How to understand "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!" in this context?

Question

> 'Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!' said Hermione, her voice shaking. 'All cats chase rats, Ron!'> > 'There's something funny about that animal!' said Ron, who was trying> to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket.> 'It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!'> > 'Oh, what rubbish,' said Hermione impatiently. 'Crookshanks could> smell him, Ron, how else d'you think —'> > 'That cat's got it in for Scabbers!' said Ron, ignoring the people> around him, who were starting to giggle. '**And Scabbers was here first,> and he's ill!**'> > Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to> the boys' dormitories.I don't quite understand what point Ron was trying to make by "*And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!*". It seems to me that it's not relevant to the context at all. The context looks pretty straightforward, but I don't understand the logic behind it. How should we understand it in the context? -- From Harry Potter - and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 8.

Answer 1

I'm actually rereading this book myself. =D Hermione's statements are logical - "All cats chase rats" and "Crookshanks could smell him" are very logical arguments. They reflect the kind of person she is. In this scene, Ron is more emotional than logical. He's upset, and because he's attempting to defend himself against Hermione, he makes any points he can think of, even if they seem ridiculous. I think the addition of "Scabbers was here first, and he's ill" is Ron's attempt at having one final word in this debate, and that statement reflects how emotional he is. Perhaps he feels that he's losing the argument because Hermione makes some very good points and decides to say whatever he can in the hopes of redeeming himself. Hope this helps!