The '80s is a period of time that Ebony travels to. The first instance of this occurs in Chapter 31. It appears that Tom Bombadil, Lucian Malfoy, and Samaro Potter all attended Hogwarts at this time, despite canonically attending in the 1940s and 1970s respectively. There are many anachronisms in terms of music that occur.
Role in the story[]
In My Immortal, Tara treats the '80s as a grab-bag "past" time period, one where characters who should go to school in either the 1970s or the 1940s are. Needless to say, it's beyond confusing.