

Before she could say anything else, Sarah cut Narcissa off. "I think Severus is supposed to get here soon. I better check a few of the guest rooms to make sure they're clean." She sped away from the table and hopped up the long flight of gray marble stairs. Reina appeared in one of the guest rooms just as Sarah began cleaning. Right on time too, because the doorbell rang, and Sarah knew it could be Severus.

"Just keep cleaning, Reina. Thank you!"

Skipping down the stairs, Sarah couldn't wait to see her boyfriend's face once more. It felt good to be official, finally. She opened the door. It wasn't Severus, but it was someone else who could make her heart melt just as quickly.